Stark Sands in Journey's End

 
Main chatacters in Journey's End: Trotter (John Ahlin), Raleigh (Stark Sands), Osborne (Boyd Gaines), Stanhope (Hugh Dancy)

托Stark Sands的福，我上個星期把讓他提名Tony Award的Journey's End劇本讀完了，因為實在是太想知道，到底是什麼樣的角色，可以讓SS少爺的Broadway處女作就獲得東尼獎提名。是什麼樣的故事，可以在80年後還深深打動人心。

據說這劇本在英國家譽戶曉，甚至很多中學都會拿來作為學校的文學教材。不過老實說，這劇前幾年在倫敦的West End大賣，連演兩年半，在百老匯的票房卻不好，從2007年2月8日preview到結束最後一場的6月10日為止共140場表演，平均滿座率大概只有3成。就算是所有的劇評都一致叫好，網路上的劇迷還是必須不斷呼籲甚至懇求喜歡看戲的人要趕快去，不然就來不及了。

 
 Joureny's End Cast & Crew on Tony Award

連SS當時自己都透露，製作人告訴他們戲隨時會停演，要他們做好心理準備。很諷刺地，Journey's End得到Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play的那一天，也是Journey's End在百老匯演出的最後一天。所有的演員做完最後一場表演，就換上禮服參加東尼獎頒獎典禮，接著再趕往最後演出兼東尼獎得獎慶功宴。然後隔天一大早，SS少爺就在前往非洲拍攝Generation Kill的飛機上了，一切都發生地很快。

我在自己的部落格上爆雷應該沒關係吧？應該不會有人跟我一樣發神經直接去找劇本來看。（笑）而且拜Wikipedia之賜，有興趣的人wiki資料看一看就知道發生什麼事了。:p

Journey's End的作者是英國劇作家R. C. Sherriff，1928年推出至今已經超過80年，故事內容由R. C. Sherriff參加第一次世界大戰的親身經歷改編。整齣戲三幕只有一個場景，故事橫跨三天 1918/3/18 – 1918/3/21。描寫一群生活在壕溝底部防空洞的英國步兵軍官的故事，而他們所在之地距離德軍只有50碼。

 
Stanhope & Osborne

Stanhope (Hugh Dancy)是這個步兵連的指揮官，21歲，在學校曾經是個受人注目的明星，橄欖球隊隊長，但是他已經參戰3年，從原本的意氣風發，到被戰爭磨到只能每天利用酒精來麻痺自己，借此幫助自己遺忘一切苦痛，繼續執行任務。Osborne (Boyd Gaines)是Stanhope的副手，年紀卻大上很多，曾經是學校老師，也打過英國橄欖球國家隊，參戰對他來說只有一個目的，他不忍看到這些像他學生一樣的年輕人被戰爭摧殘，想盡自己的一份力來幫助他們。他懂得Stanhope的苦，是最好的傾聽者， Stanhope暱稱他Uncle。

 
Osborne & Raleigh 

18歲的菜鳥Raleigh (Stark Sands)剛從學校畢業，夢想著跟Stanhope一起並肩作戰，因為Stanhope是他在學校的偶像，也是他最好的朋友Dennis (first name)，甚至還是他姊姊的未婚夫。天真充滿熱情的Raliegh為了能加入Stanhope的單位，還找了當將軍的叔叔關說，被叔叔痛罵了一頓，但是最後還是加入了Stanhope單位（他很認真以為是自己運氣好，只能說是個單細胞的笨蛋）。第一天報到就遇到Osborne，Raleigh告訴他自己和Stanhope的關係，說已經等不及可以和Stanhope像以前一樣一起努力了。Osborne告訴Raleigh，也許Stanhope已經不再是他印象中的那個Dennis了。

 
Raleigh, Trotter & Osborne

Trotter (John Ahlin)是個天性樂觀的軍官，雖然他也痛恨戰爭，但是他和Stanhope不一樣，他靠吃東西、說笑還有懷念自家的花園來度過一切。Hibbert (Justin Blanchard)則不同，他為了逃避戰爭拼命裝病，甚至讓Stanhope氣到拿槍威脅他，只要他敢走，就一槍斃了他。但是他寧願羞愧地死在Stanhope的槍下，也不願留在前線繼續承受戰爭的折磨。 軍官們住的防空洞裡，還有一位很認真的廚子Mason (Jefferson Mays)，每天都在想辦法在有限的資源中，生出像樣的菜色，讓軍官們的日子有一些可期待的東西。Mason和Trotter的對話，還有Raleigh天真坦率的反應，大概是整齣戲最讓人輕鬆的部份了。

