VOA慢速英语2021--百老汇准备在秋季重开

New York state and city leaders have given permission to reopen Broadway theaters this fall at full capacity. Many Broadway productions are rushing to sell tickets in the coming days to welcome back theater-goers.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says Broadway theaters can reopen September 14. They will be able to decide their own entry requirements, such as whether people must show proof of vaccination¹ to attend a show. Robert Mujica is Governor Cuomo's budget director. He said that selling tickets will permit theaters to find out, before the shows open, how many people want to return to in-person events.

Happy that fans can buy tickets

Charlotte St. Martin is president of the Broadway League. She said in a statement that the group's members are hopeful "about Broadway's ability to resume performances this fall and are happy that fans can start buying tickets again."

Phantom² of the Opera, Broadway's longest-running show, announced it planned to resume selling tickets for performances set to start October 22. More shows are expected to announce return dates in the coming weeks.

Mary McColl is executive director of Actors' Equity³ Association, the national labor⁴ union representing more than 51,000 actors and stage managers in live theater. She said the news meant the theater community is "one step closer to the safe reopening" of Broadway.

"We look forward to continuing our conversations with the Broadway League about a safe reopening and know that soon the time will come when members can go back to doing what they do best, creating world-class theater," McColl said.

Some shows will not reopen

The Broadway that reopens, however, will look different. In May, the big budget Disney musical Frozen decided⁵ not to reopen when Broadway theaters restart. It was the first time the coronavirus pandemic caused the closing of an established show. Producers of the play Mean Girls also decided not to restart.

But there will be new shows. One is Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu's Pass Over, which is set to reopen at the August Wilson Theatre, the same theater Mean Girls left. And playwright⁶ Keenan Scott II's play, Thoughts of a Colored Man, will appear in a Schubert theater.

Full capacity is necessary

Theaters see the lifting of all capacity restrictions⁷ as important to any reopening plan. That is because the economics of Broadway shows require full capacity. Some off-Broadway shows -- less well-known plays that take place in smaller theaters around New York City -- have already reopened with limited capacity.

All city theaters suddenly closed on March 12, 2020, bringing all shows to an end, including 16 that had still planned to open.

Some shows planned for spring 2020 decided to move their productions to 2021. Among them are a musical about Michael Jackson and a performance of Neil Simon's Plaza⁸ Suite⁹, starring Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker. But others gave up on their plans, including Hangmen and a production of Edward Albee's famous play, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Words in This Story

capacity – n. the largest amount or number that can be held or contained

resume – v. to begin again after stopping

conversation – n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people

give up – phrasal verb. to stop planning on; abandon

1 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。

2 phantom   

n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的

参考例句：

• I found myself staring at her as if she were a phantom.我发现自己瞪大眼睛看着她，好像她是一个幽灵。
• He is only a phantom of a king.他只是有名无实的国王。

3 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

9 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。