旋转木马

高慧冉

Carousel is based on Liliom by Ference Molnár，adapted by Benjamin F. Glazer， transplanting its Budapest setting to Maine coastline. Music by Richard Rodgers， book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein Ⅱ. The story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow， whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child in spite of dissuasion（制止） from Julie. However， the plan fails， and Billy chooses to kill himself. Before allowed to reach Heaven， Billy is granted one more visit to the earth to perform one good deed for redemption （救赎）. He accepts it and tries his best to show his love for his daughter， Louise， and Julie. Though he is unable to be seen， Julie and Louise can sense his love. In the end， Billy is pleased to see that they regain their confidence in life and brave enough to enter Heavens Gate， waiting for his final judgment.

Carousel is really a perfect musical worth enjoying， for it not only owns a good stage effect， but also a lot of well⁃known songs， such as If I Loved You， June Is Bustin Out All Over and Youll Never Walk Alone and so on， of which， Youll Never Walk Alone becomes a typical song encouraging people in misery. Meanwhile， several dances of this musical are fantastic， especially the hornpipe（号笛舞） and the ballet in Act Ⅱ being the best. The musical shows us what love is， how to express our love， and gets us to be aware that valuable feelings exist and can be found everywhere. As Time magazine puts it， there is no doubt that Carousel is the best musical of the 20th century！

《旋转木马》由本杰明·F.格雷泽改编自费伦茨·莫尔纳的《利利翁》，故事的背景从布达佩斯改为缅因州的海岸线。该剧由理查德·罗杰斯谱曲，奥斯卡·汉默斯坦二世编剧并作词。故事围绕旋转木马工比利·毕格罗与磨坊女工朱莉·乔旦之间的爱情故事展开讲述。也因爱情，他们失去了工作。为了供养朱莉和他们未出生的孩子，比利不顾朱莉的劝阻参与抢劫。然而计划失败后，他选择了自杀。在获准进入天堂之前，比利被召唤到人间去做一件好事赎罪。比利接受了要求，并尽最大努力去表达自己对妻子朱莉和女儿露伊絲的爱，尽管不能现身，但这份爱，朱莉母女仍能感受得到。最终，比利看到亲人们重拾对生活的信心，十分欣慰，而他也勇敢地步入天堂之门，等待最终的审判。

《旋转木马》是一部非常完美的音乐剧，值得一看。其成功不仅在于绝佳的舞台效果，而且在于涌现出包括If I Loved You、 June Is Bustin Out All Over和Youll Never Walk Alone在内的诸多名曲，其中，Youll Never Walk Alone则成了一首最具代表性的歌曲，鼓舞着苦难中挣扎的人们。与此同时，剧中穿插了好几段非常出色的舞蹈，尤其以号笛舞和第二幕的芭蕾最精彩。这部音乐剧让我们懂得了什么是爱，如何表达爱，使我们意识到可贵的感情无处不在。正如《时代周刊》所言，《旋转木马》毫无疑问是20世纪最佳音乐剧！