 
Osborne & Raleigh

從Raleigh報到以來，Stanhope一直對他很冷淡，除了覺得倒楣Raleigh怎麼會在他的單位之外，還疑神疑鬼地擔心Raleigh會把他酗酒的一切寫信告訴他未婚妻，奪走他覺得自己唯一有機會恢復正常的一絲絲希望。Stanhope騙Raleigh所有的信件都必須經過他過濾，硬是把Raleigh的信搶走。（這段非常的激烈，超想看到底怎麼演的啊！）但是他卻沒辦法自己看那封信，貼心的Osborne幫他唸了信，但是信裡Raleigh對他除了讚美還是讚美……

He looked tired, but that's becasue he works so frightfully hard, and because of the responsiblity. Then I went on duty in the front line, and a sergeant told me all about Dennis. He said that Dennis is the finest officer in the battalion, and the men simply love him. He hardly ever sleeps in the dugout; he's always up in the front line with the men, cheering them on with jokes, and making them keen about things, like he did the kids at school. I'm awfuly proud to think he's my friend. -- from Raleigh's letter to home

德軍可能發動攻擊的時間確定了，在迎接正式的攻擊之前，長官們希望由Stanhope的單位出動一支突襲隊到敵營中抓得俘虜來取得情資（跟Band of Brothers那集The Last Patrol一樣）。長官挑了由Osborne帶隊控制時間和計畫，年輕有幹勁的Raleigh則負責帶兵行動。雖然Stanhope擔心Raleigh沒有經驗會出事，但是長官之命不可違。Osborne知道這是一項很危險的行動，向Stanhope說了些話，給了一些東西，彷彿在交代後事一般。

 
Raleigh & Osborne

隔天，採取行動前最後幾分鐘，只有Osborne和Raleigh兩個人在防空洞裡，Raleigh急著向Osborne訴說自己興奮的心情，說有多開心被選上執行這項任務，試圖從Osborne身上獲得一些精神上的激勵。但是Osborne卻只是點起他的煙斗，緩緩地說起自己的家鄉，以前打橄欖球的回憶，在鄉間散步的情形……

The kid presses his concern as if Uncle didn't hear him--but with a just look and a pause, Gaines perfectly--benevolent but chillingly--communicates no, this is how the game is played. Death is dealt with by not talking about it. – from the review on The Playgoer

任務結束後，只見Raleigh一句話也沒說，身上沾滿鮮血回到防空洞，Osborne則躺在No Man's Island（英德軍交戰的三不管地帶），回不來了…… （我看到這裡差點哭出來，好喜歡Uncle啊……）


Stanhope

當天晚上，Stanhope、Hibbert和Trotter開心地在防空洞中喝酒慶祝任務成功。Stanhope先前告訴Raleigh晚餐會有香檳和烤雞，要他記得下來吃。盯哨時，Hibbert又提醒他一次，Raleigh回答他想跟阿兵哥們在一起。下哨時，Stanhope因為Raleigh不肯下來吃飯大發雷霆，覺得Raleigh看不起他，而且跟阿兵哥們分著吃硬麵包，不僅有失軍官身分，還搶了原本就糧食短缺的大兵們的晚餐。Raleigh一句話也沒說，很努力想理解為什麼Stanhope總是對他這麼沒耐心，總是突然就大發雷霆。

Raleigh向Stanhope道歉自己逕自到他的單位來，Stanhope逼Raleigh坐下把晚餐吃完，Raleigh: Good God! Don't you understand? How can I sit down and eat that (his voice is nearly breaking) when Osborne's – lying - out – there! Stanhope盛怒之下告訴Raleigh，Osborne是他在這邊最信任的人，他的朋友，唯一了解他想法和苦痛的人，他會不在乎嗎？Raleigh問他，那你怎麼可以跟其他人一起談笑風生，喝酒又抽煙…… Stanhope: To forget, you little fool - to forget! Don't you understand? To forget! You think there's no limit what a man can bear?!

