美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Falsettos' Still Resonates In Changed Social Landscape

'Falsettos' Still Resonates In Changed Social Landscape 

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Long before there was "Transparent²" or "Modern Family," there was "Falsettos," a frank, funny musical about a Jewish New Yorker who leaves his wife and son for a man. This causes big reverberations in his family. The show, parts of which are 35 years old, is getting a revival³ on Broadway. Jeff Lunden has this report on how well it's held up, but first a note - you'll hear slang from the '80s which some consider offensive today.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FOUR JEWS IN A ROOM BITCHING")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As characters, singing) Four Jews in a room bitching - four Jews in a room plot a crime. I'm bitching.

JEFF LUNDEN, BYLINE⁴: The first act of "Falsettos" premiered in a tiny theater off Broadway in 1981. Former New York Times drama critic Frank Rich says he was bowled over by how the show captured a neurotic⁵ New York energy.

FRANK RICH: Just to be hit by this piece was astounding⁶.

LUNDEN: With the score by William Finn and directed and co-authored by James Lapine, it was a quirky examination of the intersection⁷ of gay and Jewish life on New York's Upper West Side. Nine years later, the same team returned with another one-act, "Falsettoland." In this one, the same characters confronted the AIDS crisis.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOMETHING BAD IS HAPPENING")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #1: (As Charlotte, singing) Something bad is happening. Something very bad is happening. Something stinks⁸ - something immoral⁹. Something so bad that words have lost their meaning.

RICH: The political context, of course, was fraught¹⁰ because it was still perhaps something of a dicey and alarming subject for a lot of Americans.

LUNDEN: Director James Lapine.

JAMES LAPINE: And these people, who might have been immature¹¹ and carefree at one point, now how to deal with the grimmest of realities.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FALSETTOLAND/ABOUT TIME")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Marvin, singing) It's about time to grow up, don't you think? It's about time to grow up and face the music. It's about time.

LUNDEN: In 1992, the two one-act shows were combined into a single show, "Falsettos." It moved to Broadway and Finn and Lapine won Tony Awards. Now they're teaming up again for the revival. But 24 years later in a world of marriage equality and when HIV is no longer a death sentence, will the show feel quaint¹²?

WILLIAM FINN: I was petrified¹³.

LUNDEN: That's writer William Finn. He says "Falsettos" has been performed all over the world, but this is its first Broadway revival.

FINN: You know, people were saying, aren't you excited the show is being revived? And I was really nauseated¹⁴. I've seen it one time in the past five years. And I thought it was all right, but I didn't know that other people would.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MY FATHER'S A HOMO")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Jason, singing) My father's a homo. My mother was not thrilled at all.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Jason, singing) Father - homo. What about chromosomes¹⁵? Do they carry? Will they carry? Who's the homo now?

LUNDEN: To give a sense of how far popular culture has moved, director James Lapine says the young actor who plays Jason, the boy who's preparing for his bar mitzvah, had to be given a history lesson.

LAPINE: The guys in the cast were explaining to the boy what gay life was like - that - you know, he's growing up with there being no stigma¹⁶ against being gay. This is a very different time. And to explain to him, as his character, that would be a very awkward thing to have his father become gay.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TIGHT-KNIT FAMILY")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Marvin, singing) But I want a tight-knit my family. I want a group that harmonizes. I want my wife and kid and friend to pretend that time will mend our pain.

LUNDEN: And Frank Rich says for generations who didn't live through the AIDS crisis, bringing "Falsettos" back isn't quaint at all. It's an important reminder¹⁷ of a devastating¹⁸ time.

RICH: It's probably a good thing, among its aesthetic¹⁹ virtues²⁰, "Falsettos" will remind people of a bit of history that seems now to be vanishing, as so much does in America, to amnesia²¹.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #2: (As Cordelia, singing) We don't know what time will bring.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As Whizzer, singing) I have a clue.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Marvin) (Singing) I have, too.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As Cordelia, Whizzer, and Marvin) Let's look like we haven't and each say nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As Whizzer, singing) Sky.

LUNDEN: Director James Lapine says as long as there are shadows hanging over us, "Falsettos" will always be relevant. It opens tonight on Broadway. For NPR News, I'm Jeff Lunden in New York.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As Cordelia, Whizzer, Marvin, and Charlotte) (Singing) What a group we four are - four unlikely lovers. And we vow²² that we will buy the farm, arm in arm. Four unlikely lovers...

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

3 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

4 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。

5 neurotic   

adj.神经病的，神经过敏的；n.神经过敏者，神经病患者

参考例句：

• Nothing is more distracting than a neurotic boss. 没有什么比神经过敏的老板更恼人的了。
• There are also unpleasant brain effects such as anxiety and neurotic behaviour.也会对大脑产生不良影响，如焦虑和神经质的行为。

6 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

8 stinks   

v.散发出恶臭( stink的第三人称单数 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透

参考例句：

• The whole scheme stinks to high heaven—don't get involved in it. 整件事十分卑鄙龌龊——可别陷了进去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soup stinks of garlic. 这汤有大蒜气味。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

10 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

11 immature   

adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的

参考例句：

• Tony seemed very shallow and immature.托尼看起来好像很肤浅，不夠成熟。
• The birds were in immature plumage.这些鸟儿羽翅未全。

12 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

13 petrified   

adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• I'm petrified of snakes. 我特别怕蛇。
• The poor child was petrified with fear. 这可怜的孩子被吓呆了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 nauseated   

adj.作呕的，厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I was nauseated by the violence in the movie. 影片中的暴力场面让我感到恶心。
• But I have chewed it all well and I am not nauseated. 然而我把它全细细咀嚼后吃下去了，没有恶心作呕。 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海

15 chromosomes   

n.染色体( chromosome的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chromosomes also determine the sex of animals. 染色体也决定动物的性别。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Each of four chromosomes divide longitudinally. 四种染色体的每一种都沿着纵向分裂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

17 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

18 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

19 aesthetic   

adj.美学的，审美的，有美感

参考例句：

• My aesthetic standards are quite different from his.我的审美标准与他的大不相同。
• The professor advanced a new aesthetic theory.那位教授提出了新的美学理论。

20 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

21 amnesia   

n.健忘症，健忘

参考例句：

• People suffering from amnesia don't forget their general knowledge of objects.患健忘症的人不会忘记关于物体的一些基本知识。
• Chinese medicine experts developed a way to treat amnesia using marine materials.中国医学专家研制出用海洋物质治疗遗忘症的方法。

22 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。