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Set in nineteenth-century Japan, it tells the story of the country's westernization starting in 1853, when American ships forcibly opened it to the rest of the world. The story is told from the point of view of the Japanese, and focuses in particular on the lives of two friends who are caught in the change.
SYNOPSIS. The Original Broadway Cast. Act 1. The Reciter, a narrator and storyteller, describes the Floating Kingdom of Japan, an island empire in 1853, undisturbed by intruders for centuries.
Overview. In 1853 Japan, the story follows the Westernization of Japan, mainly through the story of Kayama, a samurai, and Manjiro, a fisherman. The lives of both men are radically changed by the coming of American ships to Japan.
Dec 5, 2023 · First produced on Broadway between two of Sondheim’s best-loved works, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd, the show explores the US navy (barbarians in their silly hats and epaulettes) barging into Japan in 1853, a country that had been closed off to foreigners for 250 years.
- Julia Rank
May 4, 2017 · Viewed one way, “Pacific Overtures” is a chronicle, stuffed with real names and documentary evidence, of the arrival of American warships at Uraga in July 1853, and what came after.
- May 5, 2017
Jul 15, 2002 · The Lincoln Center Festival, which this year is heavily weighted toward Asian and Middle Eastern work, imported a Japanese “Pacific Overtures” for five performances that ended Saturday.
Set in 1853 Japan, Pacific Overtures follows the Westernization of Japan, mainly through the story of Kayama, a samurai, and Manjiro, a fisherman. The lives of both men are radically changed by the coming of American ships to Japan.