 
Stanhope & Raleigh

德軍最後的攻擊終於來了，Stanhope留在防空洞中指揮全局。Raleigh被砲彈破片擊中脊椎，無法動彈。Stanhope命人把他抬進防空洞，放在Osborne的床上。Raleigh不知道自己傷得這麼重，覺得自己應該儘快回到戰場上。但是他感覺得到這是來到前線後，Stanhope第一次對他這麼溫柔，輕輕地叫喚著他的名字，Jimmy。Stanhope回身為Raleigh拿了一些水和燭光，但是回來時發現，Raleigh已經沒有呼吸了…… 在這同時一名大兵衝下防空洞，告訴Stanhope長官要他趕快上去，Stanhope伸手摸了一下Raleigh的頭髮，轉身走出防空洞。

砲擊的聲音越來越大，數顆砲彈擊中防空洞，造成防空洞倒塌，Raleigh也永遠被埋在防空洞的殘骸中……（End of the Play）


The curtain call of Journey's End

2007年Broadway版謝幕的設計：

The play ends with a battle, the onstage death of a major character, and the exit of Captain Stanhope out into the shelling and machine gun fire. Grindley (director) brings down the curtain in a slow fade as the script seems to call for. But just when you think the play's over and some even begin to applaud, the sound effects of the bombing get louder, and louder, and louder, until the safe old Belasco (Belasco Theater) is shaking. It's a good minute of wordless though noisy darkness in the house, pretty long in stage time. Grindley is basically letting our minds wander to, ahem, whatever the sounds of explosions make us think about. Finally, at the point we're begging for relief, the bombs cross fade into birds chirping. Daylight. The nightmare over? Yes, until the curtain rises on a tableaux of the full cast, in full uniform, frozen like statues. Behind them is a wall of names. Freeze tableau for thirty seconds. Silence. That's the curtain call. No one moves. -- taken from the review on The Playgoer

看到這段描述我可以理解為什麼有人哭到發抖站不起來，沒辦法鼓掌了。導演這樣設計太犯規了，沒有人逃出來啊……（嗚）


Journey's End main cast

其實我是在BroadwayWorld.Com討論區看到幾段評論，才下定決心，就算我看不到表演，Journey's End也沒出DVD，我也要把劇本找出來看，因為實在是寫得太讓人心癢癢了。 很抱歉我沒記下來分別是那些人寫的…Orz

Having said that, the curtain call at "Journey's End" devasted me. Openly sobbed. Could not leave my seat for 15 minutes. It was a combination of the beautiful performances, the juxtaposition of English manners and the brutality of war, and the ultimate waste of war. What an incredible theatre experience.

I read a post before going where they said they wanted to give a standing ovation, but they couldn't move. That's exactly how I felt. I was shaking and crying by the end of the show. What I loved about this show was the acting. It wasn't the typical theater acting that's over the top somewhat. It felt real.

Even after everything, one of the most emotional moments, for me, was during the final curtain call tableau, when they final unfreeze and remove their hats and acknowlege the audience, Stark Sands slowly looked around the house, first across the front row, then up to the back of the orchestra, and gave a small bow to the sailors in the back of the house, saluting the cast.

SS少爺真是個貼心又有禮貌的好小孩...

I was sitting front row center at Journey's End. When Stark Sands came on stage after that first ambush and sat on the cot and just stared for what seemed like forever, he was staring right at me the entire time. I know that with the lighting he probably couldn't see me, but for me it was like I was staring right into his soul and I completely fell apart. I've never cried so much in my life. When the show ended, I just sat there shaking in silence with my mouth wide open and tears streaming down my face. I literally couldn't move. Never has a show moved me so much.

就是剛出完任務回來那一幕，光看劇本就有點受不了了，更何況真人在你面前表演...

Stark Sands portays the wonderous innocence and subsequent loss of, at 11 when 9 would have done just fine.

給少爺的分數破表了...XD 還有人說SS的Raleigh總是那麼坦率天真，他的表情讓人看了就忍不住心疼。

老實說，大概半年前Broadway.Com有一段名字叫Word of Mouth的Journey's End影片評論，最前面有一小段Raleigh剛報到時跟Osborne的對話，可以清楚看到SS少爺和Boyd Gaines講英國腔的樣子，可惜現在影片不見了，早知道當初就想盡辦法截下來。總之因為這樣，我在看劇本時，就可以一直想像SS少爺的Raleigh和Boyd Gaines的Osborne在對話的樣子，很好玩呢！

雖然Journey's End很不賺錢，但是我覺得對SS來說是個轉捩點，第一次實現夢想在百老匯的舞台上表演，他自己也說連續140場的表演讓他有充分的練習，對他後來在GK的演出很有幫助，我想也讓他認真決定要走舞台吧。很多百老匯的劇迷因為這樣認識Stark Sands，還有人說變成fan for life。（笑）BTW，SS在Journey's End試鏡還幹掉Tom Hanks的兒子Colin Hanks喔！XD

He tried out for the role of a World War I British soldier in the Broadway revival of Journey's End. "I was the guy who auditioned right after Stark Sands [who was cast]. Stark's a very, very good guy. I met him doing '11:14,' my first foray into the independent [film] world. It was great fun, but never made it to theatres.

