767 Return to the original work
“Sponsor? "In John's words, Renly keenly captured this keyword. Out of curiosity and confusion, the question blurted out involuntarily..
A wry smile appeared on John's face, "Yes, it is not easy to find a foundation willing to invest in new projects. However, there are still some art lovers who are willing to invest." John spat out softly. He said, “The only thing I hope is that they know how to respect art and not interfere in the creative process at will..”
Professionals are professionals, whether they are laymen or senior enthusiasts, they are never professionals. Any form of gesticulation may bring disaster. This is just like a football match. Fanatic fans always point fingers and tell the club what to do. How to arrange troops and how to introduce new reinforcements, however, all these are just words on paper and flashy. The same is true for artistic creation..
A moment of sighing passed by. John raised his head and looked at Renly, "Andre Hamilton, have you heard of this name? He is willing to invest and sponsor in his own name. This is really rare..”
An unexpected but reasonable answer. John Codd is well-known in the West End of London, and Andre knows that Renly is his disciple; but in turn, Renly's family background is rarely known, and Andre His friendship with Renly is even more secretive..
The smile at the corner of his mouth paused for a moment, then raised lightly, "You can talk to him and find out whether he chose to sponsor this project for art or to make money." There was no admission, no denial, but lightness. Bringing up the topic, "If it's the former, then he should give you enough creative freedom; if it's the latter, then choosing the rearranged 'Les Misérables' is not a wise investment.".”
With these two simple sentences, John suddenly became enlightened. He put down the tea cup, clapped his hands vigorously, and his expression became clear, "That's good, let's do it like this!" John adjusted his sitting posture and said enthusiastically, "This time. 'Les Misérables', I want to do some adaptations.”
Renly nodded with a smile, not surprised at the answer..
“However, it is not a departure from the track, but a return to the track." John's words made Renly slightly raise his eyebrows and become more interested, "Now in the London West End version, for commercial considerations, they have shortened the original work. and deletion, the entire story revolves around Jean Valjean, using his personal destiny to reflect the background of the times. It must be admitted that Cameron Mackintosh’s adaptation is very successful, and the classic arias are also exceptionally good, so much so that now the whole world Everyone agrees that 'Les Misérables' is about Jean Valjean.”
Renly nodded in agreement..
John, who was immersed in his thoughts, was encouraged and continued talking endlessly - he was always like this. As a teacher, he was sometimes more excited than his students. That energy and enthusiasm never weakened. " However, we all know that the original work is a story about the times, a magnificent chapter. I hope to put the entire story on the stage in its entirety..”
“Wow." Renly sighed involuntarily. After thinking about it seriously, his eyes showed surprise and surprise, but then he gradually started to get excited..
As John said, Victor Hugo's original work is magnificent and huge. It is a masterpiece about the entire era. It is divided into five parts, the first part, "Fantine"; the second part, " Cosette"; the third part, "Marius"; the fourth part, "Children's Love in the Rue Plumet and the Heroic Blood in the Rue Saint-Denis"; Part Five, "Jean Valjean"”.
In the whole story, Jean Valjean only connects the main line of the whole story, starting with him and ending with him. However, he is not the soul character - because the soul of the world is an era. Victor Hugo famously The deep and serious brush strokes outline all living beings in this era, showing the cruelty of the tide of the times and the inevitability of historical changes..
Jean-Valjean, Fantine, Cosette, Marius, Javert, Enjolras, Thenardier, Eponine... Each character has his own story and chapter, reflecting the fragments of the times. , outlines the picture of the times behind the Parisian people's uprising in the early 19th century. This is an epic and a piece of history..
Victor Hugo created this work. After being inspired by two real events, he collected data for twenty years. After finally starting to write, it took only three years for Hugo to become involved in politics. The whirlpool began his life in exile. This delay lasted for another twelve years; when "Les Misérables" was finally published, sixty-one years had passed since the first moment of inspiration..
It can be said that, as the title of the book says, "Les Misérables", this is a masterpiece. Similarly, the character of Jean Valjean also carries all the weight of Hugo's impact on the current situation and destiny of France at that time..
Cameron Mackintosh's adaptation of the musical "Les Misérables" successfully distilled the story of Jean Valjean, focusing the entire story on this one character, reflecting the helplessness of the times and the sadness of fate. There is no doubt that Cameron's changes were successful. They weakened the attributes of the torrent of the times, but increased the helplessness of the reincarnation of fate. On the basis of literary artistry, he injected entertainment that adapted to the market, and ultimately achieved great success..
