(136) Andrew Lloyd Webber - Gus the theatre cat

貓音樂劇還有一段是我也很喜歡的，那就是 Gus: the theatre cat

大概不會有比 DVD 版更好的 Gus: the theatre cat, 演 Gus 的是已故英國演員 Sir John Mills (22 February 1908 - 23 April 2005)。他在1998年拍這部DVD時，應該已是高齡 90 了。那種滄桑，歷練，不用演，只要站在那邊就是那隻老的劇院貓了。欣賞的時候，要仔細看他的表情喔。由於是他演劇院貓，所以後面情節--他年輕時是一位劇院演員，演的角色是 Growltiger 格羅泰格。這一段年輕時的歌舞就沒辦法由 90 高齡的他來表演，所以在DVD，整段情節就被刪除了。

歌詞裡充滿著過往情懷，正好契合「Momery」，曲調憂鬱中帶點感傷，一點點的歡樂。他的出場，在 Grizabella 之後 再次深化了主題：他們所擁有的只是「過去的幸福」，美麗又珍貴。

有一天，我們都會老去，變成一隻 Gus 或是 Grizabella 了。





Jelly :
Gus is the Cat at the Theatre Door　
葛斯 是劇院門口的貓
His name as I ought to have told you before　
他的名字我早該告訴你
Is really Asparagus, but that's such a fuss　
他的本名是 Aspara gus，但是唸起來很費事
To pronounce that we usually call him just Gus　
所以我們通常只叫他 葛斯

His coat's very shabby, he's thin as a rake　
他衣衫襤褸，瘦如乞丐
And he suffers from palsy that makes his paw shake　
他受中風之苦，足掌顫抖
Yet he was in his youth quite the smartest of cats　
然而在他年輕時，是貓中翹楚
But no longer a terror to mice or to rats　
但如今他對鼠輩已不構成威脅
For he isn't the cat that he was in his prime　
因為他已經不如往昔那樣意氣風發了
Though his name was quite famous, he says, in his time　
他說在那個時代，他的名聲響叮噹
And whenever he joins his friends at their club　
隨時在俱樂部會朋友
Which takes place at the back of the neighbouring pub　
就在附近酒吧的後面
He loves to regale them if someone else pays　
若別人為他付帳，他就會很樂意娛樂大家
With anecdotes drawn from his palmiest days　
訴說著他繁華歲月的奇聞軼事
For he once was a star of the highest degree　
他一度是最閃亮的明星
He has acted with Irving, he's acted with Tree　
他曾與 Irving 和 樹 演過戲
And he likes to relate his success on the halls　
他喜歡把他的成就和劇院扯上關係
Where the gallery once gave him seven catcalls　
藝廊曾經授予他七次貓的歡呼聲
But his grandest creation as he loves to tell　
但他最為津津樂道的偉大創作
Was Firefrorefiddle, the Fiend of the Fell　
是沼澤地之魔 - 費爾佛費多

Gus :
I have played, in my time, every possible part　
想當年，我扮演過各種角色
And I used to know seventy speeches by heart　
我曾經熟記七十篇演講稿
I'd extemporize backchat, I knew how to gag　
我會即席反駁，我知道如何插科打諢
And I knew how to let the cat out of the bag　
我知道如何出其不意
I knew how to act with my back and my tail　
我懂得如何用背部和尾巴演戲
With an hour of rehearsal, I never could fail　
讓我彩排一個小時，我就絕不會出錯
I'd a voice that would soften the hardest of hearts　
我擁有可以軟化鐵石心腸的聲音
Whether I took the lead or in character parts　
不論是主角或配角

I have sat by the bedside of poor Little Nell　
我曾坐在可憐的 小尼爾 床邊
When the curfew was rung then I swung on the bell　
當宵禁鐘聲響起，我就搖鈴
In the pantomime season I never fell flat　
在啞戲季節裡，我從未失敗
And I once understudied Dick Whittington's cat　
我曾經是舞台劇《惠汀頓的貓》的候補演員
But my grandest creation as history will tell　
但我被歷史所傳述的最佳創作
Was Firefrorefiddle, the Fiend of the Fell　
是沼澤地之魔 - 費爾佛費多

Jelly :
Then if someone will give him a toothful of gin　
若有人給他一口琴酒
He will tell how he once played a part in East Lynne　
他就會訴說在《東林恩》一劇的表演情況
At a Shakespeare performance he once walked on pat　
在 莎翁 的名劇裡他也曾經出場過
When some actor suggested the need for a cat　
因為有個演員提議需要一位貓演員上場

Gus :
And I say that these kittens　
我說這些晚輩們哪
They do not get trained as we did in the days when Victoria reigned　
不曾跟我們一樣受過 維多利亞女王 時代的訓練
They never get drilled in a regular troupe　
也從沒在正規的劇團裡磨鍊過
And they think they are smart, just to jump through a hoop　
只是跳過鐵圈，就自以為了不起

Jelly :
And he says as he scratches himself with his claws　
他一邊撓著爪子一邊說

Gus :
Well, the theatre is certainly not what it was　
唉，劇院確實已經不如以往
These modern productions are all very well　
這些現代作品好是好
But there's nothing to equal, from what I hear tell　
但就是不能與我說的相提並論
That moment of mystery when I made history　
當我以 沼澤地之魔 - 費爾佛費 多創下歷史時，那神秘的一刻
As Firefrorefiddle, the Fiend of the Fell

These modern productions are all very well
But there's nothing to equal, from what I hear tell
That moment of mystery when I made history...