One Minute World Arts- Only Gold: New Off-Broadway Musical with Amazing Choreography

Only Gold, a new off-Broadway musical, officially opened on November 7, 2022 at New York’s MCC Theater after its previews. The musical, with a title inspired by poet laureate Tennyson’s famous line “love is the only gold”, is a piece of work that accentuates a narrative highlighted by the skillful combination of music and dance. The songs and music of Only Gold are written by the renowned British singer-songwriter Kate Nash, and its dance numbers are choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler, the distinguished choreographer who won a well-deserved Tony Award for his work in Hamilton. The show delivers vivid feelings contained in the music through amazing, expressive movements, and thus creates audio-visual effects that are wonderful and splendid.

 

However, theater critics are not all that enthusiastic about the show. Most of them recognize the success of its choreography, but dislike its storyline, considering it to be both cliché-ridden and worn out. Only Gold depicts the story of a princess, a queen, and a clockmaker’s wife in 1928 Paris, who desire to break away from tradition while the men in their lives pursue the dreams of their youth. Such a story, in the critics’ eyes, does not generate anything new, and therefore fails to invite positive responses to its lyrics and spoken lines. Even so, fans still regard this dance-driven musical as an exciting new production, looking forward to witnessing how a different narrative style has been adopted to tell the story on stage.

 

《真金唯愛》：以舞為重的全新外百老匯音樂劇

 

全新外百老匯音樂劇《真金唯愛》（Only Gold），近期在紐約MCC劇院（MCC Theater）結束試演後，於11月7日正式演出。《真金唯愛》是一部借重音樂和舞蹈來說故事的作品，劇名沿自英國桂冠詩人丁尼生（Tennyson）的名言：「愛是唯一的金子」（love is the only gold），其樂曲部分由英國知名創作型歌手凱特．娜許（Kate Nash）負責譜寫，而舞蹈編排則是出自曾以《漢彌爾頓》（Hamilton）勇奪東尼獎最佳編舞獎的安迪．布蘭肯勃勒（Andy Blankenbuehler）之手。全劇透過令人驚豔的肢體動作，帶出音樂中真摯細膩的情感，整體視聽效果可謂精彩華麗。

 

儘管如此，這部作品在推出之後卻引起正反兩面的評價，多數劇評家雖然盛讚本劇在舞蹈上的傑出成就，但也嚴詞批判其劇情既老梗又單薄。本劇以1928年的巴黎為背景，內容描述一位公主、一位皇后，以及一位鐘錶師傅的老婆，三人如何掙脫傳統束縛，比照男人奮力追夢、活出自我的故事。然而，在評論者的眼中，這類故事的寓意早已是陳腔濫調，所以認為文本裡的歌詞與對白缺乏新意。話說回來，《真金唯愛》的編導勇於另闢蹊徑，將敘事手法聚焦在舞蹈展演之上，因此還是有不少劇迷對它引頸期待。

 

 

Photo Credit ©Jeenah Moon, Daniel J. Vasquez

Sources: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/07/theater/only-gold-review.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimesarts

https://playbill.com/article/reviews-critics-weigh-in-on-the-world-premiere-of-kate-nashs-only-gold

https://www.thedailybeast.com/only-gold-is-a-musical-missing-its-crown-jewel?ref=scroll