百老匯音樂劇,國內賠錢亞洲火爆

SEOUL, South Korea — The packs of young women arrived 90 minutes early for the evening's show: "Murder Ballad," a rock musical that flopped off Broadway in July and then opened here four months later in an all-Korean production. They wanted time to shoot smartphone video of Seoul's newest theater, built inside a shopping mall, and start scoring autographs: of actors, sure, but lighting operators and makeup artists too.

韓國首爾——一羣年輕女性提前90分鐘就來到了劇院，準備觀看晚間演出——《謀殺謠》(Murder Ballad)。這部搖滾音樂劇於今年7月結束了在外百老匯的演出，由韓國班底製作的版本四個月後在首爾上演。她們想利用這段時間，在商場內的這座首爾最新的劇場拍些智能手機視頻，並向演員、以及燈光師和化妝師索要簽名。

Or anyone, really, working on American musicals, whose head-spinning popularity here has changed the game for New York producers looking to extend the lives of their shows.

其實，任何做美國音樂劇的人，都有人會來要簽名，美國音樂劇在韓國廣受歡迎，這對希望將手中的戲儘可能持續演下去的紐約製作人來說，是天翻地覆的變化。

Seoul has become a boomtown for American musicals, with Korean and Broadway producers tapping into an audience of young women raised on the bombast of Korean pop and the histrionics of television soap operas. Ticket sales to American and European musicals, as well as to a sprinkling of Korean originals, have grown from $9 million in 2000 to an estimated $300 million this year, and a frenzy of licensing deals is underway.

首爾已經成爲美國音樂劇的新興市場，韓國及百老匯的製作人吸引了一批年輕的女性觀衆——在誇張的韓國流行音樂及肥皂劇中長大的觀衆。2000年，美國、歐洲音樂劇，以及少量韓國原創音樂劇的門票銷售額爲900萬美元（約合5465萬元人民幣），而今年的銷售額預計將達到3億美元，此外還有一大批的授權交易。

Proven hits like "Wicked," "Mamma Mia!" and "Grease" have opened here this fall, but so, too, have Broadway failures like "Ghost" and "Bonnie & Clyde," challenging assumptions about taste, tolerance and translation. The quintessential New York story "Guys and Dolls," it turns out, works in Korean, so long as Miss Adelaide is played by an actress nearly 10 years older than her Nathan Detroit, to reflect the trend of older women dating younger men in Seoul.

今年秋季，《魔法壞女巫》(Wicked)、《媽媽咪呀！》(Mamma Mia!)、《油脂》(Grease)等廣受歡迎的音樂劇已經在首爾上演，也有《人鬼情未了》(Ghost)、《邦尼和克萊德》(Bonnie & Clyde)等失敗的百老匯音樂劇，對口味、容忍度及翻譯質量的判斷格外困難。《紅男綠女》(Guys and Dolls)講述的是典型的紐約故事，結果它在韓國收穫了成功，前提是阿德萊德(Adelaide)小姐的扮演者比她的納撒·德特魯特(Nathan Detroit)大10歲左右，反映了首爾男女交往中女方年齡比男方大的潮流。

And even with its short Off Broadway run, the four-character "Murder Ballad" found fans far away.

包含四個角色的《謀殺謠》在外百老匯的演出檔期不長，但在遙遠的國度獲得了大批粉絲。

"I watched the New York production on YouTube and became obsessed," said Lee Joo-young, a 30-year-old researcher, speaking through an interpreter, after a recent performance. "It's so emotional and sexy and thrilling. Americans are so great at making these shows."

“我在YouTube上看到了紐約版的音樂劇，然後便着迷了，”30歲的研究員李舟永（Lee Joo-yong，音譯）最近看完演出後通過翻譯說道。“它非常感人、性感、刺激。美國人真是擅長製作這類演出。”

Audiences in London; Hamburg, Germany; and S?o Paolo, Brazil, are also known for having big appetites for American musicals, but the energy and entrepreneurism in Seoul are startling. With 300 theaters already — about the same number as in New York — the city keeps building to accommodate the crush: A Methodist megachurch just built a Broadway-style house, while another 600-seat theater recently opened among barbecue restaurants. And audiences are dominated by young people, a generational contrast to the graying audiences in the West.

倫敦、德國漢堡，以及巴西聖保羅的觀衆也都因爲喜愛美國音樂劇而聞名，但首爾地區的活力與積極推動的精神令人感到震驚。首爾已經擁有300家劇院——與紐約的劇院數量大致相當，而首爾還在不斷建造劇院，以便適應這個熱潮：一個衛理宗派教會剛剛建設了一座百老匯風格的劇場，而一個能夠容納600名觀衆的劇院最近剛剛在衆多烤肉店中間開門迎客。與觀衆老齡化的西方不同，韓國的觀衆主要是年輕人。

"Seoul has become incredibly important in the lives of many musicals, something none of us would've said or predicted a decade ago," said Judy Craymer, the lead producer of "Mamma Mia!" In 2004, Ms. Craymer joined forces with a Buddhist monk and his producing partner on the first of 12 productions across South Korea, the latest opening here last month.

