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A Brief History of Broadway
百老匯簡史

The Early Years
Today, Broadway is 1)synonymous with New York’s world-famous theater district and the shows that play there. But back when theater first came to the city, Broadway was little more than an Indian trail that ran the length of Manhattan Island. In 1750, New York’s first theater—called The Theater—was 2)established on Nassau Street in Lower Manhattan by a pair of actors named Walter Murray and William Kean. But the Theater, which showed mostly Shakespeare plays, was torn down to make way for a church just four years later. New York’s theater scene died out during the 3)Revolutionary War, but 4)resumed again in 1798 with the opening of the Park Theater on what later became known as Park Row.

早期
百老匯一詞現在代表著紐約市的世界知名劇院區,以及在那裡上演的節目。但在早期戲劇首度引進紐約時,那只不過是一條貫穿曼哈頓島的印地安小徑。1750 年,兩名演員,華特穆瑞和威廉基恩,在紐約下曼哈頓的拿索街建立第一座劇院——名為 The Theater。在當時這座劇院上演的大部分是莎士比亞劇,但四年後就拆建成教堂。紐約的劇院區在革命戰爭期間消失,但在 1798 年公園劇院啟用時復甦,該劇院所在的位置後來成為知名的公園街。

Competing for Audiences
The 2,000-seat Park Theater, a handsome stone building that 5)hosted English drama and Italian 6)opera for wealthy audiences, helped turn the area around what is now City Hall Park into one of Manhattan’s most fashionable neighborhoods. Business was so good that 7)rivals, like the Bowery Theater, began appearing in the 1820s. Located nearby on the Lower East Side, the Bowery Theater tried to attract upper-class audiences with 8)ballet and opera performances. But when they couldn’t compete, they began targeting the working class with popular 9)melodramas and 10)minstrel shows. The first 11)uniquely American form of theater, minstrel shows featured singing, dancing and 12)comic 13)skits performed by white actors in blackface. Although these shows 14)promoted negative 15)stereotypes about black slaves, they were extremely popular with Northerners, who were curious about Southern black culture.

爭取觀眾
公園劇院設有兩千個座位,是一座美輪美奐的石砌建築物,在當時為一些富裕的觀眾演出英國戲劇和義大利歌劇,促使周圍地區,也就是現在的市政廳公園,發展成曼哈頓最時尚的社區。由於生意興隆,伯維利劇院等競爭對手開始在 1820 年代出現。位在附近下東城的伯維利劇院,試圖以芭蕾舞和歌劇表演吸引上流社會的觀眾。但當他們無法贏過對手時,開始將目標轉向勞工階級,演出大眾口味的通俗劇和黑人滑稽劇。黑人滑稽劇是第一種獨特的美式戲劇,特色包括唱歌、跳舞和滑稽短劇,由白人演員把臉塗黑,化妝成黑人表演。雖然這類表演強化了黑奴的負面刻板印象,但極為受到北方人的歡迎,因為他們對南方黑人文化相當好奇。

(字彙)Vocabulary
1) synonymous (a.) 同義的
2) establish (v.) 創辦,建立
3) revolutionary (a./n.) 革命的;革命者
4) resume (v.) 重新開始,繼續
5) host (v.) 主辦,舉辦
6) opera (n.) 歌劇
7) rival (n.) 對手,競爭對手
8) ballet (n.) 芭蕾舞,芭蕾舞團
9) melodrama (a.) 通俗劇,情節浮誇的戲劇
10) minstrel (n.) (由白人扮演黑人的)滑稽說唱團演員,黑人劇團的演出
11) uniquely (adv.) 獨特的,唯一的
12) comic (a.) 喜劇的,滑稽的
13) skit (n.) 小喜劇,短劇
14) promote (v.) 促銷,宣傳
15) stereotype (n.) 刻板印象

(學習補充)
make way (for sth./sb.) 讓出空間給⋯⋯
表示把空間或機會讓出來,也有「讓路」給人過的意思。
A: Why did they chop down all those trees?
他們幹嘛把那些樹都砍掉?
B: To make way for a new road.
要清出來蓋一條新馬路。

die out 失傳,消逝
用來形容一種手藝、思想、風潮除漸消失,若用在物種(或家族譜系),則表示「滅絕」。
A: I heard the Welsh language is dying out.
聽說威爾斯語已經快要失傳了。
B: Yeah. Fewer people speak it each year.
是啊。講這種語言的人逐年減少。
Hamilton: An American Musical
Inspired by the 2004 1)biography Alexander Hamilton by historian Ron Chernow, Hamilton is a 2)sung-through hip hop musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, with music, lyrics and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Hip hop and Broadway may seem like an odd combination, but not to Miranda, who grew up a fan of both in the 3)Hispanic neighborhood of Washington Heights in Manhattan. He began combining the two—along with Latin music—in his 2008 Broadway musical In the Heights, which he began writing while studying film and theater at Wesleyan University. A 4)tribute to his old neighborhood, the musical won Tonys for Best Musical and Best Original Score, allowing Miranda to quit his day job as a 5)substitute teacher and become a full-time actor, 6)playwright and composer.

