Secrete of happiness: Wednesday at 4 pm
Daddy Long Legs
2022.6.15 on BroadwayHD for the first time, and countless times afterwards
*** 有雷慎入 ***
是個意想不到的溫馨感人小品！忘記是從什麼時候開始訂BroadwayHD的。記得一直有看到《長腿叔叔》這部劇在上面，但這個劇名對我來說相當陌生。我就先把時間拿去看其他我比較有聽過的秀。直到後來看了機智醫生生活(也沒有第一時間看)，才忽然驚覺為什麼劇裡的長腿叔叔計畫，跟這部劇的劇名很像。結果一查發現原來是一樣的典故。都是源自於《長腿叔叔》這本1912年出版的小說。對小說很有興趣的話，可以聽聽下面這個一刀未剪的說書節目。一刀未剪的初衷跟這邊要分享的秘密完全吻合😲。小說似乎當時引起了一些爭議。但聽起來音樂劇應該被《悲慘世界》音樂劇導演John Caird改編得很好！小說的爭議我覺得都在音樂劇裡有得到適當的處理。2015年錄製的這個外百老匯版本，不只故事和音樂搭配得很好，舞台設計還有道具和服裝也都藏了很多巧思。而且兩個演員居然是現實生活中的夫妻！很值得看！
偶爾會想起 EP57 - 長腿叔叔
《長腿叔叔》的音樂劇和小說一樣，都是在說主人公Jerusha Abbott，John Grier Home孤兒院最年長的女孩的故事。因為展現了文學上的才華，被孤兒院的一個理事看出了潛力，從而決定把她送去上大學。這是個Jerusha想也沒有想過的大禮，也是這個理事難得送女孩去上大學的特例。理事通常都只送男孩上大學，因為理事覺得上過大學的女孩基本上都會嫁給不值得的男人，然後白白浪費受到的教育🤣。這個自稱John Smith的理事還特地寫了封信給Jerusha說明了他計畫裡的九個要點：
送Ms. Abbott去上大學。
Ms. Abbott應該成為一個作家。
學費和住宿費會直接付給學校。
Ms. Abbott一個月會有$35的零用錢。
Ms. Abbott要每個月寫一封信給Mr. Smith。信裡一定不能說謝謝。
Mr. Smith會保持匿名。
Ms. Abbott的信裡要寫學習進度還有生活瑣事。像是寫信給家人一樣。
信是為了培養Ms. Abbott的文學素養。
Mr. Smith不會回她的信，甚至不會讀她的信。
雖然要Jerusha成為作家這一點有點霸道，但也沒什麼不好的。在Jerusha寫給理事的第一封信裡，主題是該怎麼稱呼這個理事。而因為Jerusha在理事離開孤兒院的時候，看到了他高高的背影，還有車燈在牆上的造成的影子，很像長腿叔叔這種蜘蛛，所以就決定稱呼理事為長腿叔叔了。而Jerusha也誤以為理事是個老爺爺，但是其實理事是個年輕的高富帥。雖然理事從一開始就知道有這個誤會，基於他的9個要點，他並沒有回信澄清。
Jerusha豐富有趣的信，不只記錄著她怎麼開箱這個對她完全陌生的世界，也漸漸打開了理事塵封很久的心❤️。Jerusha冬天生病在醫務室待到第六天的時候，寫了一封信指控理事根本不在乎她，送她上大學只是想要體驗當慈善家的虛榮。原本對自己的計劃很有信心的理事，也受不了這樣的指控，派人送了一束花給Jerusha，就此打破自己不回覆的原則。而理事也發現他不知道怎麼寫信解釋自己其實不是個老爺爺，卻又止不住自己想要回覆Jerusha的渴望，所以就以他本人Jervis Pendleton的身分去學校，假裝是去拜訪自己的姪女Julia（剛好也是Jerusha的室友），創造一個跟Jerusha不期而遇的假象。這邊是這段關係另一個不平等的開始。因為Jerusha認識Jervis之後，就在給長腿叔叔的信裡寫到了跟Jervis的相處。看到這邊大家應該都會覺得Jervis這樣太沒有道德。這應該也是小說的爭議點之一。但我覺得Jervis情不自禁以愛出發有點美麗（愛情就是這麼盲目？）。雖然之後Jervis由愛產生的嫉妒，讓他以Jevis和長腿叔叔的雙重身分做出了一些荒唐的行為，但幸好Jerusha的聰明才智讓她能在不知情的情況下突破重圍，讓Jervis/長腿叔叔乖乖被馴服，恢復理智。不過也因為這樣，Jerusha和Jervis兩人的感情進展也只能原地踏步，直到Jerusha大學畢業為止兩人都還是相敬如賓。之後揭露長腿叔叔身分的千迴萬轉，這邊就不暴雷了。只能說長腿叔叔對於慈善這件事有了深刻的體悟，發現做慈善就是個七傷拳：慈善建立了一道稱為感激的牆，讓雙方都無法跨越。Jervis也因為這道牆沒有辦法跟Jerusha表白。所以雖然Jervis的行為有道德疑慮，他有認真反省了，請大家鞭他小力一點。
這部劇的一大驚喜，就是在第一年的暑假開始之前，Jerusha本來被孤兒院要求回去打工。Jerusha跟長腿叔叔求救之後，長腿叔叔開始透過祕書(依舊是Jervis創造出來的身分)給實際上的指示，建議Jerusha去一個農場打工換宿。經過一整天的烏煙瘴氣，Jerusha回到房間的時候，在書桌上發現了一隻真的有八隻腳的長腿叔叔蜘蛛，突然對人生有了體悟，於是就跟大家分享了幸福的秘密—現在這裡。Paul Gordon的音樂和歌詞，輕輕地流動，像是在提醒我們生活可以有的樣子。有機會的話，就去現場看一場音樂劇練習活在當下吧！或是先用兩分鐘半的時間聽聽幸福的秘密提醒自己生活很美好❤️！
The Secret of Happiness
I've discovered 我發現了
The secret of happiness is 幸福的秘密是
Learning how to glide 學著怎麼滑行
I've discovered 我發現了
The secret of happiness is 幸福的秘密是