Despite this, Cameron's version of "Les Misérables" is still a full three hours long. Therefore, when Tom Hooper adapted it, he had to reduce the length of the story. At the same time, he had to adapt to the characteristics of the movie and add some scenes. Scheduling and character close-ups, under the control of limited time, further deleted a large amount of content, resulting in the story skeleton being further reduced, losing the grandeur of the original work, and also losing the profoundness of the stage version..
Now, John said that he wanted to restore the majestic momentum of the original work? This... is so audacious! frenzied！
“Five parts? "Renly asked..
John caught the twinkling light in Renly's eyes, excitement and anticipation, which made John feel very happy. He nodded in affirmation, "Five parts, adapted into five chapters. The script has been created, Mackintosh version We have also obtained the adaptation rights. We will re-create and supplement the original music fragments and complete all the arias. In the end, the entire play will be six hours long..”
Six hours? This is literally a marathon! Even on London's West End and Broadway, it's quite a feat！
“Of course, rest time is included." John added with a smile, "Six hours is really too long. We still need to discuss the specific implementation. There are several plans now, one is a same-day performance, which is divided into afternoon performance and The evening show has two parts of three hours each. After the afternoon viewing, have a dinner and continue in the evening; the other is divided into the first day and the second day, which are also two parts..”
“This is a severe challenge for the audience; even more so for the actors." Just thinking about it in his mind, Renly was already surprised..
If the performance is divided into two days, the pressure on the actors is relatively light. After all, there is 24 hours of adjustment time. But for the audience, this is a severe test. Sitting in the theater for three hours for two consecutive days? Unless you are a crazy senior enthusiast, it is indeed too difficult to persist..
If it is a performance on the same day, it means that the actor's spirit must be highly tense. A long performance of six hours in a whole day will test both mental and physical strength. What's more, is such a performance to be performed every day or every other day? stage, how long will the entire tour last? It’s like a long march of thousands of miles..
John did not hide his pride and leaned back gently on the chair. "It is precisely because it is a challenge that it is worth trying." John adjusted his sitting posture and continued, "Our idea is to present the entire The original appearance of the times: religion, society, culture, economy, war, human nature, philosophy, justice, and of course, the most important: revolution! It truly shows the social appearance of France at that time through the eyes of Victor Hugo. The scene you saw is fully presented, creating an epic！”
“Of course, the core and soul character is still Jean Valjean. Although he is the protagonist throughout the era, the supporting roles will be greatly increased, and the overall proportion will be slightly evened out. Jean Valjean is no longer as important as the Mackintosh version. However, he still carries the weight of the entire story. The thinking about fate, philosophy, and faith must ultimately be completed by Jean Valjean." John said the exciting part and couldn't help but start dancing..
Renly could feel John's excitement, because even if he, as an audience, listened and then pictured it in his mind, the magnificent blueprint had already made his blood boil. "Starting from Jean Valjean, to Jean Valjean ends. Just like Victor Hugo's original work.”
“Yes! "John nodded heavily, "In order to complete this drama, we need to consider many things. First of all, actors, excellent actors, every role is extremely important, and even the smallest supporting role may have a separate singing section. You must not be careless; secondly, physical strength, strong physical strength, and a six-hour performance, no matter what form it is presented in, are absolutely severe challenges for actors. We may need to prepare four sets of casts in case of emergencies, but The problem is here……”
At this point, John paused with a wry smile and did not continue. He picked up the tea cup and took a sip. His helpless expression was enough to explain something..
Funding. In the current market downturn in London's West End or Broadway, production funds have been greatly reduced. Now they are less than two-thirds of the peak period, or even less. Generally speaking, a play has three sets of actors. The lineup, the first and second sets are rotated to ensure the condition of the actors; the third set is a substitute to prevent the actors from being unable to perform due to illness or accident. However, the more actors you have, the higher the cost will be..
Four casts? This is almost impossible in the current market environment.
In addition to the actors' remuneration, the expenditure during the rehearsal stage is also a big problem. A six-hour play requires a lot of rehearsals, and each lineup is rehearsed with live ammunition. The manpower, material resources, and energy consumed are by no means easy. things, not to mention that the rehearsal time is bound to be long..
Difficulties！
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