The album was released about a week before the musical, but I only got a copy afterwards. Of course, prior to this, I had already heard “化蝶” and “勞斯.萊斯” (RollsRoyce) and bits of other tracks. But I steered clear of radio interviews and magazine reviews as I prefer to listen to the actual CD to discover things for myself, even if it means having to wait. (I have pretty strong will power in that sense...hee)
The MusicalWatching the show first probably has its advantages. I didn’t know the track-list/songs like the back of my hand so there were more surprises in store as I didn’t know what to expect. The first scene was very 震撼! Ah C sang the piano version of “化蝶” wearing an elegant purple dress and with accompaniment by her brother ‘Goobing’. It was so strong, so dramatic, so melancholic...and the part when she took a step forward to leap into the gapping hole with her long dress trailing behind frantically (it was previously arranged neatly, covering nearly the whole stage when she was singing), did that symbolise the death of “Royce”?
There were two timeframes intertwined cleverly into the flow, so initially I was rather confused about the plot. But it soon became clear that one was the present, the other 20 years ago. And while the title was “梁祝” (Butterfly Lovers), there weren’t anyone called ‘梁山伯’ or ‘祝英台’ in this version.
The Past: 勞斯 (‘Rolls’ played by Endy Chow) and 萊斯 (‘Royce’ played by Hocc) met 20 years ago at university. With a common love for fashion design and having to work together on costumes for their school play (incidently they were doing “梁祝”), the two became good friends, treating each other like brothers but secretly harbouring an admiration for each other. Somehow, Rolls ended up with the school belle and Royce, being ill and knowing that time was running out for her, bravely declared her love for Rolls. But the indecisive Rolls needed three days to think over and then it was too late...
The significance of the butterfly: Rolls and Royce wanted to base the design of the final piece of costume for their ‘梁祝’ play on a butterfly called 琉璃蝶. But this butterfly was so elusive that the only pictures they could find of it were blurred. The only way they could think of was to find the equally elusive flower 紫天香 to attract the 琉璃蝶 so that they could finish their costume for the final ‘化蝶’ scene.
The present: Royce had passed away, and Rolls, unable to remember anything except having to search for 紫天香 in order to attract the 琉璃蝶, remained stuck in a time-rut 20 years ago. It was his search for 紫天香 that brought him to Siu Kei’s shop and led him to meet her boyfriend ah Jo (reincarnation of Royce). Jo, initially finding the whole thing ridiculous, found himself being drawn against his own will closer and closer towards Rolls. Siu Kei tried ways and means but all in vain to keep Jo with her. And the confused Rolls could not accept Royce having changed into a man and only treated Jo as a substitute for Royce at first. Eventually he realised that he loved Jo for who he was but by that time, he was struck by an illness that caused his body functions to deteriorate rapidly (probably related to him being a 40-yr-old stuck with a 20-yr-old face)...Ah C appeared to sing the ending song “化蝶”, this time in a wedding gown-like costume. She was so, so beautiful!!! And the final scene when she turned back to look at the audience on a flower walkway...I could not help but think of Mui-Jeh...
Hocc: Throughout the play, she turns up in various guises to sing the songs from the album. She was in superb form! She could handle sexy songs like “不是吟詩的時候” (Not a time for poetry), rocking songs like “有人跟蹤我” (Someone’s following me), emotionally-charged songs like “做好準備” (Prepared) and “勞斯.萊斯”, and my favourite of all “汽水樽裡的咖啡” (Coffee in a soda bottle). Then there’s her butterfly dance – wonderfully graceful and an absolute delight to watch. And her antics had me in stitches in some of the lighter moments, the most memorable being the ‘headless corpse’ scene. (“Give~ me~ back~ my~ head!”)
Other actors: “Rosemary” and “蝦頭” (Prawn Head) provided generous servings of comedy relief and garnered much applause from the audience. Endy sang better than I'd expected but his acting was a little stiff, mainly restricted to running around and looking lost, though it was a credible performance from someone who had practically no prior acting experience. I enjoyed the light-hearted moments during “十八相送” (18 Send-offs) when Royce forced Rolls to ‘act as the bridge’ so that she could ‘pretend to be the train’! Ah Jo (Joey Leung) was simply brilliant (what else would you expect from an award-winning actor). I love his scenes with Royce, especially during the “Coffee” song and “禁色”. I enjoyed Siu Kei’s (Kate Yeung) performances too even though she didn’t have that many scenes. I think both ah Jo and Siu Kei sang very well, I dare say better than Endy.
The CDHaving watched the musical made me love the songs much more. All the lyrics make perfect sense and whenever I listen to the songs, the scenes would come floating back into my mind.