漢密爾頓:美國音樂劇
《漢密爾頓》音樂劇的靈感來自2004年朗車諾所寫的《亞歷山大漢密爾頓》傳記,是全劇以歌唱方式呈現的嘻哈音樂劇,敘述美國開國元勳亞歷山大漢密爾頓的人生,詞曲和劇本由林曼努爾米蘭達所寫。嘻哈音樂與百老匯的結合或許看起來有點怪異,但對米蘭達來說一點也不怪,他在曼哈頓華盛頓高地的西裔社區長大,熱愛嘻哈音樂和百老匯。他在2008年的音樂劇《身在高地》中就開始結合兩者──加上拉丁樂,這是他就讀衛斯理大學學電影和戲劇時開始創作的。這齣音樂劇是為了向他的老家街坊致敬所創作,不但贏得東尼獎最佳音樂劇和最佳原創配樂,也讓他得以辭去朝九晚五的代課老師工作,成為全職演員、劇作家和作曲家。

While on vacation in Mexico—playing the lead role in his hit musical night after night was tiring—Miranda read Chernow’s Hamilton biography. Just a few chapters in, he began imagining the story as a hip hop musical; this 7)rebellious form of music seemed like the perfect language for describing Hamilton’s difficult childhood and his 8)participation in the American 9)Revolution. Miranda began writing songs for his new musical, and when invited to perform music from In the Heights at a White House event in 2009, he sang “Alexander Hamilton”—which would become the first song in Hamilton—instead. By the end of his performance, the whole audience was standing, even the Obamas. When Hamilton debuted on Broadway in August 2015, it was a box office 10)sensation. Every show sold out, even when the average ticket price reached $1,000—and that’s if you could even get a ticket. Hamilton was 11)nominated for a record 16 Tony Awards the following year, winning 11, including Best Musical, Best Book and Best Original Score. And as if that weren’t enough, Miranda won a Pulitzer Prize for drama, and the original Broadway cast recording won a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.

在墨西哥度假時──因為每晚在賣座音樂劇中飾演主角讓他非常疲憊──米蘭達看了車諾的漢密爾頓傳記。只看了幾章,他就開始想像用嘻哈音樂劇的方式呈現這個故事;用這種叛逆的音樂形式呈現漢密爾頓艱困的童年和參與美國革命的故事似乎很完美。於是米蘭達開始為新的音樂劇創作歌曲,他在2009年受邀到白宮表演《身在高地》的音樂時,卻唱了「亞歷山大漢密爾頓」──這首歌後來變成《漢密爾頓》的第一首歌。在表演結束時,所有觀眾都起立致敬,包括歐巴馬夫婦。《漢密爾頓》於2015年8月在百老匯首演時,票房開出大紅盤。就算票價平均高達一千美元,每場演出的門票都賣光──而且一票難求。隔年《漢密爾頓》獲得16項東尼獎提名,創下紀錄,並贏得11項獎,包括最佳音樂劇、最佳劇本和最佳原創配樂。不僅如此,米蘭達也獲得普立茲戲劇獎,且百老匯首演卡司專輯也獲得葛萊美最佳音樂劇專輯獎。


Vocabulary
1) biography (n.) 傳記,傳記文學
2) sung-through (a.)(音樂劇/音樂片)純演唱無對白的
3) Hispanic (a./n.)(美國)西裔(的)
4) tribute (n.) 敬意,尊崇,稱頌
5) substitute (n./v.) 替代的人事物;替代
6) playwright (n.) 劇作家
7) rebellious (a.) 叛逆的,造反的
8) participation (n.) 參與;動詞為participate
9) revolution (n.) 革命
10) sensation (n.) 轟動(的人事物)
11) nominate (v.) 提名

