A stunning exploration of tradition and transformation based on historical events.In 1853, after 200 years of stability, Japan faces an American expedition determined to open the floating kingdom to trade. The isolationist islands reckoning with the unwelcome western influence is brilliantly illuminated through a kaleidoscope of stories about sailors, samurai, someone in a tree and two friends who choose radically different paths.This innovative epic of East meets West is one of Sondheims most ambitious and rarely produced musicals.One of the great musicals of our time. Variety