The Paper's reporter Liao Yang intern Bai Maram
Published in 1948, Human Disqualification is a semi-autobiographical novel by Japanese writer Osamu Dazai.
Alcoholism, suicide, drug paralysis, debauchery, the male protagonist Ye Zang continues to sink in order to escape from reality, and finally step by step towards self-destruction... "Human Disqualification" describes how Ye Zang went step by step to the road of disqualification.
Dazai skillfully hides himself behind Yezang, and through Yezang's monologue, he spies his inner world - "a life full of shame". In the same year that the novel was published, Osamu Dazai committed suicide.
The domestic drama production label "Dye Space" formed a multinational team and put the novel on the stage. From December 10th to 19th, Chinese's original musical "Human Disqualification" will premiere nationwide at the Shanghai Grand Theatre, with Dazaiji and Ye Zang appearing in the same frame, and will be alternately starred by Bai Jugang and Liu Lingfei.
Poster of "Human Disqualification"
The actors alternate and the souls merge into one
"Human Disqualification" has more than ten translations in China, after selecting the theme, the producer Liang Yibing gave the main creative team a task, each person to read about three translations, and then write a post-reading feeling about different translations, hoping to stand a little higher, relying on the author closer.
The creative team finally concluded, "When Dazai created Yezo, he was actually exploring his relationship with himself and himself, a dialogue between the original self and the superego, and a relationship between animality (instinct) and human nature." So there are two male protagonists, who come from the same embryo and have the same heart. Liang Yibing said.
Singer Bai Jugang has recently soared in popularity because of the popular variety show "Brother Who Cut Through Thorns", and every performance is unlocking a new self, allowing people to see a different him. Liu Lingfei is a flagship figure in domestic musicals, and there are many representative works.
The reason for choosing Bai Jugang and Liu Lingfei to star, Chinese director Xu Chongye explained that there is a contradiction between the two, and this contradiction is suitable for the role, "For example, Xiao Bai is very juvenile, but his voice has a sense of heaviness and is very stable." Liu Lingfei is very mature in image and musical theater performance experience, but his voice is very juvenile when he sings. ”
"Youthfulness is important." Xu Chongye said that although Dazaiji's writing is very heavy, his image is very tired, and he is called a "rogue writer", but his rogue is not a rogue rogue, more like a teenager's rebellion, juvenile willfulness, and he has a kind of juvenile purity in his bones, precisely because of this purity, which is incompatible with this world.
What's interesting about Dazaiji and Yezo is that they are both similar and different. In the process of creation, the main creative team had a bold idea, is it possible to let the two actors think differently and cross-perform each other? Bai Jugang and Liu Lingfei's first reaction was excited, willing to overcome difficulties and take risks to try.
"The souls of the two actors must merge into one. In addition to knowing their own roles, they must also understand each other's roles, otherwise there is no way to play their own roles. Liang Yibing said.
The alternating appearance of the two male protagonists is both a new attempt and a great challenge for director and choreographer Hasegawa Ning. Chinese audiences are no strangers to Hasegawa Ning, and the Chinese original musical "White Night Walk", which is about to usher in a hundred commemorative performances, is his masterpiece.
"Each actor needs to react according to the reaction of the other party when facing the opponent actor, and if he continues to play this role, he will form an inertia." We had two actors performing interactively, and each time there was something fresh. ”
It's rare for someone to be both a director and a choreographer in a musical, and two jobs at the same time, Hasegawa says, to establish a complete, unified worldview. He said that he will use some special stage means, such as double dance, to present the bond between the two, in addition, the courage is bigger, and there are more diverse performances in the body.
"Human Disqualification" is the first offline creator exchange meeting
Aesthetic positioning is tragic, and the music is extremely warm
In addition to the role, screenwriter Zhang Mingzhu bluntly said that novels have a high degree of literature and a large number of psychological descriptions, how to refine them into drama is a difficult problem, retaining the original emotional, painful temperament at the same time, increasing its watchability, so that this drama "good-looking", is the most important.
Broadway composer Frank Wildhorn was invited to compose music for the show. "Becoming a Strange Doctor", which once swept the Chinese musical theater market, was composed by him, and Chinese audiences personally called him "Uncle Wild Horn". It was also his first time writing songs for Chinese musicals.
How does an American understand the expression of emotion in Eastern literature? Frank wasn't worried about that. He has a home in Tokyo, his wife is Japanese, and his friends have also participated in related performances in Japan, and after in-depth communication with them, they have a deeper understanding of the story.
Frank's earliest motivation came from fiction. He would extract sensible content from novels, write them into musical notes, and give them gentle, fragile names that did not match his fierce image.
Livewire composer Frank Wildhorn
Frank revealed that the musical style of the whole play is very "postmodern", with both cinematic and dramatic sense, and will also incorporate rock elements. The style of the two characters is also different, and it will change with the progression of the performance and the growth of the characters.
Frank wants to catch their different colors, "like Osamu Dazai, his style is very strong at first, he is like a god, and then slowly shows the other side of him, his darkness, his vulnerability." Another example is Ye Zang, who was relatively weak at first, but slowly became stronger, resisted, and wanted to make himself independent. ”
Frank did not hesitate to praise the two male actors. Liu Lingfei played the male protagonist in the Chinese version of "Becoming a Strange Doctor", and his dramatic voice and perfect interpretation of this difficult musical left a deep impression on Frank. The energy in Bai Jugang's voice and the charm on the stage also made Frank full of confidence in him as the male protagonist.
Female characters such as Zhuzi and Hengzi play a crucial role in the story. Many of the turning points in Ye Zang's life are driven by women, who represent hope, but the world does not treat them well. Frank has written songs for many women and loves to express women's voices, and this time, he also wants to express the power of women.
"The aesthetic positioning of 'Human Disqualification' is sadness, and at present all our music is extreme, very warm when it is warm, very sad when it is sad." Liang Yibing said.
The rehearsal time of "Human Disqualification" is as long as four months, and in the face of more than 100 days of training, the two leading actors are ready to go. To this end, Liu Lingfei also cut off the iconic long hair, showing his head shape, and Bai Jugang is also the same hairstyle.
Some people are also curious, Bai Jugang has no performance experience on the stage of the drama, can he keep up with his acting skills? "We want to create a little white that surprises everyone." Xu Chongye is frank, there will be people worried, but he also has his advantages, "just because he is 'Xiao Bai', he does not have any baggage at the performance level, we can fabricate him, to shape him, and to play his musical strengths indefinitely." ”
Editor-in-Charge: Liang Jia
Proofreader: Luan Meng