as if that were not enough 不僅如此,更有甚者
這個用法經常用在災禍不斷、問題層出不窮之後,表示倒霉的事情還沒完。
A: Your girlfriend broke up with you and moved out?
你的女友跟你分手,還搬出去了?
B: Yeah. And as if that weren’t enough, she took my CD collection.
是啊,更可惡的是,她把我收藏的 CD 都帶走了。
音樂劇一開場,亞歷山大漢密爾頓人生中的關鍵人物,輪流唱出他在加勒比海島上的卑微出身,以及他的美洲大陸之旅。這些人物包括美國開國元勳湯瑪斯傑佛遜(Thomas Jefferson參與《獨立宣言》起草,曾任美國總統)、詹姆斯麥迪遜(James Madison被尊為「美國憲法之父」,曾任美國總統)、阿龍伯爾(Aaron Burr美國獨立戰爭英雄,是湯瑪斯傑佛遜任總統時期的副總統)、約翰勞倫斯(John Laurens獨立戰爭時任漢米爾頓手下)和拉法葉侯爵(Marquis de Lafayette為法國貴族,卻積極參與美國獨立活動,深受美國人民愛戴);擔任間諜的裁縫師赫庫利斯摩利根(Hercules Mulligan,漢米爾頓初到美國時受他極大照顧,並受他影響投入獨立運動);漢密爾頓的妻子艾麗莎(Eliza)和她的姐姐安琪麗卡(Angelica);還有他的兒子菲利普(Phillip)。

Alexander Hamilton

[Burr]
How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a
Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten
Spot in the Caribbean by providence, impoverished, in squalor
Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
[Laurens]
The ten-dollar Founding Father without a father
Got a lot farther by working a lot harder
By being a lot smarter, by being a self-starter
By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter
[Jefferson]
And every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted
Away across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up
Inside, he was longing for something to be a part of
The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow, or barter
[Madison]
Then a hurricane came, and devastation reigned
Our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain
Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain
And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain
[Burr]
Well, the word got around, they said, “This kid is insane, man”
Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland
“Get your education, don’t forget from whence you came, and
The world’s gonna know your name.
What’s your name, man?”
[Hamilton]
Alexander Hamilton, my name is Alexander Hamilton
And there’s a million things I haven’t done
But just you wait, just you wait
[Eliza]
When he was ten his father split, full of it, debt-ridden
Two years later, see Alex and his mother bed-ridden
Half-dead sitting in their own sick, the scent thick
[All]
And Alex got better, but his mother went quick
[Washington]
Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide
Left him with nothing but ruined pride, something new inside
A voice saying, “You gotta fend for yourself”
He started retreating and reading every treatise on the shelf
[Burr]
There would have been nothing left to do
For someone less astute
He would’ve been dead or destitute
Without a cent of restitution
Started working, clerking for his late mother’s landlord
Trading sugar cane and rum and all the things he can’t afford
Scamming for every book he can get his hands on
Planning for the future see him now as he stands on
The bow of a ship headed for a new land
In New York you can be a new man
[All]
In New York you can be a new man
[Hamilton]
Just you wait! Just you wait!
[All]
Alexander Hamilton
We are waiting in the wings for you
You could never back down
You never learned to take your time!
Oh, Alexander Hamilton
When America sings for you
Will they know what you overcame?
Will they know you rewrote the game?
The world will never be the same, oh
[Burr]
The ship is in the harbor now, see if you can spot him
Another immigrant coming up from the bottom
His enemies destroyed his rep, America forgot him
[Mulligan/Madison/Lafayette/Jefferson]
We fought with him
[Laurens/Philip]
Me? I died for him
[Washington]
Me? I trusted him
[Eliza/Angelica]
Me? I loved him
[Burr]
And me? I’m the damn fool that shot him
[All]
There’s a million things I haven’t done
But just you wait!
[Burr]
What’s your name, man?
[All]
Alexander Hamilton!
Hollywood Stars on Broadway
近期在百老匯登台的明星

Jake Gyllenhaal
《斷背山》男星Jake Gyllenhaal(傑克葛倫霍)的百老匯處女秀,是與東尼獎得主 Annaleigh Ashford 共同擔綱演出的 Sunday In the Park with George《星期天與喬治同遊公園》。這齣獲得普立茲獎肯定的音樂劇,是由 Stephen Sondheim 作詞、作曲(James Lapine 原著),以法國後印象派畫家秀拉(Georges Seurat,1859~1891)名畫《大碗島的星期天下午》(A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte)為舞台背景,演出大畫家及他曾孫的故事。

“Jake Gyllenhaal is radiant. His searing theatrical presence and unwavering focus seems to consume and illuminate the dark. He has a voice of richly flexible timbre that confidently elicits the most delicate shades of passion and despair.”
Ben Brantley, The New York Times
傑克葛倫霍的光芒四射。他熾熱的舞台魅力與全心投入,像是能吞噬黑暗,照亮四周。他渾厚的音色富有彈性,將熱情與絕望最幽微的起伏變化展現無遺。

