Shogun: The Musical
Encyclopedia
Shōgun: The Musical is a musical
with a book and lyrics by John Driver and music by Paul Chihara
.
Based on James Clavell
's 1976 epic novel
and the 1980 television
mini-series of the same name
it spawned, it centers on shipwreck
ed English
sea captain John Blackthorne
, who finds himself drawn into a political power play while involved in an illicit affair with a married noblewoman in 1600 Japan
.
, it closely resembled Les Misérables
and The Phantom of the Opera
in size and scope, with a cast of thirty-eight characters, more than three hundred costumes, a libretto nearly entirely sung, and a running time of 3½ hours. Critics and audiences alike had difficulty following the convoluted plot, and it was decided to cut much of the music and replace it with dialogue. Composer Chihara objected and was dismissed, and leading man Peter Karrie
was let go when it was discovered he was a far better singer than actor. He was replaced by Philip Casnoff
, who had auditioned for the role but was rejected by producers who deemed him too young and too American
.
A revamped, considerably shorter show arrived in New York City
. At the press preview shortly before the official opening night, Casnoff was struck by a piece of scenery in the middle of the second act, and the performance abruptly ended. His injuries were minor, and after a brief recuperation period he returned to the show.
After eighteen previews, the Broadway
production, directed and choreographed by Michael Smuin
, opened on November 20, 1990 at the Marquis Theatre
, where it ran for 72 performances. In addition to Casnoff, the cast included June Angela
, Joseph Foronda, Eric Chan, JoAnn M. Hunter, Leslie Ishii, and Francis Ruivivar.
Despite a detailed plot synopsis in the Playbill
, audiences were still confused by the action onstage. Critics found the special effects (including a shipwreck, an earthquake, and a battle fought on horseback in a snowstorm) and Patricia Zipprodt's costume designs to be impressive, but the score was weak and Smuin, whose background was ballet
, had concentrated more on unnecessary dance sequences than he had on plot exposition. Japanese visitors kept the show running for two months, but when the Persian Gulf War
broke out, tourism
dropped dramatically and the production closed.
Act I
Act II
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book and lyrics by John Driver and music by Paul Chihara
Paul Chihara
Paul Seiko Chihara is an American composer.Chihara was born in Seattle, Washington in 1938. A Japanese American, he spent several years of his childhood with his family in an internment camp in Minidoka, Idaho....
.
Based on James Clavell
James Clavell
James Clavell, born Charles Edmund DuMaresq Clavell was an Australian-born, British novelist, screenwriter, director and World War II veteran and prisoner of war...
's 1976 epic novel
Shogun (novel)
Shōgun is a 1975 novel by James Clavell. It is the first novel of the author's Asian Saga. A major bestseller, by 1990 the book had sold 15 million copies worldwide...
and the 1980 television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
mini-series of the same name
Shogun (TV miniseries)
Shōgun is an American television miniseries based on the namesake novel by James Clavell. As with the novel, the title is often shown as Shōgun in order to conform to Hepburn romanization. The miniseries was broadcast over five nights, between September 15 and September 19, 1980 on NBC in the...
it spawned, it centers on shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
ed English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
sea captain John Blackthorne
John Blackthorne
John Blackthorne is the hero of James Clavell's 1975 novel Shōgun, and is loosely based on the life of the 17th century British trader William Adams, who was the first Briton to visit Japan...
, who finds himself drawn into a political power play while involved in an illicit affair with a married noblewoman in 1600 Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
History
Clavell himself initiated the project in 1982 and, when it remained in limbo for more than eight years, finally provided most of the financing required to get it mounted. Compressing his mammoth work, which had required twelve hours to tell fully on screen, into a reasonable length for the theatre proved to be a daunting task. When the production opened at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, it closely resembled Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
and The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
in size and scope, with a cast of thirty-eight characters, more than three hundred costumes, a libretto nearly entirely sung, and a running time of 3½ hours. Critics and audiences alike had difficulty following the convoluted plot, and it was decided to cut much of the music and replace it with dialogue. Composer Chihara objected and was dismissed, and leading man Peter Karrie
Peter Karrie
Peter Karrie , is a Welsh singer, best known for his portrayal of the lead role in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, The Phantom of the Opera. He played the part in London, Toronto, Vancouver, Singapore, Hong Kong and on the UK Tour in Bradford, and Manchester...
was let go when it was discovered he was a far better singer than actor. He was replaced by Philip Casnoff
Philip Casnoff
Philip Casnoff is a Golden Globe Award nominated, Theater World Award winning, American actor, known for his roles in TV series and on Broadway.- Theatre :...
, who had auditioned for the role but was rejected by producers who deemed him too young and too American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
A revamped, considerably shorter show arrived in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. At the press preview shortly before the official opening night, Casnoff was struck by a piece of scenery in the middle of the second act, and the performance abruptly ended. His injuries were minor, and after a brief recuperation period he returned to the show.
After eighteen previews, the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production, directed and choreographed by Michael Smuin
Michael Smuin
Michael Smuin was a ballet dancer, choreographer and theatre director. He was co-founder and director of his own dance company, the Smuin Ballet in San Francisco.-Biography:...
, opened on November 20, 1990 at the Marquis Theatre
Marquis Theatre
The Marquis Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 1535 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan.Situated on the third floor of the Marriott Marquis Hotel, the 1611-seat venue was designed by developer/architect John C. Portman, Jr...
, where it ran for 72 performances. In addition to Casnoff, the cast included June Angela
June Angela
June Angela is an actress, singer, and dancer best known as Julie, the mainstay member of the Short Circus in the PBS children's television series The Electric Company during its entire six-year run.-The Short Circus:...
, Joseph Foronda, Eric Chan, JoAnn M. Hunter, Leslie Ishii, and Francis Ruivivar.
Despite a detailed plot synopsis in the Playbill
Playbill
Playbill is a monthly U.S. magazine for theatregoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most Playbills are printed for particular shows to be distributed at the door...
, audiences were still confused by the action onstage. Critics found the special effects (including a shipwreck, an earthquake, and a battle fought on horseback in a snowstorm) and Patricia Zipprodt's costume designs to be impressive, but the score was weak and Smuin, whose background was ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
, had concentrated more on unnecessary dance sequences than he had on plot exposition. Japanese visitors kept the show running for two months, but when the Persian Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
broke out, tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
dropped dramatically and the production closed.
Songs
Act I
- Karma
- Night of Screams
- This is Samurai
- How Nice to See You
- Impossible Eyes
- He Let Me Live
- Honto
- Assassination
- Shogun
- Royal Blood
- An Island
- No Word for Love
- Mad Rum Below/Escape
- Karma (Reprise)
- Born to Be Together
Act II
- Fireflies
- Sail Home
- Rum Below
- Pillowing
- Born to Be Together (Reprise)
- No Man
- Cha-No-Yu
- Absolution
- Poetry Competition
- Death Walk
- One Candle
- Ninja Raid
- One Candle (Reprise)
- Winter Battle
- Resolutions
- Trio
- Finale
Awards and nominations
- Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Actress in a Musical (Angela, nominee) - Tony Award for Best Costume Design (nominee)
- Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Angela, nominee) - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costumes (winner)
- Theatre World AwardTheatre World AwardThe Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
(Ruivivar, winner)