title: Man-Thing

text: The Man-Thing appeared regularly during The Punisher's "Franken-Castle" story arc and became a regular member of "Thunderbolts" with issue #144. The series was retitled "Dark Avengers" with #175, and the Man-Thing continued to appear as a regular character until issue #183. Steve Gerber's posthumous Man-Thing story "The Screenplay of the Living Dead Man", with art by Kevin Nowlan, originally planned as a 1980s graphic novel before being left uncompleted by the artist, was revived in the 2010s and appeared as a three-issue miniseries cover-titled "The Infernal Man-Thing" (Early Sept.-Oct. 2012). The story was a sequel to Gerber's "Song-Cry of the Living Dead Man" in "Man-Thing" #12 (Dec. 1974).


title: Man-Thing

text: Young biochemist Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis, a native of Omaha, Nebraska, is working in the Everglades as part of Dr. Wilma Calvin's Project: Gladiator team, which includes Dr. Barbara Morse and her fiancé Dr. Paul Allen, and an assistant named Jim. A Dr. Wendell is later cited as being on the staff after Dr. Calvin is shot. The group is attempting to recreate the Super-Soldier Serum that had created Captain America. "Web of Spider-Man" vol. 2 #6 revealed that Sallis at one point treated and worked alongside Dr. Curtis Connors shortly after Connors' arm was amputated, driving the research that would eventually transform Connors into the Lizard.


title: Man-Thing

text: Though warned that the technological terrorist group Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) has been operating in the area, Sallis breaches security by bringing with him his lover, Ellen Brandt (referred to here as "Miss Brandt", but later retconned to be his wife). He destroys his notes to his formula, which he has memorized. Later, he is ambushed by two thugs and learns that Brandt has betrayed him. Fleeing with the only sample of his serum, he injects himself with it in hopes of saving himself. However, he crashes his car into the swamp where scientific and, as "Man-Thing" #1 later explained, magical forces combine to instantly transform him into a slow-moving plant-matter creature with large, solid red eyes. Unable to speak, and with dim memories, he attacks the ambushers and Brandt, burning and scarring part of her face with an acid that he now secretes in the presence of negative emotions. The Man-Thing then wanders away into the swamp.


title: Man-Thing

text: Sallis' mind was apparently extinguished, although on rare occasions he could briefly return to consciousness within his monstrous form, as in "Doctor Strange" vol. 2 #41 (June 1980), "The Defenders" #98 (Aug. 1981), and "Peter Parker: Spider-Man" Annual '99, and even to his human form, as in "Adventure into Fear" #13 (April 1973), "Marvel Two-in-One" #1 (Jan. 1974), "Marvel Comics Presents" #164 (Oct. 1994), and "Man-Thing" vol. 3 #5 and 7-8 (April 1998, June–July 1998).


title: Man-Thing

text: Under writer Steve Gerber, the Man-Thing encounters the sorceress Jennifer Kale, with whom he briefly shared a psychic link and who knew his true identity, in a story arc in "Fear" #11-13 – the final issue of which established that the swamp had mystical properties as the Nexus of Realities. Through an interdimensional portal in "Fear" #19, he meets Howard the Duck, who becomes stranded in this reality. The Man-Thing became the guardian of the Nexus, and found himself facing demons, ghosts and time-traveling warriors, while continuing to encounter such non-supernatural antagonists as rapacious land developers, fascist vigilantes and common criminals. He formed a bond with young radio DJ Richard Rory and nurse Ruth Hart. Issue #12's "Song-Cry of the Living Dead Man", about an crazed writer named Brian Lazarus, spawned Gerber's posthumously published 2012 sequel, "The Screenplay of the Living Dead Man", in the three-issue miniseries "The Infernal Man-Thing".


title: Man-Thing

text: In "Man-Thing" vol. 2 #1-11 (Nov. 1979–July 1981), writer Chris Claremont introduced himself as a character in the final issue, as Gerber had in the finale of the first series. Additionally, Claremont temporarily "became" the Man-Thing after being stabbed to death. His and other characters' deaths were later resolved with the intervention of the "War Is Hell" series lead, John Kowalski, now an aspect of Marvel Comics' manifestation of Death. In "Man-Thing" vol. 3 #1-8 (Dec. 1997–July 1998), Ellen Brandt Sallis returns to the Citrusville area and encounters a little boy, Job Burke, who is actually the Sallises' son, who had been put up for adoption. Following this series, the story continued in "Strange Tales" vol. 4 #1-2, and was projected to continue in the unpublished issues #3-4. Summaries based on DeMatteis' unillustrated scripts appear on the K'Ad-mon and Ellen Brandt pages in "Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe".


