美国国家公共电台 NPR There's No Easy Answer For Why 'The Great Comet' Is Closing

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Some people hoped that the show "Natasha, Pierre And The Great Comet Of 1812" would be the next Hamilton, a musical that invigorates Broadway, attracts young, diverse audiences and employs a multiracial cast. Instead it's closing, in part because of a controversy¹ over casting and race. NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports.

ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE²: "The Great Comet" is based on the Russian novel "War And Peace."

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character, speaking Russian).

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS #1: (As characters, singing) And this is all in your program. You are at the opera. Going to have to study up a little bit if you want to keep with the plot.

BLAIR: It received rave³ reviews and 12 Tony nominations⁴, including one for recording⁵ star Josh Groban...

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812")

JOSH GROBAN: (As Pierre Bezukhov) There's a war going on out there somewhere and Andrey isn't here.

BLAIR: ...And for the show's female lead, Denee Benton.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812")

DENEE BENTON: (As Natasha Rostova) Andrey, where are you? I want him now, at once, to embrace him and cling to him. No one can understand.

BLAIR: Benton is African-American. Something else the show was praised for - a multiracial cast. Nearly half of the actors in "The Great Comet" are nonwhite. The backlash started when Josh Groban ended his run playing the drunk and depressed⁶ Pierre.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS #2: (As characters, singing) What about Pierre? Dear, bewildered and awkward Pierre?

BLAIR: Josh Groban is a big star. He sold a lot of tickets. On average, the show made about a million dollars a week. But as often happens on Broadway, he never planned to play the part forever. His replacement⁷ was Okieriete Onaodowan, an African-American actor from the original cast of "Hamilton." When I interviewed Onaodowan in May, he said he was thrilled to join the show.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

OKIERIETE ONAODOWAN: It's important to see yourself represented. And this is such a diverse cast. And the kinds of people - even the voices, all the voices, are completely different.

BLAIR: Ticket sales dropped during Onaodowan's run as Pierre. To boost the box office, the show's producers invited Mandy Patinkin to take the part. The Tony- and Emmy-winning actor had seen "The Great Comet" both on and off Broadway. He told NBC's "The Today Show" he was a fan.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE TODAY SHOW")

MANDY PATINKIN: And just being surrounded by this music and all of these wonderful, gifted young people and the energy of it...

BLAIR: But the decision to replace a black actor with a white one led to a Twitter storm. The website Broadway Black wrote that Onaodowan's abrupt⁸ replacement raises questions about how black actors are valued and supported within Broadway. Broadway Black editor Andrew Shade says it was disrespectful to Onaodowan and all too common.

ANDREW SHADE: People of color in the community don't want to get the short end of the stick, or they don't want to get the crumbs⁹. And that's what it sort of feels like at the moment.

BLAIR: Tony-winning actress Cynthia Erivo called the decision distasteful and uncouth¹⁰. Responding to the criticism, Patinkin canceled his appearance. Then there was a backlash to the backlash. "Great Comet" fans and cast members took to social media to defend the show. In an open letter, cast member Azudi Onyejekwe wrote that while mistakes were made, he found the show's white creators to have a, quote, "thorough, nuanced, pragmatic approach to diversity." Diep Tran covered the controversy for American Theatre magazine.

DIEP TRAN: The fans of the show rightfully pointed¹¹ out this show is the most diverse on Broadway. So why are - why are you making it a target?

BLAIR: Tran says in the end, "The Great Comet" both proved and disproved some of the misconceptions about what is commercially viable¹² on Broadway.

TRAN: There is still that bias¹³ that only white voices can make money. That show is very diverse. But at the same time, that show also had a white lead.

BLAIR: Josh Groban - a very hard act to follow. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS #3: (As characters, singing) Hey, hey, ho, Balaga. Hey, hey, Balaga, the famous troika driver. Hey, Balaga. Ho, Balaga. Hey, hey, hey, Balaga. Hey, hey, Balaga, the famous troika driver.

PAUL PINTO: (As Balaga, singing) Who's that madman flying...

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

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 rave   

vi.胡言乱语；热衷谈论；n.热情赞扬

参考例句：

• The drunkard began to rave again.这酒鬼又开始胡言乱语了。
• Now I understand why readers rave about this book.我现明白读者为何对这本书赞不绝口了。

4 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

7 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

8 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

9 crumbs   

int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式

参考例句：

• She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater. 她站起身掸掉了毛衣上的面包屑。
• Oh crumbs! Is that the time? 啊，天哪！都这会儿啦？

10 uncouth   

adj.无教养的，粗鲁的

参考例句：

• She may embarrass you with her uncouth behavior.她的粗野行为可能会让你尴尬。
• His nephew is an uncouth young man.他的侄子是一个粗野的年轻人。

11 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

12 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

13 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。