VOA常速英语2007年-Stagehands' Strike Dims Broadway's Lights

By Barbara Schoetzau
New York
10 November 2007

The lights dimmed on Broadway Saturday as members of the union representing stagehands went on strike. From VOA's New York Bureau, correspondent Barbara Schoetzau has the story.

Picket¹ lines replaced audiences lining² up for matinees on the most popular day of the week for theater attendance. Most Broadway shows have afternoon and evening performances on Saturday.

The strike is not a surprise. The stagehands union, Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical³ Stage Employees and the League of American Theaters and Producers, have been bargaining over work rules and staffing requirements for months. The union's contract expired at the end of July.

Audiences hoped until the last moment that the doors would open.

"This is one experience of New York City that some of these kids will never have again," said one resident.  "Some of them will never even get to be in New York City again and to get to see a Broadway show, nothing compares."

James Sanna is a producer of the recently opened holiday show, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. "It is devastating⁴ because we have seven sold-out shows between Saturday and Sunday," he noted⁵, "and not a lot of notification for the customers, so they'll be coming here. It really hurts that the show is not going to happen."

The strike comes at the start of the busy holiday season with several new shows scheduled to open within the next few weeks. A total of 26 Broadway theaters shut their doors just hours before Saturday matinees were to begin. Actors are not on strike, but will not cross picket lines.  Several shows have separate union contracts, and at those theaters, the show will go on.

1 picket   

n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫

参考例句：

• They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。
• Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。

2 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

3 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

4 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。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。