They were stereotyped, typecast and planted in hostile soil. But they pushed through like stubborn flowers, and now the world gets to see them in their ultimate bloom.
The Minneapolis-born Kim Loo Sisters are being celebrated in “Blended 和(Harmony),” an elegant new musical about the first Asian troupe to have a revue on Broadway, seven years in the making. The show, inspired by the writings of Leslie Li, a granddaughter, premiered Saturday at St. Paul’s History Theatre in a snazzy co-production with Theatre Mu.
Director Lily Tung Crystal teared up on opening night for good reason. Along with playwright Jessica Huang and composer Jacinth Greywoode, she has crafted a winning work that evokes Hollywood’s golden age with a neat twist.
Huang’s clever writing and Greywoode’s style-hopping songs center characters who in the past would have been lost in the background. But in “Harmony,” sisters Sophie (Suzie Juul), Maggie (Morgan Kempton), Jenée (Kelsey Angel Baehrens) and Bubbles (Audrey Mojica) magnetically hold the starlight.
The show sings because of performances and its design, including Mathew J. LeFebvre’s rich-toned mandarin-inspired costumes, which the cast changes quickly and smoothly, and Rush Benson’s dances that include a broad, funny bit with cloth mannequins.
Miko Simmons’ projections and Mags Scanlon’s lights help transform Mina Kinukawa’s proscenium stage set into historical locales as “Harmony” trips ever lightly over some heavy history.
In the musical, the sisters fulfill some of the dreams of their immigrant parents — Polish Mama Lena Louie (Ann Michels) and Chinese Papa Shear Gim Louie (Ariel Estrada) — by pursuing a career in showbiz.
But they sacrifice childhood play, teen infatuation and much more on their way to Broadway, including signing over rights to their show to impresario George White (J.C. Cutler), whose “George White’s Scandals” ran for 20 years, ending in 1939, the year the Kim Loos joined the act.