《媽媽咪呀》的主要製作人朱迪·克雷默(Judy Craymer)說，“首爾正在對很多音樂劇延長演出生命起到關鍵作用，10年前，我們當中沒人會假設或預測到首爾會變得如此重要。”2004年，克雷默與一名佛教僧人及他的製作夥伴合作，在韓國推出了首部音樂劇，他們總共製作了12部音樂劇，最近一部作品於上個月在首爾開演。

"It's become this fantastic flagship for the foreign market, because Koreans travel so much to New York and London, and they care deeply about brands — like Broadway," Ms. Craymer said. "A huge amount of theater's repeat business comes from Korea; they see it on Broadway, then see it at home and so on. And, best of all, it's this huge young audience. The growth potential is enormous."

“韓國已經成爲外國市場的優秀招牌，因爲韓國人經常到紐約及倫敦旅遊，他們非常關心品牌——比如百老匯，”克雷默說。“劇院的很多回頭客都來自韓國；他們在百老匯觀看演出，然後也會在韓國及其他地方觀看。最棒的是這是一大批年輕觀衆。增長潛力非常大。”

The rewards have become significant for American producers. They typically receive 15 percent of the box office gross, as well as licensing and management fees in some cases, revenue that can total millions of dollars and offset losses on Broadway.

演出收益已經成爲美國製作人的重要收入來源。他們通常會獲得15%的票房收入，有時候還會獲得授權及管理費用，總收入能夠達到數百萬美元，可以抵消百老匯的損失。

And they see South Korea as a model for eventually doing business in an even bigger future market, China.

他們把韓國當做一種模型，最終想要在更大的未來市場——中國做生意。

Ask Edward Strong, a partner in Dodger Theatricals, which is bringing another unmistakably American musical, "Jersey Boys," to Seoul for the first time in January as part of an English-language tour.

愛德華·斯特朗(Edward Strong)是道奇戲劇公司(Dodger Theatricals)的合夥人，該公司在今年1月將另一部典型的美國音樂劇——《澤西男孩》(Jersey Boys)首次帶到首爾，屬於一次英語版巡迴演出的其中一站。

"All of Asia is a potential market for 'Jersey Boys,' " he said. "But right now, Seoul is the major market, ever since the economic recession cooled theater activity in Japan. And we want to learn from our experience in Seoul and take that knowledge elsewhere in Asia."

“整個亞洲地區都是《澤西男孩》的潛在市場，”他說。“但目前，也就是自經濟衰退致使日本的劇院演出減少以來，首爾成爲主要市場。我們希望從首爾市場吸取經驗，然後應用到亞洲其他地區。”

The strong business from young women (and plenty of young men too) is generally attributed to the fact that Koreans in their 20s and 30s tend to earn good salaries but live with their parents until marriage. This leaves them money to spend on tickets, which cost roughly the same as in New York.

年輕女性（以及許多年輕男性）帶來了巨大商機，這總的來說是因爲二、三十歲的韓國人往往拿着豐厚的薪水，但結婚前要和父母一起生活。因此，她們可以將錢用於購買演出門票，這裏的票價基本與紐約持平。

Ticket sales began to climb for American and British musicals after the unexpected success of a Korean-language version of "The Phantom of the Opera" in 2001, according to Korean producers. "Phantom" ran for seven months, a relatively long run here; most popular musicals run for a few months, shut down, then return a year or two later. Rotating like this allows fresh celebrities to be added to the casts, which fuels repeat business; stars from popular K-pop bands routinely sell out their performances and can earn as much as $50,000 a night in a musical.

據韓國製作人透露，韓語版《歌劇魅影》(The Phantom of the Opera)在2001年獲得意想不到的成功後，美國及英國音樂劇的門票銷售額開始攀升。《歌劇魅影》上演了七個月，這是相對較長的演出時間；大多數廣受歡迎的音樂劇只演出幾個月就會結束，然後一年或兩年之後開始再度演出。這樣的輪迴演出讓新明星可以加入到演員陣容中，帶來很多回頭客；有韓國流行組合的明星參加的演出，門票經常是銷售一空的，他們參演音樂劇，一晚上能賺到五萬美元。

As in New York, most musicals end up losing money: From 80 to 90 percent do, compared with 75 percent on Broadway. (American producers and artists are generally protected, though, as they make money from licensing fees and royalties, in addition to the box office.) But the risk has not stopped Korean producers from mounting shows in an almost harum-scarum fashion, with a "wild, wild West" mentality, in the words of the Broadway producer James Nederlander Jr. Yet worries about oversaturation loom, even as Korean producers snatch up more rights from their American counterparts.

