Soft Power has anyone seen it?

Just saw the first performance tonight at the beautiful Curran Theatre in San Francisco.

This is a very subversive play (that then becomes a musical!) about the way America views itself and others. It's quite sophisticated for a musical and tries to cram in a lot about orientalism and the current state of world affairs (with a specific focus on America and China), but I think it does it quite skillfully and cheekily throughout. A keen interest and knowledge of the way both countries are operating at a world level would be helpful.

A friend of mine and I were talking the other day about how he misses a score written for the theatre in a time when musicals have pop-scores like Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen (not a complaint, just an observation). The score here is just that, and in a way a soft homage and pastiche to everything musical theatre with its 22-piece orchestra. There are some truly wonderful songs. I would re-write the song that DHH sings towards the end of Act 1 for lacking the emotional effect it tries to achieve, as well as the Act 1 closing that doesn't deliver the necessary punch.

The sets and visuals are pretty basic and Americana gone-haywire, but I think the show could benefit from a more enhanced and dynamic lighting design. The lighting cues are still a bit rough, and require fine-tuning even if this remains the final design.

The creative team was sitting in the row behind me, so I think there are serious intentions to make this Broadway-ready. I'd be interested to see what other changes they make during its SF run, and how it will fare at the Public Theatre. For the kids who thought The Band's Visit was an art show, wait until you see this.