Musical sees second life on the stage

Musicals, with their combination of variety show glam and soap opera sentimentality, have traditionally had a broad appeal. Looking Up the Golden Sun (看見太陽), which first opened in June 1999, is just such a mix, which probably explains why it has been so successful that it is seen as appropriate to revive the show in these dark days for the theater. While not exactly a breath of fresh air, it is definitely a ray of sunshine, and despite a somewhat simple set -- explained by the hard economic times -- it is a pleasant confection.

Directed by Godot founder James Liang (梁志民), Looking Up the Golden Sun builds on a strong tradition of Taiwanese musicals that have proved commercially successful and helped Godot establish itself as one of the leading lights of Taiwan's theater establishment. While Godot's attempts at serious drama, as with the recent Amadeus, might lack the depth of talent needed for such an ensemble piece, the cast brought together is nothing if not practiced at the kind of song, dance and situational skits that make up a large part of Looking Up the Golden Sun.

The story of Golden Sun manages to combine a number of "typical" Taiwanese elements, a fact that makes it quite interesting. According to Liang, it was inspired in part by Charles Dicken's A Tale of Two Cities, although the settings are very different. Golden Sun starts out in an Aboriginal community where a young man and his sister prepare to head for the big city.

They arrive to be confronted with the world of betel nut beauties and their gangland protectors. A police raid on a gangland fight that the two unwittingly become involved in is a turning point for the two, altering their fates and those they come into contact with.

The Aboriginal theme allows for colorful costumes and the inclusion of melodies that would otherwise be out of place in a pop musical. Liang also includes elements of tribal mythology, and contrasts the rich spiritual life open to the Aborigines against the spiritual desert inhabited by the flashy betel nut girls and their associates.

OK, this is not subtle, and you might even say that it was peddling superficial stereotypes, but the whole thing is so good natured that it is hard to take that kind of political correctness seriously.

The two country bumkins are played by Min Hsiung (民雄), an Aboriginal singer who started out singing in pubs and who has recently released an album of Aboriginal music set to the usual syrupy Mando-pop melodies. Tso Yun (左筠), whose stage career started with Godot playing Mozart's wife in Amadeus, is more at home with songs to sing, and is very effective as a sweet innocent caught in a world she doesn't understand.

These are contrasted with Chen Chi-peng (陳志朋), originally the "handsome one" in the Hsiao Hu Tui (小虎隊), the fabulously successful boy band of 10 years ago, who plays a cynical gangland boss. These things are supposed to be taken with a grain of salt as this is family entertainment. Ultimately, the contrast of is more than effective enough for the purposes of the musical -- but more importantly, Chen's songs provide an opportunity to get some rocky riffs into the score, complementing the Aboriginal chanting and the requisite wistful love ballad or two, without which no musical would be complete.

All in all, Godot comes through doing what they do best. Energetic, professionally produced musical drama.