VOA慢速英语2020--百老汇宣布关闭所有剧院至明年5月底

Theater lovers will have to wait a little longer for New York City's Broadway shows to restart. Broadway theaters will be closed until at least late May.

An exact date for their reopening has yet to be decided¹. But Broadway producers are now offering to return money for tickets purchased for shows through May 30. Or theatergoers can exchange their tickets for a show after that date.

Charlotte Saint Martin is president of the Broadway League, an organization that represents the producers. She said they are working "tirelessly" with many partners to keep the industry alive when theaters reopen.

Actors' Equity² Association supports the latest delay. The group represents 51,000 theater performers and stage managers.

The Broadway League made the difficult decision of putting their workers and theatergoers first, the group said. "This is a deeply painful time" for people who need the arts to make a living, said Mary McColl. She serves as executive director for Actors' Equity Association.

McColl blamed Broadway's ongoing³ closure on the federal government's lack of a national plan to fight the coronavirus pandemic. She added that a plan for face coverings and testing could bring the virus under control.

Because of COVID-19, Broadway theaters closed on March 12, ending all productions. The closure of theaters has also caused a delay in the Tony Awards, the yearly awards ceremony for live Broadway theater.

The new end-of-May date could affect several shows that had planned to open earlier this year. They include "The Music Man," "Flying Over Sunset," "Caroline, or Change," "Plaza⁴ Suite," "American Buffalo⁵" and "The Minutes."

Within hours of the announcement last week, the musical based on the life of singer Michael Jackson, called "MJ," pushed back its performances to September of 2021.

The decision by the Broadway League comes less than a month after New York's Metropolitan⁶ Opera canceled its performances for the year. This will be the first time the opera company has canceled an entire season of shows in its nearly 140-year history. It plans to re-open in September of next year.

In London, producer Cameron Mackintosh said his company's productions of "Hamilton," "The Phantom⁷ of the Opera," "Mary Poppins" and "Les Miserables" will not reopen until 2021. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., has canceled many performances and events through the end of 2020. In Boston, Huntington Theatre Company has done the same.

Broadway theaters earned $1.8 billion last season. A record 15 million people attended the shows. Producers and labor⁸ unions are discussing ways that theaters can reopen safely.

Words in This Story

ticket - n. a piece of paper that allows you to see a show, participate in an event, or travel in a vehicle

stage manager - n. a person who is in charge of the stage, scenery, lighting⁹, and other things, for a performance in a theater

pandemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world

opera - n. a kind of performance in which actors sing all or most of the words of a play with music performed by an orchestra

1 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。

2 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。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 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。

5 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

6 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

7 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。

8 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。

9 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。