Musicals, with their combination of variety show glam and soap opera sentimentality, have traditionally had a broad appeal. Looking Up the Golden Sun (
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.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GODOT THEATRE
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 (
These are contrasted with Chen Chi-peng (
All in all, Godot comes through doing what they do best. Energetic, professionally produced musical drama.
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