百老汇音乐剧
90 百老汇音乐剧"制片人"
DATE=8-27-01
TITLE=THIS IS AMERICA - "The Producers"
BYLINE=Nancy Steinbach
VOICE ONE:
A new musical play opened a few months ago on Broadway in New York City. It is called "The Producers".
"The Producers" was first seen as a movie in Nineteen Sixty-Eight. It was written by Mel Brooks 1. But it was not a (1)musical. A few years ago, Mister Brooks decided 2 to write the story again as a musical for the stage. He also wrote all the songs.
I'm Sarah Long. Today, Shirley Griffith and I report about "The Producers" on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
((CUT ONE: MUSIC FROM OVERTURE 3 TO "THE PRODUCERS"))
VOICE TWO:
Mel Brooks says the musical show "The Producers" is his way to honor the Broadway shows he loved in the past. He calls it a (2)traditional musical (3)comedy.
That is true in one way. The show presents a funny story told through songs and dances (4)performed by actors in beautiful clothes. But the story of "The Producers" is very different from other Broadway shows. That is because its songs and dances are about Germany and the Nazis 5 in the Nineteen-Thirties. The show makes fun of German (5)dictator Adolph Hitler and his followers 6.
Mel Brooks has said that the best way to defeat an enemy is to make fun of him by showing him as stupid. That is what he has done in "The Producers." And audiences are loving the show. All the tickets have been sold until next year.
VOICE ONE:
"The Producers" takes place in New York City in Nineteen-Fifty-Nine. It involves two men, Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom. Nathan Lane plays the part of Max. Max is a (6)theatrical producer. He organizes shows on Broadway. But his latest show was a (7)failure.
Leo Bloom is an (8)accountant. He arrives at Max's office to record the show's losses. Matthew Broderick plays Leo. Leo tells Max how a producer could make more money with an unsuccessful show than with a successful one. For example, a producer could get one-million dollars from investors 7. He could produce a bad show that only costs one-hundred-thousand dollars. When the show fails, the producer could keep the rest of the money. Max immediately decides to do it. He asks Leo to join him in the (9)plot in the song "We Can Do It."
((CUT TWO: WE CAN DO IT))
Leo hates his accounting 8 job. He wants a more exciting life. He imagines himself as a famous Broadway producer (10)surrounded by beautiful girls as he sings "I Wanna Be a Producer."
((CUT THREE: I WANNA BE A PRODUCER))
VOICE TWO:
Leo (11)quits his job and decides to work with Max. The first step in their plan is to find the worst play ever written, so it will be sure to fail. They choose a musical called "Springtime For Hitler." They are sure it will be so bad that it will close after one performance.
The writer of "Springtime For Hitler" is a (12)former Nazi 4 named Franz Liebkind. He gives Leo and Max permission to produce his show. The two producers then (13)hire the worst (14)director, worst actors and worst production team they can find. Max gets two-million dollars to produce the show from rich old ladies he knows.
Finally, "Springtime For Hitler" opens on Broadway. It includes a huge production number with beautiful dancing girls. Men dressed as Nazi (15)soldiers sing about the glories of Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany. The song is "Springtime For Hitler":
((CUT FOUR: SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER))
VOICE ONE:
But Max and Leo's plan fails. The worst thing happens. The (16)audience loves the show. They think it is (17)supposed to be funny. The show is a huge success.
Soon, Max is arrested for stealing the (18)investors' money. Leo takes the two-million dollars and (19)flees to Brazil with their office (20)secretary. Alone in (21)jail, Max sings angrily about his situation in this song, "(22)Betrayed."
((CUT FIVE: BETRAYED))
VOICE TWO:
Max is found guilty and is about to be sentenced when Leo returns to admit his part in the plot. Max finally recognizes what Leo means to him. The two men (23)express their feelings of friendship in the song "‘Til Him."
((CUT SIX: ‘TIL HIM))
Leo and Max go to prison. But the governor (24)pardons them. They begin producing successful Broadway shows, for real this time.
