"Flower Drum Song" came to be seen by some as stereotypical and patronizing towards Asians, and that it was "inauthentic, even offensive in its relentlessly upbeat picture of a big-city Chinatown". In 1983, the announcement that it would be produced in San Francisco started a furor; the producers pointedly stated that the show would be set in the 1930s and would have "a greater sensitivity toward the Chinese immigration problems at that time". They added a scene in which Mei Li listens apprehensively to a radio broadcast warning about the dangers to the United States caused by Asian immigration. Many lines of dialogue were cut, and producer Fred Van Patten stated that "hat we've done is cut things in the show that Asians said to make white people laugh." The song "Chop Suey" was deleted, as was Master Wang's line that all white men look alike (based on a line in C. Y. Lee's novel, in which Wang states that all foreigners look alike). The author gave a rare public interview to defend his novel and the musical adaptation. The production, which had been scheduled for a three-week run, closed early. A well-attended production in Oakland in 1993 adhered strictly to the 1958 script, though part of the ballet was cut for lack of rehearsal time; a more heavily censored 1996 production in San Mateo also did well at the box office.