title: Man-Thing

text: During the "Civil War" storyline, two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents unsuccessfully attempt to register the Man-Thing under the Superhuman Registration Act.


title: Man-Thing

text: The Man-Thing later appears as a member of the Legion of Monsters alongside Morbius, the Living Vampire, the Werewolf by Night, the Manphibian, and N'Kantu, the Living Mummy. He later gains the ability to speak comprehensibly through the use of the "Universal Language". Phil Coulson subsequently recruits the Man-Thing for his incarnation of the Howling Commandos.


title: Man-Thing

text: As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel branding, the Man-Thing appears as a member of S.T.A.K.E.'s Howling Commandos.


title: Man-Thing

text: During the "Empyre" storyline, Man-Thing falls under the control of the Cotati led by Ventri that were operating in the Savage Land. Doctor Voodoo takes control of Man-Thing to free Matthew and Black Knight. As Matthew and Black Knight fight the Cotati, a Doctor Voodoo-controlled Man-Thing fights the Cotati's control and defeats Ventri. As Doctor Voodoo exits Man-Thing to assist Scarlet Witch after Ka-Zar was stabbed by a Cotati using Black Knight's Ebony Blade, Man-Thing continued the fight against the Cotati. When the Cotati were defeated, Man-Thing takes his leave after being thanked by Black Knight. Ventri claims that what they learned from Man-Thing's energy has been sent to Quoi to fuel the Cotati's invasion.


title: Man-Thing

text: Though the beast now lacks a normal human intellect and has shed any desire to communicate with human society, it nevertheless often becomes an accidental hero as it stumbles upon various crime and horror scenarios.


title: Man-Thing

text: In the pages of "The Thunderbolts", Dr. Henry Pym has expressed the view that the Man-Thing is sentient, though difficult to communicate with. For example, he once rescued an infant and left the child with a doctor (which would require an understanding of the function of a doctor and the ability to navigate to a specific address). He is shown to understand concepts such as how to ring a doorbell, how to put an arm in a sling, and even how to flip an auto-destruct switch. The change in the Man-Thing's intellect can partly be explained by fact that its brain, sensory organs, and central nervous system are now organized in a completely different fashion than a human's; for instance, the Man-Thing's auditory receptors are in his forehead. Regardless of what level of humanity the creature still possesses, it can discern when a person's motivations are evil, which causes it pain and motivates it to lash out.


title: Man-Thing

text: The Man-Thing possesses a variety of superhuman powers that are derived from the combined interaction of the scientific formula created by Ted Sallis and the mystical energies of the Nexus of All Realities.


title: Man-Thing

text: It is able to sense human emotions, and is enraged by fear and automatically secretes a powerful corrosive; anyone feeling fear and clutched by the Man-Thing is prone to be burned (either chemically or mystically), hence the series' tagline: "Whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing's touch!" Though fear is understandably most people's response to the creature, both for his monstrous appearance and the physical danger of his touch, typically only villains end up meeting an immolating death at its hands. Many survive being burned, notably Ellen Brandt, Nightcrawler (whom he does not even scar), and Mongu, whose hand he permanently attaches to his axe, either due to intervention or dissipation. Unusual psychic and mystical forces react in what passes as the "brain" cells located throughout his body. These unique forces render the Man-Thing extremely sensitive to emotions. Emotions that are mild and generally considered positive arouse curiosity and the Man-Thing will sometimes observe from a distance. However, emotions that are often viewed as negative, such as violent emotions like anger, hatred, and fear, cause the Man-Thing great discomfort and might provoke him to attack. Once provoked into violent actions, his body secretes highly concentrated acid that can burn human beings to ashes within a matter of seconds. Even individuals that have high levels of superhuman durability have proven unable to withstand this potent acid. While the Man-Thing is devoid of violent emotions, his body produces a type of foamy, soapy mucus that neutralizes the acid.