Just enjoy the ride 就好好享受旅程
Don't let the journey be tainted by pride 別讓自尊心玷汙了旅程
And I've discovered 而我發現了
The secret of happiness is 幸福的秘密是
Not to mourn the past 不要為過去哀悼
I've discovered 我發現了
The secret of happiness is 幸福的秘密是
Not to run too fast 不要跑太快
You can still beat them 你還是可以打敗他們
By coming in last 'cause 就算最後一名，因為
The secret, the secret of happiness is 秘密，幸福的秘密是
I've discovered 我發現了
The secret of happiness is 幸福的秘密是
Not to be afraid 不再害怕
I've discovered 我發現了
The secret of happiness is 幸福的秘密是
All illusions fade 幻象總會褪去
Don't fear the future 別害怕未來
You'll just be delayed 'cause 你只會被耽誤，因為
The secret, the secret of happiness is 秘密，幸福的秘密是
Living in the now 活在當下
Living in the time it takes to blink 活在那眨眼的瞬間
I think, is how 我覺得，是如何
We're meant to be living 是我們該如何生活
I've discovered 我發現了
The secret of happiness is 幸福的秘密是
Following my will 跟著我的心意
I've discovered 我發現了
The secret of happiness is 幸福的秘密是
That we can run that hill 我們可以越過那個山丘
Happiness comes when we learn to be still 幸福會在我們學會靜下來的時候跟著來
And the secret, the secret of happiness is 而秘密，幸福的秘密是
The secret of happiness is clear 幸福的秘密很清楚
The secret of happiness is near 幸福的秘密很靠近
The secret of happiness is here 幸福的秘密就在這裡
*** Spoiler Alert ***
An unexpectedly sweet and heartwarming work! I can't quite recall when I started subscribing to BroadwayHD, but I do recall seeing the title on the platform from the beginning. As the title felt very foreign to me at the time, I went to the more familiar titles first. Until one day I realized that in the Korean TV series Hospital Playlist, there was a project in the plot bearing a very similar name. It turned out to be the same reference: Daddy Long Legs, a novel published in 1912. If you know mandarin and are interested in the novel, the podcast below has more details about the novel. The no-edit approach of the podcast perfectly matches the secret that will be shared later in this post😲. The novel seemed to have stirred up some controversies at the time, but it sounded like the musical version had adapted the story very well by John Caird (who directed the award-winning Les Misérables). The controversies in the novel seemed to have been resolved properly. The filmed 2015 Off-Broadway production has not only a greatly woven book and score, but also set and costume designs that have great ingenuity. The actors are even married in real life! Definitely worth your time!