Glenn Close
儘管大眾最有印象的演出是她在迪士尼電影 101 Dalmatians《101 真狗》當中的恐怖壞女人Cruella de Vil,但東尼獎三屆最佳話劇/音樂劇女主角得主 Glenn Close(葛倫克蘿絲)可是百老匯磨練出來的全方位藝人,不論是演出話劇、音樂劇、電影,或是擔任電影製作人,都能演什麼像什麼。而她在百老匯最膾炙人口的演出,是韋伯音樂劇 Sunset Boulevard《日落大道》的 Norma Desmond(1993-1994年),2016 年在倫敦西區及百老匯復排重演,仍大獲好評,《紐約時報》稱之為「本世紀最偉大舞台演出之一(one of the great stage performances of this century)」。

“Glenn is giving one of those legendary performances people will be talking about years from now. The actress takes breathtaking risks, venturing so far out on a limb at times that you fear it will snap. It doesn’t.” -- David Richards, The New York Times
葛倫的演出將成為人們傳頌多年的傳奇。這位女演員的不顧一切令人窒息,她冒險的程度高到讓人擔心隨時會出包。卻沒有。


Buying Broadway Tickets
購買百老匯門票

Catching a Broadway show is a 1)highlight of any trip to New York, but getting tickets for a show you want to see can be just as much of a 2)hassle—and almost as expensive—as buying an air ticket. If money is no object, you can ask the 3)concierge at your hotel to reserve tickets for you. But the tickets will be at 4)face value, and he’ll expect a generous tip.

(文章中譯)
觀賞百老匯秀是到紐約旅遊的重點之一,但購買想看的百老匯秀門票,有時跟買機票一樣麻煩,也幾乎一樣貴。假如錢不是問題,你可以請旅館的服務臺職員幫你預定,但價格就是面額價格,還要付給職員一筆豐厚的小費。


(學習補充)
Money’s no object. 錢不是問題
這句話的意思是為了想要的事物,花再多錢都無所謂。
A: What’s a good restaurant to take a date to? Money’s no object.
有哪一間好餐廳適合帶約會對象去?多少錢都不是問題。
B: I know this great Italian place.
我知道有一家義大利餐廳很棒。
(會話英文)
請飯店服務檯代購

At Park Central Hotel
Concierge: Hi, ma’am. How can I help you?
Evelyn: Would it be possible for you to reserve two Phantom of the Opera tickets for us?
Concierge: Sure. Do you have a preferred time?
Evelyn: We’d like to go this evening if possible.
Concierge: OK. Would you like 5)orchestra or 6)mezzanine seats?
Evelyn: How much would orchestra seats with a good view cost?
Concierge: About 145 dollars. Is that all right?
Evelyn: Yes, that would be great.
Concierge: OK. I’ll have them here at the desk by 4:00.

(會話中譯)
在公園中央旅館
服務臺:妳好,女士,請問需要什麼服務?
伊芙琳:能否請你幫我們預定兩張《歌劇魅影》的票?
服務臺:可以,請問要看哪個時段?
伊芙琳:可以的話,我們想在今天晚上去。
服務臺:好,請問要一樓還是二樓的座位?
伊芙琳:一樓視野好的座位要多少錢?
服務臺:約145美元,可以嗎?
伊芙琳:可以,很好。
服務臺:好的,四點以後可以到服務臺來取票。



到飯店櫃檯取票
Evelyn: Hi. I’m here to 7)pick up my Phantom of the Opera tickets.
Concierge: Evelyn, right? I’ve got them right here—two center orchestra seats. The total is 290 dollars.
Evelyn: Here you go. I’d like to give you a tip too, but I’m not sure how much is 8)appropriate.
Concierge: Most people give around 20 dollars, but any amount is fine.
Evelyn: That sounds reasonable. Here you go. Do you know the best way to get to the Majestic?
Concierge: I could call a cab for you. Or you can take the subway.
Evelyn: I think we’ll take the subway. Thank you!
伊芙琳:你好,我要取《歌劇魅影》的票。
服務臺:是伊芙琳,對吧?票在這裡,兩張一樓的中央位置,總共290元。
伊芙琳:來,我還要給你小費,但我不確定給多少比較好。
服務臺:大部分給20美元,但多少都沒關係。
伊芙琳:聽起來很合理,來。去美琪劇院怎麼走最好?
服務臺:我可以幫妳叫計程車,或者妳可以搭地鐵。
伊芙琳:我想我們會搭地鐵,謝謝你!
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World wide
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