Lisa Lu in FLOWER DRUM SONG

Yes, she was in the play in 1962. Major part as the illegal alien who arrives in San Francisco's Chinatown. Singing, acting....

And her she is in its program guide.

Willam Holden, Right for the Role

Ever since I've saw the film (relatively recently), I thought that William Holden was right for the role of Robert Lomax, the aspiring painter who settles in Hong Kong to paint but falls in love with Suzie Wong. While others at the time may have had a difference of opinion (Richard Mason, the author of the novel, for one), Holden was perfect for the role, changing its dynamic, from a younger man infatuated gradually with Wong, to an older man. Born in April 17, 1918, Holden was 42 when he made the film, close to twenty years older than Nancy Kwan, the film "Wong." William Shatner, the Lomax on Broadway opposite his "Wong," France Nuyen, was in his late twenties, born March 22, 1931.

Many Western men head to the Far East, typically the Philippines and Thailand, to find what they think is lacking in their lives. Usually, there are two things: Companionship and sex, and not in order of importance or even certainty. Sometimes young men head there with an idea of just "having fun." Even these young adventurers can get hooked when love in a foreign country blossoms. Asian women know a Western man's fascination, and their responses can be varied: from staying away from such men or searching for them. The later entails different responses, too, from hearts-so-true to gold-diggers.
 
At the time Holden was firmly ensconced as a very popular leading man. He was also fascinated with Asian culture. Aside from his Asian-themed films, he narrated the REPORT ON HONG KONG in February 1961 for television. He was also a collector of art objects in many of his film travels. Some of the Asian objects include a Buddha head from Siam, an old Korean sundial, 150 year-old Japanese puppets, a Tang Dynasty figurine horse from China... In 1959, he revealed that Hong Kong would be one of his choices of where to live if he had that opportunity. (He chose Switzerland for various reasons, which included schooling for his two sons.). Since he was aware of Hong Kong and had seen it, he had a fascination with the city and its people.

Yes, Holden changed the dynamic in the novel and the play. But he created another one, equally powerful and compelling.