Whether or not it becomes a Broadway smash with its offbeat oriental setting and treatment, "Pacific Overtures" may move to be a step forward in American musical theatre creativity….

The show has the ingenuity, intelligence and taste of … previous Prince-Sondheim collaborations … without adhering to a traditional style or format….

In one of his most intriguing and inventive scores to date, Sondheim has made use of Japanese instruments, tonal colors and rhythms to produce viable, native authenticity, without alienating the hungry show-tune ear. Although none of the nine musical numbers promise to be a hit out of context, all of the set pieces mesh into the quasi-episodic progress of the story.

"Someone in a Tree," sung by four eavesdroppers to the U.S.-Japanese peace negotiations, is a theatrically visual inspiration. "Please Hello," which depicts the me-too arrival of British, Dutch, Russian, and French admirals through the newly opened Japanese door, is a cleverly contrived ensemble, tinged with musical satire. Sets of numbers called "Poems" and "Prayers," though practically unknown in the lexicon of musical comedy, are equally moving and revelatory….

To some, "Overtures" may seem like a bittersweet Bicentennial pill. The persistence of Presidents Fillmore and Pierce, via Commodore Perry, to reopen trade with Japan had its poignant and tragic repercussions, as the searing, all-dancing, all-Westernized finale "Next" emphasizes.