((CUT SEVEN: PRISONERS OF LOVE--LEO AND MAX))
VOICE ONE:
Each year, Broadway shows compete for Tony (25)awards. This year "The Producers" won twelve Tony awards. That is the most Tony awards ever given to one show. "The Producers" won the award for Best Musical on Broadway. Nathan Lane won best actor in a musical for playing Max Bialystock. Cady Huffman was named best (26)actress in a musical for her work as the secretary. Mel Brooks won the Tony for best music and (27)lyrics written for the theatre. "The Producers" also won Tony awards for best direction, best dancing, best lighting 9, best costume design and best sets.
People who have seen "The Producers" say it is great fun. The show's producers reportedly(are (28)considering making the musical into a movie. That way even more people will be able to (29)enjoy it.
((TAPE CUT EIGHT: INSTEAD OF CLOSING THEME, OVERTURE TO "THE PRODUCERS"))
VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Nancy Steinbach. It was produced by Paul Thompson. Our studio engineer was Keith Holmes. I'm Shirley Griffith.
VOICE ONE:
And I'm Sarah Long. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
(1) musical[ 5mju:zikEl ]adj.音乐的, 悦耳的音乐喜剧
(2) traditional[trE5dIFEn(E)l]adj.传统的, 惯例的, 口传的, 传说的
(3) comedy[ 5kCmidi ]n.喜剧, 喜剧性的事情
(4) perform[ pE5fC:m ]vt.履行, 执行, 表演, 演出v.完成任务
(5) dictator[ dik5teitE ]n.独裁者, 独裁政权执政者, 口授令他人笔录者
(6) theatrical[ Wi5AtrikEl ]adj.戏剧性的
(7) failure[ 5feiljE ]n.失败, 失败者, 缺乏, 失灵, 故障, 破产, 疏忽, 不及格
(8) accountant[ E5kauntEnt ]n.会计(员), 会计师
(9) plot[ plCt ]n.地区图, 图, 秘密计划(特指阴谋), (小说的)情节.结构vt.划分,
(10) surround[ sE5raund ]vt.包围, 环境v.围绕
(11) quit[ kwit ]vi.离开, 辞职, 停止vt.离开, 放弃, 解除, 停止
(12) former[ 5fC:mE ]adj.从前的, 以前的n.形成者, 创造者, 模型, 样板
(13) hire[ 5haiE ]n.租金, 工钱, 租用, 雇用vt.雇请, 出租vi.受雇
(14) director[ di5rektE, dai5rektE ]n.主任, 主管, 导演, (机关)首长, (团体)理事,
(15) soldier[ 5sEuldVE ]n.士兵, 军人
(16) audience[ 5C:djEns ]n.听众, 观众, 接见, 拜见
(17) suppose[ sE5pEuz ]vt.推想, 假设, 猜想vi.料想conj.假使...结果会怎样
(18) investor[ in5vestE ]n.投资者
(19) flee[ fli: ]vt.逃避, 逃跑, 逃走vi.消散, 逃, 消失
(20) secretary[ 5sekrEtri ]n.秘书, 书记, 部长, 大臣
(21) jail[ dVeil ]n.监狱vt.监禁
(22) betray[ bi5trei ]vt.出卖, 背叛, 泄露(秘密), 露出...迹象
(23) express[ iks5pres ]adj.急速的, 特殊的, 明确的n.快车, 快递, 专使vt.表达, 表示
(24) pardon[ 5pB:dn ]vt.原谅, 宽恕n.原谅, 宽恕
(25) award[ E5wC:d ] n.奖, 奖品vt.授予, 判给
(26) actress[ 5Aktris ]n.女演员
(27) lyric[ 5lirik ]n.抒情诗, 歌词adj.(供)吟唱的, 抒情的
(28) consider[ kEn5sidE ]vt.考虑, 照顾, 认为
(29) enjoy[ in5dVCi ]vt.享受...的乐趣, 欣赏, 喜爱v.满意
- Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- 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。
- The opera was preceded by a short overture.这部歌剧开始前有一段简短的序曲。
- His overture led to nothing.他的提议没有得到什么结果。
- They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
- Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。
- The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
- The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。
- a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
- a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会
- A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
- There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。