title: Man-Thing

text: Although the Man-Thing's superhuman strength, speed, intelligence, durability, and immortality, give the monster his powers it is his spiritual ability that makes him immune to any other disease, it has been established that the creature possesses physical stamina beyond the limitations of any human athlete. Initially, the Man-Thing is only slightly stronger than Captain America, but in later appearances, the Man-Thing possesses sufficient superhuman strength to stand toe-to-toe with much stronger villains. He is able to lift a automobile when sufficiently motivated.


title: Man-Thing

text: The Man-Thing's body is practically invulnerable to harm. Because his body is not entirely solid, but composed of the muck and vegetative matter of the swamp, fists, bullets, knives, energy blasts, etc. will either pass entirely through him or will harmlessly be lodged within his body. Even if a vast portion of the Man-Thing's body were to be ripped away or incinerated, he would be able to reorganize himself by drawing the necessary material from the surrounding vegetation. The Devil-Slayer once sliced him nearly in half, and he has survived being incinerated by a Celestial, although his healing from the latter has been the longest and most complex in his lifetime.


title: Man-Thing

text: Due to the construction of his body, the Man-Thing is able to ooze his body through openings or around barriers that would seem too small for him to pass through. The smaller the opening, the longer it will take for him to reorganize his mass upon reaching the other side. This ability can be defeated mystically.


title: Man-Thing

text: The Man-Thing was once dependent upon the swamp he inhabits for his continued survival; his body would slowly weaken and eventually lapse into dormancy if not returned to the swamp or would be greatly damaged if exposed to clean water. His exposure to the Citrusville waste treatment plant greatly enhanced his ability to leave the swamp, as he became a self-contained ecosystem, feeding off of his own waste products. He generally leaves the swamp of his own accord only if he senses a mystical disturbance. The Man-Thing has also demonstrated himself susceptible to possession by other entities.


title: Man-Thing

text: The Man-Thing and a host of alternate counterparts have undergone a couple of changes in form, like having the ability to control and alternate plant matter both from its own person and the surrounding area. The Man-Thing also has trans-reality shifting abilities due in part to his nature as a living extra-dimensional crossroads; he is able to open portals to and from alternate realities, interact with different dimensional counterparts and even alternate the physical appearances of said doppelgangers with those of their prime universe iterations. Through his empathic abilities, the Man-Thing can grow more powerful by feeding on the fear of others, increasing his size and mass to titanic proportions during "Fear Itself".


title: Man-Thing

text: Although the Man-Thing lacks a normal human intellect, in his life as Ted Sallis, he possessed a Ph.D. in biochemistry. Sallis is legally dead, but his identity is known to numerous living people, including Wilma Calvin, Ellen Brandt, Stephen Strange, Owen Reece, Ben Grimm, Thog the Nether-Spawn, Jennifer Kale, and anyone they may have told or written to about it. His identity as the Man-Thing could not be considered secret, but his existence is generally believed to be a hoax, and an obscure one at that. In-universe, knowledge of his existence is rarely tied to the experiments of Sallis, as are speculations as to any human identity he may have had. Despite having appeared in Citrusville many times, many there still believe him to be a rumor.


title: Man-Thing

text: Dr. Barbara "Bobbi" Morse was introduced in the second Man-Thing story by Len Wein/Neal Adams, although because of publication delays, she was introduced in "Astonishing Tales" #6, with the Wein/Adams story presented as flashback. Morse became the costumed hero Mockingbird in "Marvel Team-Up" #95 and went on to become a prominent member of Avengers West Coast, eventually sacrificing her life to save her husband, Clint "Hawkeye" Barton, from Mephisto. Until recently, her spirit fought alongside Daimon Hellstrom to eliminate demons from his version of Hell; however, she has appeared alive during the "Secret Invasion" crossover event. At the end of "Secret Invasion", Mockingbird was revealed to be alive and had been one of the early captures of the Skrulls. Morse has joined the New Avengers and has had adventures alongside Hawkeye.


