搖滾音樂劇《The Who’s Tommy》台灣首演報告

Premiering The Who’s Tommy in Taiwan

百老匯之搖滾音樂劇《The Who’s Tommy》(1993)取材自英國搖滾團體「The Who」1969 年所發行專輯《Tommy》。本文是2011 年於台灣製作演出該劇之報告。音樂劇在本地近年成為表演藝術重要趨勢，本文探討此一經典劇目於異地上演時所需考慮之因素。2011 年於台灣製作之版本，主要目的除了忠實呈現該劇精神，希望亦能反映同時期台灣歷史之特殊性以及與原劇背景之相似性，使台灣的本地觀眾能更深入欣賞與了解該劇。因此該製作維持原劇本年代1941-1963，而將地點設定為無具名的台灣城市，此設計使得日據時代末期之歷史風情得以呈現，並能喚起現存最老一代台灣人的記憶。

The Who’s Tommy (1993) is a rock musical adaptation of the 1969 rock opera album Tommy by British band The Who. This document is a report on a 2011 production of The Who’s Tommy in Taiwan. Musical theater is a new genre of performing arts for Taiwan, and this paper discusses various issues to take into account when choosing a standard musical to be performed in a country where English is not the primary language. The initial goal of the production being discussed was to give Taiwan something from western culture that it could call its own. The Tommy story, originally set in London during the time period 1941- 1963, was therefore altered to be set in an unknown city in Taiwan during the same time period. The alteration enabled the story to include forgotten historical events and cultural facts, and issues of interest from Taiwan’s oldest living generations.