David Henry Hwang has totally rewritten the book for the revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's abortive San Francisco treat of 1958. PC pulsewatchers will be glad to find our heroine Mei-Li has been upgraded from an illegally immigrating mail-order bride to a political refugee whose father was martyred back in Red China. But there's no rehab performed on the R&H score, which pales next to the oriental splendors of the team's South Pacific.
That's rather fatal when the new ethnic backbone supplied by Hwang proves brittle. Ta, the object of Mei-Li's devotion, has been transformed from a princely playboy to a nightclub director. When Ta's dad is corrupted by his son's commercialism, the girly China Vegas product at Club Chop Suey is cheesier than anything staged at the Celestial Garden in the 1958 version. A Chinese chorus line dressed up like take-out boxes? Believe it. When the babes' boobs light up, the boxes turn translucent.
Eventually, Ta learns to treasure his heritage and appreciate the chaste Mei-Li. When that happens, the chemistry between Jose Llana and Lea Salonga (Broadway's original Miss Saigon) warms to a nice glow.