title: Man-Thing

text: Jennifer Kale debuted in "Adventure into Fear" #11, which was the first story Steve Gerber wrote for Marvel after his initial tryout. She went on to appear in two team books, "The Legion of Night", created and written by Gerber and partially composed of several other Gerber-created supporting cast members such as Martin Gold and Dr. Katherine Reynolds, and Bronwyn Carlton and Bryan Walsh's "Witches" in which she teamed with Satana the Devil's Daughter and Topaz under the tutelage of Doctor Strange.


title: Man-Thing

text: Gerber introduced Howard the Duck in a Man-Thing story in "Adventure into Fear" #19. Howard, who was displaced from Duckworld, an alternate Earth of anthropomorphic ducks in another dimension, via the swamp's Nexus of Realities, later acquired his own series, which was written by Gerber for the first 27 issues.


title: Man-Thing

text: The Foolkiller, a vigilante who used a ray-gun to disintegrate not only criminals but anyone that he considered foolish, was introduced in issue #3 of this series, bent on slaying disc jockey Richard Rory, introduced in the previous issue. When Rory was serving time for trumped-up kidnapping charges, he accidentally created another Foolkiller when he revealed too much detail about the previous incarnation and the whereabouts of his gear. This Foolkiller became an occasional villain in other Marvel comics. Both Rory and this second Foolkiller, along with nurse Ruth Hart (who appeared in "Man-Thing" (vol. 1) #2-7) were supporting characters in Gerber's "Omega the Unknown", while David Anthony Kraft made Rory a potential love interest for the She-Hulk. A third version of the character, who was in Internet communication with the second, starred in Gerber's 1990 "Foolkiller" miniseries. A second series by Greg Hurwitz, featuring a fourth Foolkiller, appeared in 2008.


title: Man-Thing

text: In "", which is based on the "" animated series, Storm and Jean Grey are inadvertently teleported to the Man-Thing's swamp from the Mojoverse. The three battle D'Spayre, who appears as a fake preacher trying to lead people up a suicide tower that is drawing energy out of the Nexus of All Realities. D'Spayre, working for the Dweller-in-Darkness, is burned by the Man-Thing when he fears failure. After their defeat of D'Spayre, Jean makes a psychic link with the Man-Thing (which she had done earlier to learn his origin) and is imparted information that she believes is the most important thing in the world. Jean is forced to become the Phoenix once more, using the information obtained from the Man-Thing, destroys the M'Kraan Crystal, and in doing so, ends the universe. However, one survivor is sent into the universe to come, Galactus, thereby implying that the animation continuity takes place eons before the mainstream Marvel continuity.


title: Man-Thing

text: The "Mutant X" comic book series depicts a Marvel Universe in which characters' counterparts are vastly different. In the "Mutant X Annual '99" (1999), Doctor Strange, the sorcerer supreme of Earth, reveals himself to be the Man-Thing. He returns in "Mutant X Annual '01" (2001), and "Mutant X" #32 (June 2001).


title: Man-Thing

text: On Earth-91, everyone in that reality is a Man-Thing. The Multiversal Masters of Evil arrive on Earth-91 where they massacre this reality's Prehistoric Avengers. Unbeknownst to the Multiversal Masters of Evil, Doom Supreme secretly saved a Man-Thing variation of Doctor Doom called Doom-Thing where it swore its allegiance to him alongside the other variations of Doctor Doom.


title: Man-Thing

text: "Amazing Adventures" (vol. 2) #38 tells the story of what happened when Killraven stumbled across the Miami Museum of Cultural Development and became caught up in the projected dreams of an astronaut from the "Mars launch in 1999". During the hallucination, Killraven encountered distorted versions of numerous Marvel characters. Rather ambiguously, the awakened astronaut later described the figures as "all the heroes from my youth" but he also often referred to them as "myths". The only Marvel character that is definitely "real" in the projected nightmare is the Man-Thing, who appears as part of an actual memory of an encounter that the astronaut had with the creature in the Florida Everglades.


title: Man-Thing

text: The Champions encounter a Man-Thing that lives in Mbali, Tanzania. During their mission to Weirdworld, it is revealed that this Man-Thing is a version of Ted Sallis who came from Earth-11234 and that he was part of the Swamp Queen Alliance led by his world's version of Jennifer Kale.


