THIS IS AMERICA

THIS IS AMERICA -January 7, 2002:

By Jerilyn Watson
VOICE ONE:

An American musical play has been performed in New York City for almost forty-two years. On January
thirteenth, however, “The Fantasticks”
is finally expected to close. I ’m Doug Johnson.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Sarah Long. The story and music of “The Fantasticks”
is our report today on the VOA Special

English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
((MUSIC: "OVERTURE"))
VOICE ONE:
"The Fantasticks" has been performed about seventeen-thousand times at the Sullivan Street

Playhouse in New York. It is the longest-running musical play in the world. Now, however,
“The Fantasticks”
producer Lore¹ [loar] Noto says the show must end January Thirteenth. He
says operating costs have increased. At the same time, ticket sales have decreased.

The musical opened on May Third, Nineteen-Sixty. Much has changed since then. Yet over the
years people kept coming to see "The Fantasticks."

VOICE TWO:

People even came to see a performance of “The Fantasticks”
a few days after the September Eleventh terrorist²

attack in New York. The theater is in the area called Greenwich Village, very close to the target area. But about
fifteen people walked through the ashes blowing from the destroyed World Trade Center buildings to see the
show.

One song in the play had a new and sadder meaning after September Eleventh. This
song, “Try to Remember,
”
urges people to try to remember a very different kind
of September --a September when life was beautiful.

VOICE ONE:

“The Fantasticks”
is about young love, children leaving home and what it is like to
be a father.

Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt wrote "The Fantasticks" in Nineteen-Fifty-Nine.
They wrote it for a summer production at Barnard College in New York. Nine
months later, the show opened at the Sullivan Street Playhouse.

"The Fantasticks" has played there ever since. The
children and grandchildren of those who first saw the
play have returned to see it.

VOICE TWO:

One reason for the continuing popularity³ of "The Fantasticks" may be that it is
different from large musicals playing in Broadway theaters. The Sullivan Street
Playhouse is very small. It has only one -hundred-fifty seats. The people who see the
show are very close to the actors.


The original cast ... "The Fantasticks" has only eight actors. There are only two musicians. The actors'
clothes and the settings⁴ on the stage are very simple.

VOICE ONE:
Now we present some music from the first New York production of "The Fantasticks." Jerry Orbach plays the
Narrator. He helps tell the story. Mister⁵ Orbach also plays El Gallo [GUY-yo], a handsome robber⁶. The Narrator
sings the play's most famous song, "Try to Remember.
"

((MUSIC: "TRY TO REMEMBER”)
)
VOICE TWO:
The Narrator presents the main people in the play. They are a boy named Matt, a girl named Luisa, and their two

fathers. Luisa is sixteen years old. She dreams of having more interesting experiences in her life. Rita Gardner
plays Luisa. She sings "Much More.
"
((MUSIC: "MUCH MORE")
)

VOICE ONE:
A wall separates the homes of Matt and Luisa. Their fathers built the wall to keep the young people apart. The
fathers really want Matt and Luisa to fall in love. But, they feel that the best way to make this happen is to act as
if they disapprove⁷ of any relationship between their two children.

The fathers believe children will only do what their parents do not want them to do.
The fathers, played by William Larsen and Hugh Thomas, sing about this in "Never
Say No."

((MUSIC: "NEVER SAY NO")
)
VOICE TWO:
The fathers decide on a plot to bring Matt and Luisa together. They ask El Gallo to

try to kidnap⁸ Luisa. Matt fights El Gallo. The young man saves Luisa. He becomes
a

hero. The young people and their fathers are united. Everyone is happy.
But in the second part of "The Fantasticks," Matt and Luisa discover that their
fathers have tricked them. The young lovers⁹ argue. Matt decides to leave Luisa. He
wants to travel to other parts of the world. He seeks new experiences. Kenneth
Nelson is Matt. He sings "I Can See It."

((MUSIC: "I CAN SEE IT”)
)
VOICE ONE:
The fathers are unhappy that their plot to bring the children together has failed. They discuss the problems of

having children. They decide it is easier to grow vegetables than to raise children.
((MUSIC: "PLANT A RADISH¹⁰ ”)
)
VOICE TWO:
Luisa also wants to visit different places. The handsome robber, El Gallo, offers to take her with him to see the

world.
((MUSIC: "ROUND AND ROUND")
)
VOICE ONE:

... later fathers.
Bill Weeden, left, and William
Tost

Luisa prepares to go away with El Gallo, but he leaves without her. Matt returns from his travels. He has seen
and experienced¹¹ many unpleasant things. Both Luisa and Matt have been hurt emotionally¹² by their experiences.
Yet they also have grown up.

Matt and Luisa rediscover their love for each other. Listen as they sing their song of love, “They Were You.
”
((MUSIC: "THEY WERE YOU ”)
)
VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Jerilyn Watson and Shelley Gollust. It was produced by George Grow. Our studio
engineer was Kevin Raiman. I’m Sarah Long.

VOICE ONE:
And I'm Doug Johnson. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA
Special English program THIS IS AMERICA.

((MUSIC: "OVERTURE")
)

 

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1 lore   

n.传说；学问，经验，知识

参考例句：

• I will seek and question him of his lore.我倒要找上他，向他讨教他的渊博的学问。
• Early peoples passed on plant and animal lore through legend.早期人类通过传说传递有关植物和动物的知识。

2 terrorist   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子

参考例句：

• Without the gun,I'm a sitting duck for any terrorist.没有这支枪，我就成了恐怖分子下手的目标了。
• The district was put on red alert during a terrorist's bomb scare.这个地区在得到恐怖分子炸弹恐吓后作了应急准备。

3 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

4 settings   

n.镶嵌( setting的名词复数 )；环境；装置；（某事、戏剧、小说等的）背景

参考例句：

• to study behaviour in laboratory and naturalistic settings 研究实验室里的以及仿自然环境中的行为
• This machine has two settings: fast and slow. 这种机器有两种可调的速度：快速和慢速。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

6 robber   

n.抢劫者，强盗，盗贼

参考例句：

• The robber told the woman to come across with her purse.拦路抢劫者勒令那个女人把钱包交出来。
• The robber tried to run away but a man tackled him.强盗企图逃跑，但一个人把他抓住了。

7 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

8 kidnap   

v.拐，绑架，劫持（某人）

参考例句：

• A pair of robbers were trying to kidnap his wife.两个强盗正试图绑架他的妻子。
• They were intelligent and educated,yet they chose to kidnap and kill.他们聪明且有教养，却选择去绑架和杀人。

9 lovers   

爱好者( lover的名词复数 )； 情人； 情夫； 情侣

参考例句：

• They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
• Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人

10 radish   

n.小萝卜

参考例句：

• This radish has gone spongy.这萝卜糠了。
• The blade of this knife is so dull that it will not cut a radish.这把刀的刀刃太钝，不能切萝卜。

11 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

12 emotionally   

adv.感情上，情绪上，冲动地

参考例句：

• a special school for emotionally disturbed children 为精神异常儿童开办的特殊学校
• A wide range of emotionally stressful events may trigger a relapse. 多种令人情绪紧张的事情都可能引起旧病复发。 来自《简明英汉词典》