應該是真的很good，Colin Hanks才會用講兩次very吧。:p 原來11:14沒上映，直接變成DVD了…難怪我們都不知道。有看過Band of Brothers的人應該會對Colin Hanks很有印象，他就是The Last Patrol那集那個嫩B軍官，難怪也會想演Journey's End。XD

SS少爺另外一個很厲害的地方是，他聽從Journey's End導演建議，很認真看劇本，作研究，把他唸大學時所有的筆記本都拿出來看，排演的第一天，他已經把自己所有的台詞都背起來了，嚇壞了所有人。他自己的說法則是，我又沒演過百老匯，很擔心會拖累大家，就只能很認真做功課。XD


Stark Sands, Hugh Dancy & Boyd Gaines

SS參加Journey's End另一個收獲就是遇到像Boyd Gaines這樣的良師益友吧，在整個過程中，Boyd Gaines給SS很多建議和鼓勵，有時候是一個眼神，有時候是個微笑，SS說他常常在很不確定的時候，只要看看Boyd Gaines，他就會覺得安心許多，而且Boyd Gaines真的跟SS很親近。小哈也很喜歡Boyd Gaines，他的聲音很穩重好聽，錄了很多有聲書，是目前唯一一位東尼獎四項演員獎（音樂劇男主角/男配角、舞台劇男主角/男配角）都曾經獲得提名的人，而且四個項目拿了三個，非常厲害啊！iTunes上找得到American Theater Wing對他舞台生涯作的訪問，一個多小時，如果有興趣的話，非常值得一聽，也是有提到SS少爺喔。演完戲隔天上飛機飛非洲拍GK，就是Gaines先生爆的料。XD

我最喜歡的兩篇Journey's End劇評：

• For Comrades in Arms, Waiting and Nothingness: The New York Times
• REVIEW: Journey's End: The Playgoer

幾篇和Journey's Ends有關的Stark Sands訪問：

• Broadway.Com
• A Regiment of Actors Falls in, Night After Night: The New York Times -- 這篇Boyd Gaines很好玩，一直吐少爺。XD
• Stark Sands Comes to Journey's End's End With No Regrets: Playbill.Com
• Tony Nominee Q&A with Stark Sands: BroadwayWorld.Com

最後，其實才是寫促成寫這篇的重點，為了這兩段訪問，我忍了兩個多星期，把劇本看完才敢貼這篇。要認真看到最後的人，才看得到這兩段Video喔！XD

Stark Sands @ Journey's End first rehearsal

Taken from Broadway Beat on BroadwayWorld.Com around 05:10

Stark Sands @ Journey's End opening night

Taken from Broadway Beat on BroadwayWorld.Com around 08:30

第一次彩排那段訪問，大概是我看過SS少爺接受過最長影像訪問了吧，說很多也很會說，表達能力非常好。第二段SS訪問前面一點點，可以看到他說一句台詞帶有英國腔。這戲很妙，明明是英國劇本，但是除了Hugh Dancy外，其他全是美國演員，所以大家都得練習說英國腔。看完這兩段訪問感覺得出來，SS真的對Journey's End很有熱情，常常說著說著就忍不住快演起來了，好可愛啊！XD


Journey Boys @ Easter Bonnet Competition

再來一個Bonus，之前提過Journey Boys 2007年有參加每年百老匯的慈善募款表演比賽Easter Bonnet Competition，大家脫了上衣，上場模仿Jersey Boys唱歌，還改了歌詞。歌詞改得很好笑，自嘲Journey's End很可怕的票房，跟大家分享一下。

We are playing to 3% capacity.
We have an intimate relationship
with the audience…11 of us…11 of them.

No cute chicks, and only one real Brit,
Who would want to see our play?

What to Do?

Have Hugh Dancy do a shower scene
Put a puppet on your hand!
Choose our new leads on reality TV.

Riverdancing Feet!
Will put Butts in our Seat!
A show for the whole damn family.

Sell Outs Don’t Flop

PS.吼～寫完這篇超有成就感的啦！
PPS.劇情的部份，不知不覺心又偏了，拍謝！XD