title: Man-Thing

text: The Man-Thing appears in the last issue and appears to be standing guard over all creation. It ultimately accepts Deadpool's plan and kills the Taskmaster.


title: Man-Thing

text: The Ultimate Man-Thing, in the alternate-universe "Ultimate Marvel" imprint, is similar to his traditional counterpart in mainstream continuity. In his first appearance, he teamed with Spider-Man in "Ultimate Marvel Team Up" #10, unwittingly saving the superhero from the Lizard. Additionally, in "Ultimate Fantastic Four" #7, during a flashback that transformed Reed Richards and his colleagues into the Fantastic Four, the Man-Thing is shown for a moment.


title: Man-Thing

text: The second story in the alternate-reality anthology comic book "What If" #26 (April 1981) asked, "What if the Man-Thing had Regained Ted Sallis' Brain?" Written by Steven Grant, with art by penciller Herb Trimpe and inker Bob Wiacek. In the story, an alligator that Dr. Oheimer was working on became the new Man-Thing, while Sallis self-immolated at his own fear while fighting it.


title: Man-Thing

text: "What If" (vol. 2) #11 (March 1990) featured the Fantastic Four in four scenarios written and pencilled by Jim Valentino, showing what might have happened if the team-members had all had the same powers as one another. In "What if the Fantastic Four had All Become Monsters Like the Thing?", Sue Storm's appearance was that of the Man-Thing. In this form she had lost all but her very basic intelligence and could no longer speak.


title: Man-Thing

text: "Song For Ted Sallis" – Written and performed by The Mountain Goats, this song tells the story of Ted Sallis transforming into the Man-Thing. It appears as the first track on the "Hex of Infinite Binding" EP, released September 6, 2018.


title: White elephant

text: A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, scheme, business venture, facility, etc. considered expensive but without equivalent utility or value relative to its capital (acquisition) and/or operational (maintenance) costs.


title: White elephant

text: The term derives from the sacred white elephants kept by Southeast Asian monarchs in Burma, Thailand (Siam), Laos and Cambodia. To possess a white elephant was regarded—and is still regarded in Thailand and Burma—as a sign that the monarch reigned with justice and power, and that the kingdom was blessed with peace and prosperity. The opulence expected of anyone who owned a beast of such stature was great. Monarchs often exemplified their possession of white elephants in their formal titles (e.g., Hsinbyushin, and the third monarch of the Konbaung dynasty). Because the animals were considered sacred and laws protected them from labor, receiving a gift of a white elephant from a monarch was simultaneously a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because the animal was sacred and a sign of the monarch's favour, and a curse because the recipient now had an expensive-to-maintain animal he could not give away and could not put to much practical use.


title: White elephant

text: In the West, the term "white elephant", relating to an expensive burden that fails to meet expectations, was first used in the 17th century and became widespread in the 19th century. According to one source it was popularized following P. T. Barnum's experience with an elephant named "Toung Taloung" that he billed as the "Sacred White Elephant of Burma". After much effort and great expense, Barnum finally acquired the animal from the King of Siam only to discover that his "white elephant" was actually dirty grey in color with a few pink spots.


title: White elephant

text: The expressions "white elephant" and "gift of a white elephant" came into common use in the middle of the nineteenth century. The phrase was attached to "white elephant swaps" and "white elephant sales" in the early twentieth century. Many church bazaars held "white elephant sales" where donors could unload unwanted bric-à-brac, generating profit from the phenomenon that "one man’s trash is another man’s treasure" and the term has continued to be used in this context.


title: White elephant

text: In modern usage, the term now often refers in addition to an extremely expensive building project that fails to deliver on its function or becomes very costly to maintain. Examples include prestigious but uneconomic infrastructure projects such as airports, dams, bridges, shopping malls and football stadiums. The American Oakland Athletics baseball team has used a white elephant as a symbol and usually its main or alternate logo since 1902, originally in sarcastic defiance of John McGraw's 1902 characterization of the new team as a "white elephant". The Dubai Central airport has also been named a white elephant. In Singapore, paper cutouts of white elephants were placed next to the completed but unopened Buangkok MRT station in 2005, leading to a police investigation.


