STAGE REVIEWS : ‘Overtures’ Is More Relevant Than Ever in Irvine : Dan Trevino’s crisp staging and strong cast help make a risky Civic Light Opera production accessible.

East meets West, in the East. It has been one of the most provocative themes in Western theater, as well as in Western life, in recent years.

“M. Butterfly,” “Miss Saigon” and “Nixon in China” come to mind. But the cutting edge of this trend was “Pacific Overtures,” now being revived, briefly, by the Irvine Civic Light Opera.

A lot of people didn’t fully appreciate the Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman musical back in 1976. Was it because it saw the East-West confrontation almost entirely through the eyes of its Asian characters? Though the first act is structured around the 1853 arrival of American Commodore Matthew Perry in Japan, Perry himself is represented in mythic terms--as a fierce, dancing lion--and no other Americans merit so much as a name.

Actually, Weidman’s book is not strong on conventional characterization at all. One of the leading characters does an abrupt about-face in Act II, after which individual portraits are pretty much ignored in favor of a panoramic look at more than a century of Westernization in Japan and--in the final scene--Easternization in the West. The unexpected shape of the book may have distracted attention from Sondheim’s glorious Japanese-American score.

Since then, however, the show’s pertinence has increased along with the intensification of U.S.-Japanese ties. So it’s an auspicious time to revisit “Pacific Overtures.”

Enter the fledgling Irvine Civic Light Opera. Unlike most civic light opera companies, which spend years tilling familiar musical soil, slowly gathering resources and momentum before reaching quasi-professional stature or taking any programming risks, Irvine has concluded its very first season with this chancy project, hiring seven Equity actors to form the base of the cast.

And what do you know--”Pacific Overtures” is remarkably accessible in Irvine. The cultural currents of the last 15 years and the intimacy of the new Irvine Barclay Theatre have a lot to do with that, but so do Dan Trevino’s crisp staging and strong cast.

Unlike the original cast, which was made up almost entirely of Asian-Americans, this one is only about half Asian-American. Judging from the “Miss Saigon” brouhaha, that may have been the riskiest move of all. Then again, no one complained much about the “yellowface” in “Nixon in China.” In “Pacific Overtures,” with nearly all of the faces made up in Kabuki-style “whiteface”--including those of the American characters--the ethnic background of the actors is largely concealed anyway.

The central role and the only one without that white makeup, the Reciter, is filled by Timothy Dang. According to the program, he has studied acting with Mako, who created the role. At his relatively tender age, he doesn’t have Mako’s gruff authority. But his youthful vigor provides an especially smooth transition into his role as the young Emperor in Act II and on into the glance at contemporary Japan.

Musically, everyone sounds quite assured under the direction of John Larry Granger. There are some beautiful voices in this cast, a capable orchestra, and notable contributions from onstage musicians Tateo Takahashi and Masakazu Yoshizawa. The only number that’s slightly unfocused is the devilishly difficult “Please Hello,” in which some of the lyrics are lost and the visiting admirals seem merely silly, rather than also threatening.

Sets and costumes were designed by Ken Holamon and Cathleen Edwards, respectively, for San Jose Civic Light Opera. They’re lavish and beautiful and generally moved smoothly, though a few unintended backstage noises were audible opening night on Friday.

The final scene has been updated to include some of the more recent eye-opening statistics about Japanese influence in the West. The only revision that didn’t quite work was a minor reference to what sounded like Los Angeles instead of the original script’s Boston.

‘Pacific Overtures’

An Irvine Civic Light Opera production. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by John Weidman. Additional material by Hugh Wheeler. Directed by Dan Trevino. Choreographed by Ellen Prince. Lights by Ted Ferriera. Sound by Michael Mikulka. Makeup by Kara McLeod. Production stage manager Kimberly Steffens. With Timothy Dang, Michael Chu, Danny Bolero, Roy Leake Jr., Al Morris, Gary Lee Reed, Bart Williams, Edmund Eng, Michael Coleman, Ron Hoshi, Orville Mendoza, Ken Monreal and Darryl Winslow. Continues Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes. Tickets: $15-$22. Information: (714) 854-4646.