偶爾會想起 EP57 - 長腿叔叔
Like the novel, the Daddy Long Legs musical tells the story of Jerusha Abbott, the oldest orphan in the John Grier Home. Because she showed talents in literary arts, one of the Trustees of the orphanage saw her potential and decided to send her to college. This is not only an unexpected gift for Jerusha. It is also a special case for the Trustee as he usually sends only boys to college. Girls tend to marry unworthy men first thing after they graduate from college, thereby wasting the education on them🤣. This Trustee called himself Mr. John Smith and sent a letter detailing his 9-point plan:
Ms. Abbott should go to college.
Ms. Abbott should educate herself to become a writer.
The tuition and board will be paid directly to the school.
Ms. Abbott will receive a monthly allowance of $35.
Ms. Abbott will write a letter to Mr. Smith every month. Thanks must never be mentioned in the letters.
Mr. Smith prefers to remain unknown.
Ms. Abbott's letters will include the progress of her studies and details of her daily life. Like how she would write to her family if she had one.
The letters are to foster her facility in literary expression.
Mr. Smith will not reply to her letters, nor take the slightest notice.
Even though it seems a little bossy to ask Jerusha to become a writer, it is not a bad thing anyways. In her first letter to the Trustee, the topic was about how she would call the Trustee. Since Jerusha only saw the back of the Trustee as he was leaving the orphanage, and the headlights cast a long, tall shadow of his on the walls, which looked spidery like daddy long legs, she decided to call the Trustee just that. Jerusha also mistook the Trustee as a crusty old man, but the truth was that the Trustee was not old at all. Even though he was aware of the misunderstanding from the beginning, he stuck to his 9-point plan and did not reply to correct that.
The amusing and lively letters from Jerusha not only recorded how she unlocked the world that was completely foreign to her, they also slowly opened up the long-locked heart of the Trustee❤️. On her 6th day in the infirmary due to an illness in winter, Jerusha wrote a letter to the Trustee accusing him of not caring about her at all, and sending her to college being a way to feel a sense of charity. The Trustee, who was originally confident in his plan, could not bear the accusation and sent a flower bouquet to Jerusha, breaking the rules he had set. The Trustee found that he didn't know how to explain that he was not an old man, but he could not stop his thought of responding. The solution he came up with, was to go to the college as himself, Jervis Pendleton, to visit his niece Julia, who happened to be one of Jerusha's roommates, creating an illusion of chance encounter. This is the beginning of another disparity in this relationship. After Jerusha met Jervis, she started to mention their interactions in the letters to Daddy Long Legs. I am sure everyone is raising their eyebrow for Jervis's ethical standards at this point, and this should be one of the controversies of the novel. Nonetheless, it kind feels a bit beautiful to me that Jervis was acting out of love unknowingly (love is blind, right?). Although later on, the jealousy that stemmed out of love made Jervis use his double identity to do some ridiculous things, luckily Jerusha was able to outwit Jervis, serve him some humble pie, and help bring his marbles back. However, it was also because of that, their relationship was going nowhere and they kept a friendly distance. The path to the identity reveal was full of twists and turns, and I better spare the spoilers here. All I want to say is that Daddy Long Legs had a deep realization of what charity means: Charity builds a wall of gratitude that either side can climb. Jervis's heart for Jerusha is also blocked out by this wall. So while Jervis's behaviors were ethically questionable, he did suffer and reflect deeply. Let's cut him some slack, shall we?
One of the big surprises in this show for me happened at the end of Jerusha's freshman year. She was originally asked to return to the orphanage to work there during the summer. After she reached out to Daddy Long Legs for help, Daddy Long Legs started to communicate through his secretary (still Jervis, just another made-up identity), and instructed Jerusha to spend the summer at a farm he knew. After an unpleasantly eventful day, Jerusha went back to her room to find an actual eight-legged daddy long legs on her desk. She suddenly had an epiphany and shared The Secret of Happiness—here and now. Paul Gordon's music and lyrics flowed gently, like reminding us what life can be. If you get a chance, go see a live musical and live in the moment! Or maybe first try spending 2.5 minutes on listening to The Secret of Happiness to remind yourself that life is beautiful❤️!
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