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Flower Drum Song (September 2003: the first box has gone missing...and we thought the second would be first to go...) Set in the house of traditional Chinese patriarch Wang Chi Yang in our beloved hometown of San Francisco, "Flower Drum Song" is one of our favorite Rogers and Hammerstein musicals. This is a wonderful comedy with a subject dear to our hearts; the generation gap between Old World immigrants who cling to traditional values and their New World progeny, who see themselves as Americans and adopt Western values and lifestyles. Since we couldn't place this series in San Francisco as we first intended, we have opted instead to create a walking tour of a beautiful Connecticut River town with a well-regarded theater. Like the young picture-bride Mei Li and the Westernized Sammy Fong in the musical, you must find your way to a distinctly American place: in your case it will be East Haddam on the Connecticut River. This walk covers about 1½ miles and will take less than an hour to complete, for three operatic letterboxes. Park south of the Goodspeed Opera House in the main lot by the river. Look east to a gazebo. From its' Rotarian center, the Goodspeed Opera House Letterbox is under the footing at 075°. Now return to the river and turn north over the footbridge and up the stairway between the theater and Gelston House. Walk north up the main road and bear left on Rte. 149. You'll soon find the Nathan Hale Schoolhouse up a small hill on your left. From the Spencer Memorial, find the East Haddam Letterbox under flat stone in the shade of a large oak at 132°. Walking back down Rte. 149 to the corner overlooking the Opera House, turn left and walk up Rte. 82. Just opposite Ray Hill Rd you'll find a lovely arched bridge on the left that spans Succor Brook. Cross over, and then take about twenty steps along your left to a pile of rocks and the Succor Brook Letterbox. Like all good musical comedies, Flower Drum Song has a happy ending. We hope your search was also a theatric success!
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