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Bringing Japan to Japan Bringing Japan to Japan
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The Show’s Gestation and Original Reception The Show’s Gestation and Original Reception
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Pacific Overtures in Tokyo Pacific Overtures in Tokyo
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The Physical Staging The Physical Staging
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Miyamoto’s Handling of Historical and Cultural Inaccuracies Miyamoto’s Handling of Historical and Cultural Inaccuracies
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The Musical’s Reception in Tokyo The Musical’s Reception in Tokyo
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Conclusion Conclusion
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Notes Notes
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Bibliography Bibliography
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23 Pacific Overtures: Varied Perspectives
Get accessGary Perlman is a Tokyo-based translator, writer, and lyricist. His productions include A Kabuki Christmas Carol (Tokyo, original script); The Fall Guy (Off-Broadway, English script and producer); I Got Merman (Tokyo, English script); When Gary Met Lily (Fuji TV, original script and performer); Kabuki Online (English text) and the UK Royal Ballet’s A Soldier’s Tale (Tokyo New National Theatre, producer). He has contributed articles on theatre to the Sondheim Review, Theatre Guide (Japan) and other publications in Japan and the United States. He is also the author of an upcoming book on the wartime diplomat Chiune Sugihara and serves as advisor to the NPO Chiune Sugihara Visas for Life.
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Published:23 October 2023
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Abstract
Amon Miyamoto’s 2000 Japanese-language production of Stephen Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures, the 1976 oddity about the American-driven opening of isolationist Japan in the nineteenth century, reflected a starkly different perception of events from the American version. As opposed to the daring Kabuki-like format used on Broadway to highlight the ‘exotic’ nature of the Japanese, the Tokyo production took a naturalistic approach, incorporating the deeper understanding of the history and culture being portrayed. This led to a subtle shift in theme: the Japanese version is concerned less with the perils of progress than with its inevitability, a warning not against change but against a refusal to change. The result makes for a fascinating study in varying perspectives.
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