Pacific Overtures

Cast from the Stephen Sondheim production "Pacific Overtures."

Vintage, 7 x 10 inch, glossy double-weight fiber photograph. Features original publicity snipe on verso. Credited to notable theatre and dance photographer Martha Swope.  

In fine condition.

"Pacific Overtures" is a musical written by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman. The show is set in Japan beginning in 1853 and follows the difficult westernization of Japan, told from the point of view of the Japanese. In particular, the story focuses on the lives of two friends caught in the change.

Sondheim wrote the score in a quasi-Japanese style of parallel 4ths and no leading tone. He did not use the pentatonic scale; the 4th degree of the major scale is represented from the opening number through the finale, as Sondheim found just five pitches too limiting. The music contrasts Japanese contemplation ("There is No Other Way") with Western ingenuousness ("Please Hello") while over the course of the 127 years, Western harmonies, tonality and even lyrics are infused into the score. The score is generally considered to be one of Sondheim's most ambitious and sophisticated efforts.