Word: shoguns
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...that greeted Philip Casnoff as he spoke that line were partly to honor the melodramatic stage effects. But much of the response was to salute the actor for his brave return to the stage on what was to have been opening night of the year's biggest Broadway musical, Shogun, the Musical -- an $8 million extravaganza of sword fights and fireflies, earthquakes and snowstorms, based on James Clavell's best-selling novel and TV mini-series. In a preview two days before the scheduled opening, as he readied himself to sing the second-act number Death Walk, Casnoff was struck...
Nothing in the theater is ever a sure bet, but Clavell always believed Shogun was close to it. The 1975 novel sold 15 million copies worldwide. The ; 12-hour TV version, seen by more than 130 million in the U.S., was the nation's fourth most watched mini-series ever, and proved just as popular in Japan (whence came the bulk of the musical's financing). Says Clavell: "It's got a love story and, obviously, opportunities for high adventure. In production values it should compare quite favorably with Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera." So he financed...
...soon to tell whether the gamble will pay. Shogun shrewdly combines the spectacle of recent British-import musicals with the romantic story line and charming set pieces of Broadway tradition. It will have passionate enthusiasts for its bold theatricality and epic sweep; it comes with a built- in constituency. But it may make few new converts. Unless one knows the book or TV show, the plot is hard to get involved in, especially in the breakneck opening minutes. The love scenes, although competently acted, are so flatly written that they lack emotional intensity, a defect that the lush, quasi-operatic...
...THEATER: Shogun sails stormy seas to Broadway...