2022年11月19日 VOA慢速英語(yǔ)：獅子王在百老匯迎來(lái) 25 歲生日

 

The Lion King turns 25 years old on Broadway this month.
本月獅子王在百老匯迎來(lái) 25 歲生日。
 
The musical first opened in the summer of 1997 at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Audiences saw something no one had ever seen before: jumping antelopes, flying birds and elephants walking through the seats.
這部音樂(lè)劇于 1997 年夏天在明尼阿波利斯的歐菲姆劇院首演，明尼蘇達(dá)州。觀眾看到了前所未見(jiàn)的景象：跳躍的羚羊、飛翔的小鳥(niǎo)和大象在座位間穿行。
 
"The audience started screaming so early. When the animals came down the aisle everybody shot up," said director-writer Julie Taymor. "We were just overwhelmed and we knew we had something."
“觀眾很早就開(kāi)始尖叫。當(dāng)動(dòng)物從過(guò)道上下來(lái)時(shí)，每個(gè)人都興奮起來(lái)，”導(dǎo)演兼編劇朱莉泰莫爾說(shuō)。 “我們只是不知所措，我們知道我們有一些東西。”
 
That show in Minneapolis would soon move to Broadway. Broadway is an area in New York City where the largest and most famous plays and musicals are performed.
在明尼阿波利斯的那場(chǎng)演出很快就會(huì)搬到百老匯。百老匯是紐約市最大和最著名的戲劇和音樂(lè)劇上演的地區(qū)。
 
The Lion King would continue to perform for 25 years. It often sells the most tickets per week among all Broadway plays. It is also often young people's introduction to theater.
獅子王將繼續(xù)演出 25 年。它通常是所有百老匯戲劇中每周售票最多的。也常常是年輕人對(duì)戲劇的入門。
 
In April 2012, The Lion King became Broadway's all-time highest-selling show. It passed The Phantom of the Opera which started almost 10 years earlier. With Phantom to close next year, the musical will compete with Chicago for the honor of longest-running show on Broadway.
2012 年 4 月，獅子王成為百老匯歷史上最賣座的演出。它超過(guò)了將近 10 年前開(kāi)始的歌劇魅影。隨著《魅影》明年閉幕，這部音樂(lè)劇將與芝加哥爭(zhēng)奪百老匯上演時(shí)間最長(zhǎng)的演出榮譽(yù)。
 
It is easy to forget how revolutionary The Lion King was at the time it was released. Theatergoers were seeing Asian-influenced puppets and masks telling an African story with several African languages. The musical had South African performers and a Black king.
人們很容易忘記《獅子王》上映時(shí)的革命性。看戲的人看到受亞洲影響的木偶和面具用多種非洲語(yǔ)言講述非洲故事。這部音樂(lè)劇有南非表演者和一位黑人國(guó)王。
 
In addition to writing and directing the show, Taymor also designed clothing and wrote the words for the hit song Endless Night.
除了編劇和導(dǎo)演外，泰莫還設(shè)計(jì)了服裝并為熱門歌曲《無(wú)盡的夜晚》作詞。
 
Her job some 25 years ago was huge. She had to rewrite Disney's popular movie into a live show. She filled the stage with birds flying high on sticks and antelopes marching near the seats. The actors operate giant puppets in a movement popular in 16th-century Japanese theater.
大約 25 年前，她的工作非常繁重。她不得不將迪斯尼的熱門電影改寫成現(xiàn)場(chǎng)表演。她用棍子高高飛翔的鳥(niǎo)兒和在座位附近行進(jìn)的羚羊填滿了舞臺(tái)。演員們?cè)?16 世紀(jì)日本戲劇中流行的一種運(yùn)動(dòng)中操作巨型木偶。
"This is where theater is better than film. It completely surrounds you," Taymor said. "I had to use all the tools in the theater toolbox to make it dimensional and theatrical."
“這是戲劇優(yōu)于電影的地方。它完全圍繞著你，”Taymor 說(shuō)。 “我必須使用劇院工具箱中的所有工具來(lái)使它具有立體感和戲劇性。”
 
Taymor did not cover up the wheels and poles that bring her puppets to life. The human beings that control the puppets and wear the animal masks are fully seen. It is the audience's job to add the imagination.
Taymor 沒(méi)有掩蓋使她的木偶栩栩如生的輪子和桿子。操縱人偶，戴著獸面面具的人類，盡收眼底。增加想象力是觀眾的工作。
 
She called it "the double event." That is where the audience not only watches the animals, they watch humans driving the story, too.
她稱之為“雙重事件”。在那里，觀眾不僅觀看動(dòng)物，還觀看人類推動(dòng)故事發(fā)展。
 
The Lion King made Taymor the first woman to win a Tony Award for best director of a musical. Many Broadway stars over the years have also performed in The Lion King.
《獅子王》讓泰莫成為第一位獲得托尼獎(jiǎng)音樂(lè)劇最佳導(dǎo)演獎(jiǎng)的女性。多年來(lái)，許多百老匯明星也曾在《獅子王》中演出。
 
There have been 28 Lion King productions since the first. It has been performed in nine different languages and seen by 110 million people. It has played over 100 cities in 21 countries.
自第一部以來(lái)，已有 28 部獅子王作品。它以九種不同的語(yǔ)言演出，有 1.1 億人觀看。它已在 21 個(gè)國(guó)家/地區(qū)的 100 多個(gè)城市播放。
 
Part of its long life is because of the movie connection and its simple-to-understand and family-friendly story. But it is also a big production that is not dependent on big-name stars.
它之所以長(zhǎng)壽，部分原因在于它與電影的聯(lián)系以及其簡(jiǎn)單易懂且適合家庭的故事。但它也是一部不依賴大牌明星的大制作。
 
Before it became a hit, Disney sent its top officials to a rehearsal. One film official suggested Taymor lose the puppetry when it came time for the main characters. She did not agree.
在它大受歡迎之前，迪士尼派出高層官員進(jìn)行了彩排。一位電影官員建議泰莫在主角出現(xiàn)時(shí)放棄木偶戲。她不同意。
 
Taymor then set up a test at the Palace Theatre on Broadway. She presented the musical in three different ways — just facial makeup, half-mask, and her original idea.
Taymor 隨后在百老匯的宮殿劇院進(jìn)行了測(cè)試。她以三種不同的方式呈現(xiàn)這部音樂(lè)劇——純面部化妝、半面罩和她的原創(chuàng)想法。
 
Then-Disney chief Michael Eisner liked her idea: "He said, 'The bigger the risk, the bigger the payoff,'" Taymor said. "How many people say that?"
當(dāng)時(shí)的迪士尼首席執(zhí)行??官邁克爾艾斯納喜歡她的想法：“他說(shuō)，‘風(fēng)險(xiǎn)越大，回報(bào)越大，’”泰莫說(shuō)。 “有多少人這么說(shuō)？”