title: White elephant

text: The term has also been applied to outdated or underperforming military projects like the U.S. Navy's "Alaska"-class cruiser. In Austria, the term "white elephant" means workers who have little or no use, but are not terminable.


title: Thermopylae

text: Thermopylae (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: ("Thermopylai") , Demotic Greek (Greek): , ("Thermopyles") ; "hot gates") is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs. In Greek mythology the Hot Gates is one of the entrances to Hades.


title: Thermopylae

text: Thermopylae is the site of a battle between the Greek forces (including Spartans, Thebans and Thespians) and the invading Persian forces, commemorated by Simonides of Ceos in the epitaph, "Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, That here obedient to their laws we lie." Thermopylae is the only land route large enough to bear any significant traffic between Lokris and Thessaly. To go from north to south along the east coast of the Balkans requires use of the pass.


title: Thermopylae

text: In ancient times it was called Malis, named after the Malians (), a Greek tribe that lived near present-day Lamia at the delta of the river Spercheios in Greece. The Malian Gulf is also named after them. In the western valley of the Spercheios their land was adjacent to the Aenianes. Their main town was named Trachis. In the town of Anthela, the Malians had an important Temple of Demeter Amphictyonis, an early center of the Anthelan Amphictyony.


title: Thermopylae

text: The land is dominated by the coastal floodplain of the Spercheios river and is surrounded by sloping forested limestone mountains. There is continuous deposition of sediment from the river and travertine deposits from the hot springs which has substantially altered the landscape during the past few thousand years. The land surface on which the famous Battle of Thermopylae was fought in 480 BC is now buried under of soil. The shoreline has also advanced over the centuries because of the sedimentary deposition. The level of the Malian Gulf was also significantly higher during prehistoric times, and the Spercheios River was significantly shorter. Its shoreline advanced by up to 2 kilometers between 2500 BC and 480 BC but has still left several narrow passages between the sea and the mountains. The narrowest point on the plain, where the battle was probably fought, would have been less than wide. Between 480 BC and the 21st century, the shoreline advanced by as much as in places, eliminating the narrowest points of the pass and considerably increasing the size of the plain around the outlet of the Spercheios.


title: Thermopylae

text: The A1 motorway linking Athens and Thessaloniki now follows the ancient shoreline and thus splits the pass; a modern-day monument to King Leonidas I of Sparta is situated on the east side of the highway, directly across the road from the hill where Simonides' epitaph to the fallen is engraved in stone at the top. Thermopylae is part of the "horseshoe of Maliakos", also known as the "horseshoe of death": it is the narrowest part of the highway connecting the north and the south of Greece. It has many turns and has been the site of many vehicular accidents.


title: Thermopylae

text: Thermopylae means "hot gates," in reference to the presence of the hot sulphur springs in the area. The cavernous entrance to Hades, the underworld of Greek mythology, was said to be at Thermopylae. In one variation of the story of the Labours of Heracles, it was said that the waters at Thermopylae became hot because the hero Heracles tried to cleanse himself of Hydra poison in them.


title: Thermopylae

text: The first known Amphictyony, a group of religiously-associated ancient Greek tribes, was centered on the cult of Demeter at the city of Anthela, near Thermopylae. The delegates to this first Amphictyony were dubbed the "Pylagorai" ("gate-assemblers"); since Demeter had chthonic or underworld associations in many of her older cults, this may be a reference to the gates of Hades.


title: Thermopylae

text: Thermopylae is primarily known for the battle that took place there in 480 BC, in which an outnumbered Greek force probably of 7,000 (including 300 Spartans, 500 warriors from Tegea, 500 from Mantinea, 120 from Arcadian Orchomenos, 1,000 from the rest of Arcadia, 200 from Phlius, 80 from Mycenae, 400 Corinthians, 400 Thebans, 1,000 Phocians, 700 Thespians, and the Opuntian Locrians) held off a substantially larger force of Persians under Xerxes. Over 1,000 Greeks remained in the pass when most of the army retreated: the survivors from previous fighting of 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians, along with 400 Thebans whom the other Greeks forcibly held as hostages. Gaius Stern has argued that this force had already suffered casualties of over 100 in the previous fighting, so the true number might be closer to 1,250 than 1,400.


