[ti:Lion King Turns 25 on Broadway] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The Lion King turns 25 years old on Broadway this month. [00:05.52]The musical first opened in the summer of 1997 [00:10.00]at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. [00:13.72]Audiences saw something no one had ever seen before: [00:18.28]jumping antelopes, flying birds [00:21.36]and elephants walking through the seats. [00:25.80]"The audience started screaming so early. [00:28.76]When the animals came down the aisle everybody shot up," [00:32.92]said director-writer Julie Taymor. [00:37.00]"We were just overwhelmed and we knew we had something." [00:42.80]That show in Minneapolis would soon move to Broadway. [00:46.72]Broadway is an area in New York City [00:49.92]where the largest and most famous plays and musicals are performed. [00:56.80]The Lion King would continue to perform for 25 years. [01:01.56]It often sells the most tickets per week among all Broadway plays. [01:07.56]It is also often young people's introduction to theater. [01:13.48]In April 2012, The Lion King became Broadway's [01:17.40]all-time highest-selling show. [01:19.84]It passed The Phantom of the Opera [01:22.76]which started almost 10 years earlier. [01:26.60]With Phantom to close next year, [01:29.28]the musical will compete with Chicago [01:32.08]for the honor of longest-running show on Broadway. [01:37.48]It is easy to forget how revolutionary [01:40.56]The Lion King was at the time it was released. [01:44.40]Theatergoers were seeing Asian-influenced puppets and masks [01:49.04]telling an African story with several African languages. [01:54.24]The musical had South African performers and a Black king. [02:00.52]In addition to writing and directing the show, [02:03.80]Taymor also designed clothing [02:06.44]and wrote the words for the hit song Endless Night. [02:10.60]Her job some 25 years ago was huge. [02:16.08]She had to rewrite Disney's popular movie into a live show. [02:20.96]She filled the stage with birds flying high on sticks [02:25.88]and antelopes marching near the seats. [02:29.20]The actors operate giant puppets in a movement popular [02:33.96]in 16th-century Japanese theater. [02:38.72]"This is where theater is better than film. [02:41.80]It completely surrounds you," Taymor said. [02:44.88]"I had to use all the tools in the theater toolbox [02:48.60]to make it dimensional and theatrical." [02:53.40]Taymor did not cover up the wheels and poles [02:56.92]that bring her puppets to life. [02:59.04]The human beings that control the puppets [03:02.00]and wear the animal masks are fully seen. [03:05.32]It is the audience's job to add the imagination. [03:11.16]She called it "the double event." [03:13.68]That is where the audience not only watches the animals, [03:17.28]they watch humans driving the story, too. [03:22.12]The Lion King made Taymor the first woman to win a Tony Award [03:26.88]for best director of a musical. [03:30.24]Many Broadway stars over the years [03:32.88]have also performed in The Lion King. [03:36.84]There have been 28 Lion King productions since the first. [03:41.12]It has been performed in nine different languages [03:44.60]and seen by 110 million people. [03:48.20]It has played over 100 cities in 21 countries. [03:54.48]Part of its long life is because of the movie connection [03:58.36]and its simple-to-understand and family-friendly story. [04:03.00]But it is also a big production [04:05.64]that is not dependent on big-name stars. [04:10.20]Before it became a hit, [04:12.00]Disney sent its top officials to a rehearsal. [04:16.56]One film official suggested Taymor lose the puppetry [04:20.64]when it came time for the main characters. [04:24.00]She did not agree. [04:26.00]Taymor then set up a test at the Palace Theatre on Broadway. [04:30.80]She presented the musical in three different ways [04:34.96]— just facial makeup, half-mask, and her original idea. [04:41.32]Then-Disney chief Michael Eisner liked her idea: [04:45.84]"He said, 'The bigger the risk, the bigger the payoff,'" Taymor said. [04:50.56]"How many people say that?" [04:54.00]I'm Dan Novak. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM