文化面面觀  音樂劇將戲劇、舞蹈、音樂、詩歌通過不同的途徑混合起來的樣式并非是百老匯的首創和發明，可以說古典音樂和通俗表演才是音樂劇的親生父母。

考考你  乘熱打鐵

影片對白

Effie: I'm sorry I'm late.

C.C. : Effie.

Effie: C.C., sorry I missed rehearsals. But I went to the doctor, and I am feeling much better now.

C.C. : Look, don't try to make it tonight.

Effie: What are you talking about, baby? It's New Year's Eve.

C.C. : Yeah. Curtis just stepped out to make a call. Why don't you go up to your room and later he'll come up and talk to you?

Effie: I said, I'm fine. Excuse me. I have to get dressed now. 

Woman: Oh, God, I'm so nervous. I got all the steps down, but those harmonies...

Effie: C.C., what's going on? Lorrell, what's going on?

C.C. : Effie, Curtis was supposed to...

Effie: Love me. Curtis was supposed to love me.

Curtis: There you are, Effie. I've been looking all over.

Effie: I turn my back and find myself out on the line
You could have warned me
But that would have been too kind

Curtis: I've been warning you for months toclean up your act.
You've been late, you've been mean,
Giving all kinds of bullshit flack.

Effie: That's a lie, that's a lie
It's just I haven't been feeling that well

Curtis: Effie, please!
Stop excusing yourself.
You've been late, you've been mean,
And getting fatter all the time.

Effie: Now, you're lyin', lyin'
I've never been so thin!
You're lyin', you're lyin'
'Cause you're knocking off that piece
Who thinks she's better than everybody
She ain't better than anybody!
She ain't nothing but common!

Deena: Now, who you calling common
You self-indulgent, self-absorbed, non-professional?

Effie: You! I'm calling you
I'm calling you the common piece he's knocking off

Deena: Now, you listen to me
Miss Blame It On The World
See, I've put up with you for much too long
I have put up with your bitching
I've put up with your nagging
And all your screaming, too

Lorrell: Now, when are you two gonna stop all this fighting?

Effie: Stay out of this, Lorrell.
This is between Deena and me.

Lorrell: Yeah? Well, it's between me, too!
I'm as much a part of this group as anybody else
And I'm tired, Effie, I'm tired
Of all the problems you're making us

Effie: I always knew you two were together

Lorrell: What?

Effie: I always knew you two wereganging up on me!

Deena: She had nothing to do with this change
It was you, it was you
Always thinking of you!
Always thinking of you!

Curtis: I knew you were trouble from the start

Effie: Trouble?

Curtis: You were real bad trouble from the start

Effie: Curtis, I'm your woman.

Curtis: But you're getting out now
I'm not building this group
To have you tear it apart
Go ahead and rant and scream and shout!
Don't worry, baby, I'll buy you out

Effie: There's no money dirty enough to buy me out. You remember that, Curtis.

C. C. :Lay off, Effie
Just take the money and run

Effie: You're in this with him, C. C.?

C. C. : Cool it, Effie
This time you know what you done

Effie: So they bought your black ass, too, huh?

C. C. : I said, cool it, Effie
This time you've gone too far

Effie: Oh, I can go further! I can go further!

Woman: I don't want to stay around this
I'm just breakin' into this business
This is between all of you
This is none of my affair

Effie: Yeah?
Well, it's between you, too
Now, little sister
This snow job is as much your sin
Look at me! Look at me!
How much did you put out to get in?

Woman: Now, you watch your mouth
Watch your mouth, Miss Effie White
'Cause I don't take that talk
From no second-rate diva
Who can't sustain

Effie: I'm not feeling well, I've got pain

All: Effie, we all got pain!

妙語佳句，活學活用

1. Clean up one's act

意思是"to stop doing things that other people do not approve of and start to behave in a more acceptable way"，例如：There's a very strong anti-press feeling at the moment. A lot of people think it's time they cleaned up their act.

此外，clean up 還可泛指一切"bring to a certain standard of order or morality"的行為，例如：This script won't do; we'll have to clean up the language.

2. Gang up on someone

Gang up 的意思是"聯合起來一致行動，通常是對抗/攻擊另一方"，例如：The older children were always ganging up on the little ones.

3. Lay off

這里的意思是"Stop doing something, quit"，例如：Lay off that noise for a minute, so the baby can get to sleep. C.C. 這里的意思是要Effie 不要再糾纏不清了。

Lay off 在俚語中還可以用來警告別人"不要再煩我"：Lay off or I'll tell the teacher.

文化面面觀  音樂劇將戲劇、舞蹈、音樂、詩歌通過不同的途徑混合起來的樣式并非是百老匯的首創和發明，可以說古典音樂和通俗表演才是音樂劇的親生父母。

考考你  乘熱打鐵