It’s hard to pick a favourite song but if I had to I'd choose “汽水樽裡的咖啡”. It is my favourite style of rock ballad and just the kind of melody that I like. It starts off quietly enough, with some crackling and distortion that made me wonder if the disc was spoilt! Then the guitars and drums come crashing in...the atmosphere builds up some more...(veegay comes in) and more... I love hocc’s rendition - so melancholic, so desperate, so helpless...Brilliant lyrics (kudos to Wyman!), this time using a lot of metaphors, but conveying the meaning so well. “Who made the mistake of filling a soda bottle with coffee? I think it is a big problem...The strong body of a man, encompassing a woman’s heart. Am I mentally-challenged?...Who is the one in my body? It had been decided since I was two and a half years old. I knew the packaging is wrong but I endured until I met you and then all hell broke loose. Who should my heart belong to? I have almost forgotten. The repression is nearly killing the real me. The coffee may be in a soda bottle, the feelings can't be hidden away...” A controversial topic once again, but no one handles these better than Hocc. She and Wyman make such a perfect combination for he understands her so well that every song he writes for her just has 'hocc’ stamped all over.
Compared to “Coffee...”, “勞斯.萊斯” is a lot more direct. I used to think that when lyrics are too direct or simple, some of the beauty is lost. But it is an art to be able to use simple language to convey a profound message and Wyman scores again! I love the simplicity of the melody, set to an acoustic arrangement, but lest you think it’s too simple, some traditional Chinese instrumentation is added, giving a classical-meets-modern feel, which is essentially what the musical is about too.
I wanted rock songs, and I got them and more! “長不大” (Can’t Grow Up) was sung by Endy in the musical and I love the part when the drums come in. Someone mentioned that having live drums at a musical seems not a very good idea as it tends to cover the voices. But I think it's great! Anyway the actors had powerful enough voices to enable them to be heard over the drumbeats. “有人跟蹤我” is another fast tempo rocking song, yeah! Ah C sings it so well, and yeah, everyone remembers her sexy shiny bra costume for this number! I hope they remember her sleek dance moves too! “不是吟詩的時候” is another sexy number and ah C proves her versatility by delivering a wonderfully sensual performance. There is definitely no genre outside her capabilities!
The sweet songs like “樓台會” and “十八相送” she could handle with ease too, and you can feel her playfulness and happiness in these songs. Lots of people like “做好準備” probably because she sang it with so much emotion. She was preparing herself for rejection from Rolls, trying to maintain a care-free, ‘I’m ok’ front even though it was hurting like hell inside. The version of “小淇” here is only the “lalala” version and there are calls to include the lyrics version sung by Kate Yeung.
“化蝶”...what can I say...after watching her performance at the musical, the song becomes so much more special. The essence of the musical seems to have been captured in the song...And I think the piano version is so powerful; I can just picture her in that purple dress every time I listen to it...Although there were comments that “勞斯.萊斯” and “化蝶” are more ‘K’ in terms of melody compared to her previous works, I beg to differ. Actually, hocc probably didn’t set out purposely to make her songs ‘non-K’ but no matter how 'commercial' a melody may seem, the end result from her tends to be something different from the usual so-called ‘K-songs’. Her insistence on injecting some new elements or heart-felt lyrics probably helped, I don’t really know. And I don't think either “勞斯.萊斯” or “化蝶” are easy songs to sing in KTV, by the way.
The Message:Love has no boundaries, not gender, not time, not race, not religion...But in reality, it’s very difficult to achieve. I mean, consider this: “Would you still love the one you love most if he/she becomes a woman/man?”
This question, amongst other gender-related ones, was posed to hocc’s ‘targets’ for her photobook. Some answered frankly ‘No’; some said ‘Yes’; some gave explanations; some didn't.
Hocc’s answer? She said that “For the time being, I’ll say ‘yes’, but it all depends on the feeling then.” An answer that is more realistic perhaps, which probably also encompasses her current ideas in life and love, that noboby knows for certain what would happen in the future...
In real life, this hypothetical scenario will never come true, but it evokes a bigger question. What if it’s not the gender? What if the special someone becomes very old/young? Becomes very ill? The idealistic answer is of course, nothing should change and love should be forever. But in reality, there are so many other things to consider. Are we really able to ignore others’ gossip, social pressure, family/friends’ concern, etc etc. Are we strong enough to overcome all odds? Ultimately, will you love someone no matter what he/she becomes? Some food for thought...
By the way, among those given in the photobook, my favourite answer to the gender question is still Theresa’s: “The one I love most...of course I would still love!” (A simple reason but so romantic...)
Speaking of her, I need to go find my Theresa soon. Nope, this is a completely unrelated topic. I need a haircut, and the stylist I go to is also called Theresa...haha!
