As someone who loves musicals, I am scrounging for any new releases in a year that hasn’t had them in almost seven months. Unless your show had the fortune of opening in 2019, there’s a good chance that whole shows will be forgotten, not getting proper cast recordings that would preserve their work for audiences. I’m not saying that there aren’t ways around that - Andrew Lloyd Webber is currently working on a recording of Cinderella – but I’ve been fairly stranded in terms of substance to write about. There’s thankfully been theater news, but whereas I’d have three or four new shows that I love by this point in any other year, I’m having to admit that the only 2020 cast recording I’ve heard was from Soft Power… and I wasn’t ready to write about it.
Please don’t take this as criticism against the show. I confess that my initial listen produced a bit of a cringing experience because it brought up so many emotions inside of me. The most noteworthy is my overlying question of “Who would want to listen to a musical about the 2016 election?” I’m not discrediting the creators, but as I listened I found myself finding moments that I’ve grown critical of myself for reveling in. It’s the idea of praising Hillary Clinton as a saving grace against who ended up winning. It’s believing that we were living through the goofiest election imaginable, looking back at the demise of The Republican Party because… who would want somebody that racist, that misogynistic, that obsessed with buzzwords over a bigger sentence?
To put it simply, The 2016 Presidential Election remains a painful memory for me. What usually was a moment where I got to celebrate the process of electing new leaders, I found myself having to come to terms with The Bubble Syndrome and understand that behind the fascist rhetoric, his win was symbolic of helping Middle America, that he would be America First. I’ve rationalized how he won, but my brain will always struggle with the why he made it that far. Once on the other side, even reflecting my belief that Clinton had an easy-in began to feel gross. After all, Bill Clinton’s DNC speech was nothing more than a love letter. In some ways, Democrats were just as delusional for playing it safe after a solid eight years of prosperity under Barrack Obama.
I’m sure that Soft Power will not play as immediately upsetting to younger generations to come, but for now I feel like everyone of voting age will understand what it felt like to be alive, dealing with every controversy that seemed to come by the day. It also didn’t help that the biggest of controversies seemed to brush off, finding a hateful, impenetrable new heart forming around The American Flag.
I feel some regret in just now appreciating the music because I am also excited by the idea of west coast theater being a thing. Soft Power played at The Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles, CA. Not since Come From Away (though it originated in Canada) has there been a California show that seems bound to leave a strong impression. And yet, I couldn’t be bothered to see it during its run in 2018 because the pain of that election doesn’t go away. It just finds new way to remind yourself and, in an election year, it felt strange to revisit a time that ended with both: A. Rise in mass anxiety, and; B. Low-level hate crimes (even in young students). Who would want to deal with this?
The day it was released may as well be a different world. This was a time before The George Floyd Protests inspired a rise in Black Lives Matter, before COVID-19 got unfairly dubbed “The China Virus.” So much of the world feels like it’s been activated while also growing more hostile, and I can see the optimism that Soft Power is ultimately preaching. I still am high on anxiety for this year’s outcome, but I now reach the song “Democracy” and I understand the optimism that is being sung about, in harmony, by a community that has no choice but to stick together and make a difference.
Still, having a song that ends with a character naively claiming that it is 2016 and America doesn’t hate The Chinese does feel a bit wincing. I’m aware that it’s a show that’s now two years old, but it feels like they couldn’t predict how hostile things would get in the months following its release. Still, what makes everything so inspiring is what has made the works of Amy Tan and Emmy the Great important. It’s a perspective of America’s promises of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that natural-born citizens often take for granted. There is a reason that everyone comes to this country, seeking refuge. I can’t imagine how crestfallen they’ve found the past five years.
The closest that I can get is this show which takes a very compelling approach to current events. An important thing to consider when interpreting the soundtrack is that this was designed as a musical within a play. While I can’t speak for how well it balances realism and fantasy, it does allow for something rather novel. What follows is a musical that is designed like a fusion of Chinese music and Broadway, at times recalling Rodgers and Hammerstein along with traces of Stephen Sondheim and Meredith Wilson. It’s all so jaunty and alive, reflecting a fantasy that gives way into something searing and painful.
It does help that the team behind Soft Power includes Book and Lyrics by David Henry Hwang, who is best known for plays that explore his Asian identity, most notably in M. Butterfly (an update of Madame Butterfly). He’s also responsible for updating shows like Flower Drum Song to appeal to a modern audience. It makes sense that this moment would speak to him, inspiring an urgency to express why it was more important than ever to stand together against intolerance. I can imagine that the rest plays even better with context. Add in Co-Lyricist Jeanine Tesori (Caroline or Change), and you have a promising line-up.
