The musical “Rouge”: condensing the experience of the times in a classic review_Guangming.com

Author: Han Haoyue

Li Bihua’s novella “Rouge Button” was published in 1984. In 1987, a film of the same name adapted from the novel was released, starring Hong Kong actors Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung, and became a masterpiece of the times. When the time comes to 2024, the musical “Rouge Button” starring Xiao Jingteng, Zhang Ze, Ding Zhenying, Xu Yao, etc. will have its first round of performances in Shanghai in April. It is considered to be a highly respectful work with distinctive innovations. Features original musical.

Stage photo of the musical “Rouge Button”.Photo courtesy of the producer

From 1984 to 2024, it is exactly 40 years. In the past 40 years, world affairs have changed, and emotional concepts have undergone considerable changes. However, the actors Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung, who have successfully portrayed the roles of Ruhua and Twelve Young Boys in “Rouge Button”, are already looking forward to recalling their feelings. Therefore, the performance of the musical “Rouge Button” contains the emotional significance of commemoration and retrospection, and also condenses the time-honored and meticulous observation of the times.

The musical “Rouge” changed the location of the story from Hong Kong to Shanghai. The character relationships, family conflicts, cultural customs, social customs, etc. in the play have more grounding. Shanghai at the turn of the old and new provides a broader spatial background for the emotional development of Ruhua and Twelve Young Masters, leaving a lot of room for the adaptation of the play. The play also integrates Shanghai elements into lyrics, music, characters, settings, costumes and other aspects, giving this Hong Kong story that originally took place in the 1940s a unique tone and charm of Shanghai-style culture.

Time travel, love, and reunion constitute the three-act dramatic structure of “Rouge Button”. On this basis, the musical expresses the story of Ruhua’s riot at the engagement banquet of the Twelve Young Masters, and the discussion between the Twelve Young Masters and Mr. Gao about their views on love. , not only enriches the level of the play, but also strengthens the viewing value of the musical. Music comes first, which is fully reflected in these two plots. Therefore, the music creation of the play left a deep impression on people. For example, the scene between the Twelve Young Masters and Mr. Gao used a performance method similar to “Tandhuang Xiaoxi”, which was lively and lively, allowing people to see the tragic story. It also contains worldly beauty. The use of the suona, a traditional musical instrument, also extends the passion, pathos, melancholy, tension, release and other emotions contained in the suona itself into the plot.

The “Rouge Button” story of “Unresolved Love between Humans and Ghosts” writes about love, but the title is “pain and regret”. The characters in the book are just ordinary people. They are affectionate but not affectionate enough. They are true love but always have expectations. Failure, utter heartbreak and permanent loss are at the core of the original story. The same story, in the musical “Rouge Button”, “pain and regret” is transformed into “truth and madness”, reflecting the multifaceted and complex nature of human nature.

The “epileptic” temperament of the musical “Rouge Button” may not be the original intention of the creator, but the perception given by the audience and the play form an interaction between virtuality and reality. The “madness” of this version of the story consists of several points: first, the intolerance of the old social environment firmly holds a man and woman who yearn for love in place, so madness becomes their instinctive reaction and the end of their destiny; secondly, in love, The narrow gap in life intertwined with hate, madness is the only way for them to pass through this narrow gap; in the end, the story hurricane on the stage blows into reality, which is a slight irony. If it makes the audience have the impression of “madness”, it will also Within reason.

The form of drama can be flexible and diverse, and the expression can be full of imagination, but in terms of the underlying story and the emotional logic of the characters, it must be based on “truth”. Reflected in the musical “Rouge Button”, you can see or feel: the social prejudices and outdated family concepts at that time are true, the different definitions and understandings of men and women are very different, it is true, and the differences between individuals and personalities are true. Oppression, the expulsion of freedom and true love, etc., are all empathetic. It is precisely because of this “truth” that the cross-class love between Ruhua and the Twelve Young Masters has won the support of the audience, and this emotion has also been classified as “truth” ” ranks. In order to be more in line with the aesthetics of modern women, the main creator made appropriate adjustments to the character Ruhua, and also reset other love lines to be more in line with the modern view of love. At a time when modern people are constantly questioning and searching for “true love”, the musical “Rouge Button” provides an answer with a “truth”. (Han Haoyue)

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责编：崔益明 ]