而在紐約，大多數音樂劇都以虧損收場：百老匯有75%的音樂劇是虧損的，相比之下，其他音樂劇的虧損比例高達80%到90%。（不過，除了票房收入，美國製作人和藝術家通常是有保障的，因爲他們能從版權費和版稅中掙到錢）。然而在這種風險之下，韓國製作人還是在以幾近不管不顧的方式上演劇目，按百老匯製作人小詹姆斯·內德蘭德(James Nederlander Jr.)的話說，這是一種“西部冒險”式的心態。然而，過度飽和的困境已經若隱若現，儘管此時韓國製作人還在從他們的美國同行那裏爭搶更多的授權。

"There is a bubble right now — too many musicals, and people don't know what to see," said Seol Doyun, who mounted "Phantom" in 2001 and is now producing the first Korean-language production of "Wicked," which is selling strongly so far.

在2001年推出《歌劇魅影》的薛道延（Seol Doyun，音譯）說，“泡沫近在眼前——音樂劇太多了，人們不知道該看什麼了。”薛道延目前在製作首部韓語版的《魔法壞女巫》，到目前爲止，它的銷售一直相當強勁。

"The interesting thing is, in Korea most bubbles don't really burst — electronics haven't burst, K-pop hasn't burst — we just grow and grow," Mr. Seol said. "People are losing money in musicals, but enough are making money that everyone still wants to be big in the market."

薛道延說，“有意思的是，在韓國，大多數泡沫不會真的破裂——電子產品泡沫沒破，韓國流行音樂泡沫也沒破——我們的泡沫只是越變越大。有人在音樂劇上賠了錢，可是，還有足夠多的音樂劇在掙錢，每個人都還是想着在市場裏佔一大塊份額。”

To the surprise of some producers here, audiences rarely fuss about the Korean translation of American musicals, no matter how odd they are. In the new production of "Wicked," the Korean translation of the anthemic "Defying Gravity" changes one memorable lyric — "It's time to try defying gravity" — into "Fly high up and get out (be free) of gravity," for the Korean words to keep time with the music, Mr. Seol said.

讓韓國本地一些製作人吃驚的是，對翻譯成韓語的美國音樂劇，不管多麼怪異，觀衆們都很少會表現出不滿。薛道延說，在新版《魔法壞女巫》中，爲了讓韓語歌詞與音樂配合，頌歌《衝破阻力》(Defying Gravity)的韓語翻譯把一句令人難忘的歌詞“是時候嘗試衝破阻力”改成了“展翅高飛，擺脫阻力”。

Musical comedies like "The Producers" and "Spamalot," however, have struggled at the box office here, and "The Lion King" — the biggest moneymaker in Broadway history — was not a Korean hit, possibly because it was marketed as family fare rather than as heart-tugging drama.

然而，類似《製片人》(The Producers)和《火腿騎士》(Spamalot)這樣的音樂喜劇，在韓國的票房卻並不成功，百老匯歷史上最掙錢的音樂劇《獅子王》(The Lion King)，在韓國也沒引起太大轟動，這可能是因爲，它被宣傳爲適合全家人一起看的大戲，而不是牽動人心的戲劇。

"More than the Japanese and Chinese, Koreans are very expressive about their feelings, and they want romance, they want to cry, they want to get very emotionally involved and root for their characters," said Park Yong-ho, a leading producer here.

本地一名主要的製作人樸永鎬（Park Yong-ho，音譯）說，“比起日本人和中國人，韓國人非常樂於表達他們的情感，他們想要浪漫故事、想要哭泣、想要全情地投入到角色中，爲角色加油。”

Some of the young women at "Murder Ballad" said they were unfazed by the musical's sexually graphic themes and outbreak of violence, noting that Korean films and soap operas have such moments. Still, they said, there was a special thrill in seeing the seductions unfolding live. (The show places the audience in a barroom setting, where much of the action takes place.)

觀看《謀殺謠》的一些年輕女性說，這部音樂劇有許多的性愛和暴力場面，但她們並不在意，並指出，韓國電影和肥皂劇也有這樣的片段。不過，她們說，看到誘惑場景在眼前展開，會有一種特別的刺激感。（該劇讓觀衆置身於一個酒吧的場景，許多表演都是在那裏進行的。）

"It was a little difficult to perform, at first, because my character drinks and is very open-minded, and that is not really typical Korean," said Lee Ji-yeon, who plays Sara, a tempestuous New Yorker, in the musical. "I've never been to New York City, so creating a New York character was hard, too. But the audience is on my side, because everyone here is fascinated by American stories."

在劇中扮演情緒化的紐約人薩拉的李芝妍（Lee Ji-yeon，音譯）說，“一開始，表演有點兒難，因爲我扮演的人物愛喝酒，而且思想非常開放，她不太像韓國人。而且我從未去過紐約，所以，塑造一個紐約人是相當困難的。不過，觀衆都站在我這邊，因爲這裏的每個人都爲美國故事所着迷。”