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HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC — VOA’s radio magazine in SpecialEnglish.
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This is Doug Johnson. On our program today:
We play some music by the group called the Wallflowers …
Answer a question about the famous escape artist called Houdini…
And tell about a very creative theater and film director.
Julie Taymor
HOST:
Julie Taymor is an American theater and film director. She isbest known for her work with puppetry — an art form that uses largedolls and other objects in theatrical performances. Mizz Taymor hasbeen involved in the theater for almost thirty years. Mary Tillotsontells us about her.
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Julie Taymor began producing plays as a child at her home nearBoston, Massachusetts. She attended Oberlin College in Ohio,graduating in nineteen-seventy-four. She also studied theater andpuppetry in Japan, Indonesia, and Eastern Europe.
In the early nineteen-nineties, she directed a version of IgorStravinsky’s opera, “Oedipus Rex,” for the Saito Kinen Orchestra inJapan. She won an Emmy Award for the American television broadcastof the opera.
Julie Taymor became internationally known for her production ofthe Walt Disney Company’s Broadway musical play, “The Lion King.” Innineteen-ninety-eight, Mizz Taymor won several Tony Awards for herwork on that show.
She received one award fordesigning the unusual costumes worn by actors to represent the manydifferent animal creatures in the play. Mizz Taymor’s work on theproject also made her the first woman ever to win a Tony Award fordirecting a Broadway musical. “The Lion King” is still one of themost popular musicals on Broadway.
Mizz Taymor directed her first major film innineteen-ninety-nine. It was the movie “Titus.” The story was basedon William Shakespeare’s play, “Titus Andronicus.” The film was notan economic success. But critics praised it as one of the finestfilms made from a Shakespearean play.
In the movie, Julie Taymor used puppets, strange costumes andother special effects to tell Shakespeare’s story of a fallengeneral. Mizz Taymor used everything from child’s toys to the RomanColiseum to tell the story. And she used the play’s violence tocreate sympathy for its victims.
Julie Taymor’s latest project was directing the movie “Frida,”about the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The movie opened inNovember. Critics say that Julie Taymor has succeeded in bringingFrida Kahlo’s art to life. Several critics have called “Frida” oneof the best films of last year.
Houdini
HOST:
Our VOA listener question this week comes from Indonesia.Desmanto Herman asks about the life of the world famous escapeartist and magician known as Houdini.
Houdini’s real name was ErikWeisz. He was born in Budapest, Hungary in eighteen-seventy-four. Hecame to the United States with his family as a child. He became acircus performer. Then he settled in New York City ineighteen-eighty-two. He chose the stage name Harry Houdini to honora famous French magician named Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin.
Houdini began offering money to anyone who could successfullykeep him locked up. And so he became famous for escaping from ropes,handcuffs and different kinds of locked containers. For example, hewould be tied up with locked chains and placed in a box that wastied with a rope. The box was dropped underwater from a boat.Houdini would return to the boat after he escaped from the box. Or,Houdini would be tied into an “escape proof” jacket called a straitjacket and suspended twenty-three meters above the ground by hisfeet. He would then free himself from the strait jacket.
Thousands of people paid to watch these escape acts. UsuallyHoudini left no evidence of how he was able to make the escape.However, many people watched his escape from the strait jacket.
Experts say Houdini was successful because of his great physicalstrength and skill with locks. He also studied, practiced andexercised for many hours to prepare for his acts. For his underwateract, for example, he would hold his breath underwater in the bathtubfor up to four minutes.
Houdini also did magic tricks. For example, in nineteen-eighteen,he made an elephant disappear from the stage of a theater in NewYork City. It was the largest object ever made to disappear at thattime. He also invented many magic tricks. Houdini appeared in fivemovies from nineteen-sixteen to nineteen-twenty-three. He wroteseveral of them. Houdini is the only magician to make five movies,and the first to be honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame inCalifornia. Experts say he would have made more films had he livedlonger.
Harry Houdini died in nineteen-twenty-six of an infectedappendix. Today, people who want to learn about Harry Houdini andhis magic can visit the Houdini Historical Center in Appleton,Wisconsin. This is the city where he lived as a child.
The Wallflowers
HOST:
The popular rock group called the Wallflowers has released a newalbum. Shep O’Neal tells about “Red Letter Days” and plays a fewsongs from the new recording.
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“Red Letter Days” is theWallflowers’ fourth album. Jakob Dylan is the band’s lead singer,songwriter and guitar player. He says he started writing the songsfor the new album while the band was performing after the release ofan earlier album. Here is “When You’re On Top” from “Red LetterDays.”
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The other members of the Wallflowers were excited about the newsongs. So, they decided to test some of them in private recordingswhile they were still traveling. Jakob Dylan says the band wouldplay anywhere they could find a power source. Here, the Wallflowersperform “Closer To You.”
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The Wallflowers have been recording albums together for tenyears. But Jakob Dylan says they sometimes forgot what was importantto them. He says recording “Red Letter Days” has been a good lesson.He says the band has re-discovered its true goals. We leave you nowwith another song from the Wallflowers latest album. It is called”Here in Pleasantville.”
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HOST:
This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. And Ihope you will join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC — VOA’sradio magazine in Special English.
This AMERICAN MOSAIC program was written by Bob Brumfield, NancySteinbach and Caty Weaver. And our producer was Paul Thompson.