美国国家公共电台 NPR Two Stars Share The Stage, And The Roles, In 'Little Foxes'

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

"The Little Foxes," Lilian Hellman's 1939 melodrama¹, has two great roles for actresses over the age of 40. And a new revival² on Broadway features two big stars - Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon. The twist - both actresses play both roles. They alternate between performances. Jeff Lunden has more.

JEFF LUNDEN, BYLINE³: It started when Laura Linney got a call from the Manhattan Theatre Club asking her if she'd like to play Regina Giddens, the steely character at the center of "The Little Foxes."

LAURA LINNEY: You know, women don't get these parts very often. This is a great part.

LUNDEN: But she was also attracted to a smaller role in the play - Birdie, Regina's abused, alcoholic⁴ sister-in-law.

LINNEY: I had always loved Birdie. There was something about Birdie that I inherently understood.

LUNDEN: So Linney had an idea. What if she and her friend Cynthia Nixon could find a way to share both roles? Nixon was more than game.

CYNTHIA NIXON: I mean who does that? Nobody does that. I have a great part. Would you like to do it half the time? I mean who does that?

LUNDEN: In the first act, both actresses play a scene together after they've met with an investor⁵ who's going to make their family rich.

(SOUNDBITE OF PLAY, "THE LITTLE FOXES")

NIXON: (As Regina Giddens) Can't you tell when you're being admired?

LINNEY: (As Birdie Hubbard) Oscar said I bored Mr. Marshall, but he admired you. He told me so.

NIXON: (As Regina Giddens) What did he say?

LINNEY: (As Birdie Hubbard) He said...

LUNDEN: For director Dan Sullivan, who's worked with both women separately, these two actresses in these two roles makes perfect sense.

DAN SULLIVAN: They both have within their skillset this sort of girlishness of Birdie and the huge strength and power of Regina.

LUNDEN: The two actresses emphasize different words, and one may stand to deliver a line while the other sits. Here's the same scene with the parts reversed. Notice how Linney plays it for a laugh.

(SOUNDBITE OF PLAY, "THE LITTLE FOXES")

LINNEY: (As Regina Giddens) Can't you tell when you're being admired?

NIXON: (As Birdie Hubbard) Oscar said I bored Mr. Marshall, but he admired you. He told me so.

LINNEY: (As Regina Giddens) What did he say?

Great parts are meant to be played. They're not meant to be owned. They're not meant to be claimed. They're meant to be played.

LUNDEN: And it's not just about getting a crack at two great parts, says Laura Linney.

LINNEY: It's fascinating to see how one person and their interpretation⁶ or nuances of quality can shift and change an entire dynamic. And I found that all very interesting. What does that do to everybody else? What does that do to the play?

LUNDEN: And of course, how do you rehearse two actresses switching roles? Director Dan Sullivan says he added a week to the rehearsal⁷ schedule, and both women were in the room throughout the entire process.

SULLIVAN: We had never done it before, so we didn't quite know how to do it. And thank goodness both Cynthia and Laura are very generous people and look out for one another. So for instance, Laura would come to me during rehearsals⁸ and say, you know, Cynthia actually hasn't done this part of the play yet (laughter); you should give her a chance, or vice⁹ versa.

LUNDEN: Each character in Lillian Hellman's turn of the 20th century melodrama responds in a different way to a world ruled by men, says Cynthia Nixon.

NIXON: When you're playing Regina, you're playing someone who is at the center of everything. And when you're playing Birdie, you're always on the outskirts¹⁰.

LUNDEN: But in the third act, she has her moment.

(SOUNDBITE OF PLAY, "THE LITTLE FOXES")

NIXON: (As Birdie Hubbard) My family was good. And the cotton on Lionette's (ph) fields was better. Ben Hubbard wanted the cotton, and Oscar Hubbard married it for him.

LUNDEN: Ultimately both actresses think "The Little Foxes," which looks at an avaricious¹¹ Southern family, is surprisingly timely. Laura Linney...

LINNEY: Looking at money and power and what do you value and what do you not value, it's sort of shockingly right on point.

LUNDEN: The show is playing through June. And if you're really curious to see how different Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon are in the roles, you can make it a doubleheader with matinee and evening performances on Wednesdays and Saturdays. That's what I did. For NPR News, I'm Jeff Lunden in New York.

(SOUNDBITE OF MAYNARD FERGUSON'S "THREE LITTLE FOXES")

1 melodrama   

n.音乐剧；情节剧

参考例句：

• We really don't need all this ridiculous melodrama!别跟我们来这套荒唐的情节剧表演！
• White Haired Woman was a melodrama,but in certain spots it was deliberately funny.《白毛女》是一出悲剧性的歌剧，但也有不少插科打诨。

2 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

5 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

6 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

7 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

8 rehearsals   

n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复

参考例句：

• The earlier protests had just been dress rehearsals for full-scale revolution. 早期的抗议仅仅是大革命开始前的预演。
• She worked like a demon all through rehearsals. 她每次排演时始终精力过人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

11 avaricious   

adj.贪婪的，贪心的

参考例句：

• I call on your own memory as witness:remember we have avaricious hearts.假使你想要保证和证明，你可以回忆一下我们贪婪的心。
• He is so avaricious that we call him a blood sucker.他如此贪婪，我们都叫他吸血鬼。