美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Broadway community is celebrating another year of pandemic survival

The Broadway community is celebrating another year of pandemic survival

Transcript¹

It's been a year since Broadway started back up again - and there've been a lot of ups and downs. COVID still had the power to shut down shows, but performers and audiences persisted.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

It's been a tumultuous year on Broadway since the reopenings of "Hamilton," "Wicked" and "The Lion King" marked an end to the COVID shutdown. Jeff Lunden reports.

JEFF LUNDEN, BYLINE²: The sold-out audience packed the Richard Rodgers Theatre on September 14, 2021, for "Hamilton's" return to Broadway and gave Lin-Manuel Miranda a standing³ ovation⁴ before the show.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA: Welcome back to the theater.

(CHEERING)

JEFFREY SELLER: That moment was joyous⁵, celebratory, jubilant...

LUNDEN: Jeffrey Seller is lead producer of "Hamilton".

SELLER: ...And a manifestation⁶ of our resilience.

LUNDEN: A few Broadway shows had opened before, but New Yorker theater critic Helen Shaw says the symbolism of three of Broadway's biggest hits reopening when no one knew if audiences would return was hard to miss.

HELEN SHAW: It was more important to them to come back than to make extreme profit because they knew that it would sort of recreate the environment of a functioning Broadway.

LUNDEN: And to a certain degree, audiences did return, even if that meant waiting on long lines to show their vaccination⁷ status and ID and wearing masks inside the theater. Shaw says in addition to the return of the long-running hits...

SHAW: The other story of the programming of the fall was that it was very risky⁸. It was a whole lot of first-time playwrights⁹ on Broadway. It was a whole lot of first-time directors.

LUNDEN: Including many works by Black artists making their Broadway debuts¹⁰. As the fall continued, more and more shows opened and then omicron hit. At a certain point, half the shows on Broadway went on hiatus because there weren't enough people on stage or backstage. Jeffrey Seller says Hamilton was hit hard.

SELLER: Our Broadway company was out for about a week and a half over Christmas.

LUNDEN: Critic Helen Shaw says New Yorkers could jump back on the subway to go home if their show was canceled, but tourists didn't have that option.

SHAW: That's what was really horrible and gruesome about December is it trained tourists to believe that Broadway wasn't a sure bet. And I think we are still in the shadow of that lesson.

LUNDEN: And while a show like "Hamilton" could weather the loss of income, many of the less-established shows were forced to close. As the spring came and COVID receded¹¹, Broadway made a mad dash towards the Tony Awards' eligibility¹² deadline. Sixteen shows opened in April - a lot more than in previous years, says Helen Shaw.

SHAW: It was a really, really wild time. I don't know that we had ever had two shows opening on one day, that you would have one show opening at the matinee and one show opening in the evening.

LUNDEN: As Broadway reaches the first anniversary of its return, there are some changes. While casts and crews are still required to be vaccinated¹³, tested and wear masks backstage, audiences are no longer asked to show proof of vaccination or even wear masks in the theater. And there's a complete slate¹⁴ of new plays, musicals and revivals¹⁵ set to open this fall, says producer Jeffrey Seller.

SELLER: Let's get on with the future. We made it. We're thriving. We're rebuilding. Let's keep going.

LUNDEN: For NPR News, I'm Jeff Lunden in New York.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 ovation   

n.欢呼，热烈欢迎，热烈鼓掌

参考例句：

• The hero received a great ovation from the crowd. 那位英雄受到人群的热烈欢迎。
• The show won a standing ovation. 这场演出赢得全场起立鼓掌。

5 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

6 manifestation   

n.表现形式；表明；现象

参考例句：

• Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。
• What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。

7 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

8 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

9 playwrights   

n.剧作家( playwright的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We're studying dramatic texts by sixteenth century playwrights. 我们正在研究16 世纪戏剧作家的戏剧文本。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hung-chien asked who the playwrights were. 鸿渐问谁写的剧本。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

10 debuts   

演员首次演出( debut的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never really debuts the idea of taking money from his parents any longer. 他从此就再也没有认真起过向父母要钱的念头。
• This young soprano debuts next month at the metropolitan opera. 这位年轻的女高音歌唱家下个月将在纽约大都会歌剧院举行首演。

11 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

12 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

13 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

14 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

15 revivals   

n.复活( revival的名词复数 )；再生；复兴；（老戏多年后）重新上演

参考例句：

• She adored parades, lectures, conventions, camp meetings, church revivals-in fact every kind of dissipation. 她最喜欢什么游行啦、演讲啦、开大会啦、营火会啦、福音布道会啦--实际上各种各样的娱乐。 来自辞典例句
• The history of art is the history of revivals. 艺术的历史就是复兴的历史。 来自互联网