In a lot of ways, the political commentary starts before the story even gets to America. In “Dutiful,” there is a conversation about how the central characters are Chinese, needing to stay true to their identity. There’s reluctance of going to America, but it holds so much potential. There’s a whole song about the creative arts in “Fuxing Park” that reflects how the story will unfold, merging worlds old and new as they try to hold onto their identity amid a hustle and bustle of consumerism and melting pot ideas that are what America has built itself on. Everyone is welcome in America, right?
The first sign of distress comes in “Welcome to America,” which finds the characters looking up at the towering world, admiring the passing taxicabs, and believing that they have a bright future. It’s midway through that they get their first abrupt culture shock, and one that finds the first tonal shift in the soundtrack. Set to a street rap style, there’s this hostile undertone welcoming them to America, creating a lasting trauma that alerts the audience to how the threats come in many forms. Even among different cultures, there is a divide, and it becomes abundantly clear in the back half, when thing shifts into direct commentary.
As anyone reading this will know that the next part is where I winced the most. It isn’t necessarily The Hillary Clinton of It All, but it’s what her failed campaign symbolized in the greater picture. According to plot summaries, the sequence here is dreamlike, turning her campaign into a Rodgers & Hammerstein extravaganza. Following “Fuxing Park” which establishes the fantasy in The American Dream, here was a candidate that America believed in. She would be the first woman president, and they sold the country on the idea that she was the most qualified. While there is fantasy here, it’s a bit cringe-inducing to realize how much Democratic-learning voters were like that. I was like that, though mostly in that us versus them way.
The moment that initially turned me off the first time is probably the one that would be the most fun. During “I’m With Her,” she befriends her constituents at a McDonald’s before breaking out into these styles of dance. She seems confident, but the way she calls out her various dance skills, you’re kind of feeling like she’s a bit too full of herself. It gives off the vibe of “Isn’t it cool that I can do tap?” There’s also a blip of a reference to Company’s “You Can Drive a Person Crazy” that is silly. It’s probably the most enjoyable number in the show, if just because it sells the optimism so well and without personal bias, it’s easy to see it as the calling card for this style-blending musical.
“Election Night” starts as a rundown of The Voting Process, building on the energy of the past few songs. There’s traces of The Music Man in here as they dive into the heart of things. It’s also the moment where the commentary begins to seep in. The backing vocals grow more confused as electoral colleges are discussed, wondering why they’re needed. By the time it comments on its connections to slavery, it’s clear that Hwang has more intent than chronicling a problematic moment in history. He’s going to use the election as a chance to explore politics. It’s why Clinton loses the election and ends with the identity crisis number “I Am.”
Again, I can’t speak for the dramatic portion of this show, but the second half shifts from big show numbers to straight-up commentary, looking at the fallout of the election. Early on, there’s yelling from American characters for The Chinese to leave. Mike Pence gets a musical number with “Good Guy with a Gun,” suggesting that the president’s hostile ways have successful outcomes. Even then, amid the crowd of cheers, there’s the cries of concern that they’re not listening to them.
I suppose what threw me off initially was that it doesn’t have this profound ending of change. How could it? As of this publication, the fallout from that election is still having an impact. It’s likely to last for decades. It’s the sadness that the world could never recover. Then, in the most powerful and essential song on the entire soundtrack, “Democracy,” they remind us what America SHOULD stand for. The Reprise ends with a saying that ultimately moves me, feeling like it may work even better in larger context: "Good fortune will follow, if we somehow survive."
In April 2020, I don’t know that I was ready to hear it. To be honest, I have been thankful for those fighting to maintain even some small piece of justice. However, my initial interpretation of this was a bit caught up in the reality that change felt so far away, that if impeachment and COVID-19 couldn’t change the world’s view of him, then what possibly could? The past four years have forced me to find more humanity, if just to stay sane. I thank artists like Hwang for finding these accessible ways to make me care, to feel like history will be preserved and that we will have these conversations in media. I hope this opens up more narratives about the immigrant struggle in the years to come, producing music that is hopefully as good as this.
In one final warning, Soft Power feels painfully relevant, especially in an election year. There are no clear answers, instead choosing to ask why we love America in the first place. This is a personal story, asking us to look inside, find something valuable that we can give to our fellow men. It’s about being true to ourselves. As the opening song suggests, and appears throughout in motif, we must remain “Dutiful.” That is the one piece of optimism that’s kept me going lately, and I’m glad to know that even if no other message made it out there, the one that seeks to do the most good did. Thank you for giving me belief in the future. I can only hope it’s a brighter place for us all.
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