How magical is this stage play? Come and see →
2024-08-27
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
A red vintage car appeared on the stage. As Zheng Yunlong, who played the role of Daiki Murata, walked onto the stage and removed the windshield wiper, the vintage car suddenly split into four people, who beat up Daiki Murata. A bell rang, and the four people reassembled into a sports car. Daiki Murata honked the horn, music started, and then all the actors walked onto the stage and swayed their bodies, as if the performance was not over yet... This unique curtain call scene took place at the Chongqing Shi Guangnan Grand Theater on the evening of August 23.
▲The audience happily waits to enter. Photo provided by Replay Holdings
That night, the stage play "Magic Moment" was performed here. The constantly reversing plot, unexpected transitions, and unique use of props made the audience sigh and laugh, just as the director Li Ren expected: "I want to convey a pure, happy comedy."
"Magic Moment" is adapted from the classic film of the same name by Japan's "national comedy master" Koki Mitani. The whole story is full of coincidences and drama within drama, and revolves around the entanglement between the hotel manager Bingo Noboru and the lover of the underworld boss Tenshio. "Magic Moment" is a professional term in movies, referring to the moment at dusk. It is said that shooting in the short period of time from the sun setting to the horizon to the light completely disappearing can produce a dreamy picture, and the most beautiful moment of the day is the magic moment.
▲The performance scene. Photo provided by Replay Holdings
"The core of comedy is tragedy." This is what many people think of comedy, because behind it are often the pitiful lives of the little people and the oppressed social reality. Therefore, it is difficult for comedy to really make people laugh, but the story concept and structure of "Magic Hour" breaks this tragic core.
At first, with a dream of acting, Murata Daiki was persistent and reckless in his pursuit of a performance opportunity. So when a role as a killer came to him, he took the dangerous role regardless of the hardship, not knowing that it was just a trap. Later, through his gorgeous performance and the help of everyone, he finally won a happy ending. In the seemingly unsolvable tragic situation, Murata Daiki walked step by step towards a truly happy ending. It is quite dramatic but makes people feel that it is reasonable, absurd but warm and gorgeous.
▲ The actors take their bow. Photo courtesy of Replay Holdings
In terms of stage, the play returns to the visual style of traditional perspective scenery, and uses the traditional stage play production method to present all the scenes of the play, which is quite a tribute to the practitioners on and off the stage. The lighting with a strong sense of movie lenses also gives the stage a light and shadow effect at the level of a movie set, especially the key scenes such as gunfights, singing and dancing, and confrontation on the set, which almost make the audience feel as if they have stepped into a film set.
Throughout the performance, the audience laughed one after another, sometimes even drowning out the actors' lines. All these laughs were not meant to please the audience, but to show the characteristics of the characters and advance the plot. "This kind of laughter is not a forced tickling laugh, but a laugh brought by the plot structure and character personality. It is pure and hearty," said audience member Huang Wei after watching the show.
"What if you miss the magic moment? It doesn't matter, just wait until tomorrow. As long as the sun rises normally, there will be a magic moment every day." This is a line from the play, and it also applies to the current situation. From August 24th to 25th, Shi Guangnan Grand Theater will also stage two performances of "Magic Moment". Audiences who want to have a good laugh should not miss it.