title: Thermopylae

text: For three days they held a narrow route between hills and the sea against Xerxes' vast cavalry and infantry force, before being outflanked on the third day via an obscure goat path named the Anopaea Pass. According to the Greek legend, a traitor named Ephialtes of Trachis showed the path to the invaders. The following epitaph by Simonides was written on the monument: "Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie." (Ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.)


title: Thermopylae

text: In 353 BC/352 BC during the Third Sacred War, fought mainly between the forces of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, principally represented by Thebes, and latterly by Philip II of Macedon, and the Phocians. The war was caused by a large fine imposed on the Phocians in 357 BC for cultivating sacred land. The Spartans, who were also fined in that war, actually never fought in it as they were later pardoned.


title: Thermopylae

text: In 279 BC a Gallic army led by Brennus initially engaged the Aetolians who were forced to make a tactical retreat and who were finally routed by the Thessalians and Malians by the river Spercheios.


title: Thermopylae

text: In 191 BC Antiochus III the Great of Syria attempted in vain to hold the pass against the Romans under Manius Acilius Glabrio.


title: Thermopylae

text: At an uncertain date in the mid 3rd century AD, the Germanic tribe of Heruli were defeated by a Roman force sent to stop them.


title: Thermopylae

text: In 997, the Bulgarian Tsar Samuel invaded Greece and advanced as far as the Peloponnese. On his return, he was met by a Byzantine army under Nikephoros Ouranos at Spercheios. As the river was flooded, both sides encamped on opposite sides without action. Confident that the Byzantines could not cross the river, the Bulgarians relaxed their guard and were taken by surprise when Byzantine scouts discovered a ford further upriver.


title: Thermopylae

text: In 1821, a force of Greek fighters led by Athanasios Diakos made a stand near the pass to stop a force of 8,000 Turks from marching down from Thessaly to put down revolts in Roumeli and the Peloponnese. Diakos, after making a last stand at the bridge of Alamana with 48 of his men, was captured and killed.


title: Thermopylae

text: In 1941 during World War II the ANZAC forces delayed the invading Nazi forces in the area enough to allow the evacuation of the British expeditionary force to Crete. This conflict also became known as the Battle of Thermopylae. The sabotage of the Gorgopotamos bridge in 1942 was referred in German documents of the era as "the recent sabotage near Thermopylae".


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus, is a Gram-positive, spherical bacteria, alpha-hemolytic (under aerobic conditions) or beta-hemolytic (under anaerobic conditions), aerotolerant anaerobic member of the genus Streptococcus. They are usually found in pairs (diplococci) and do not form spores and are non motile. As a significant human pathogenic bacterium "S. pneumoniae" was recognized as a major cause of pneumonia in the late 19th century, and is the subject of many humoral immunity studies.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: "Streptococcus pneumoniae" resides asymptomatically in healthy carriers typically colonizing the respiratory tract, sinuses, and nasal cavity. However, in susceptible individuals with weaker immune systems, such as the elderly and young children, the bacterium may become pathogenic and spread to other locations to cause disease. It spreads by direct person-to-person contact via respiratory droplets and by auto inoculation in persons carrying the bacteria in their upper respiratory tracts. It can be a cause of neonatal infections.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: "Streptococcus pneumoniae" is the main cause of community acquired pneumonia and meningitis in children and the elderly, and of sepsis in those infected with HIV. The organism also causes many types of pneumococcal infections other than pneumonia. These invasive pneumococcal diseases include bronchitis, rhinitis, acute sinusitis, otitis media, conjunctivitis, meningitis, sepsis, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, endocarditis, peritonitis, pericarditis, cellulitis, and brain abscess.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: "Streptococcus pneumoniae" can be differentiated from the viridans streptococci, some of which are also alpha-hemolytic, using an optochin test, as "S. pneumoniae" is optochin-sensitive. "S. pneumoniae" can also be distinguished based on its sensitivity to lysis by bile, the so-called "bile solubility test". The encapsulated, Gram-positive, coccoid bacteria have a distinctive morphology on Gram stain, lancet-shaped diplococci. They have a polysaccharide capsule that acts as a virulence factor for the organism; more than 100 different serotypes are known, and these types differ in virulence, prevalence, and extent of drug resistance.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: In 1881, the organism, known later in 1886 as the pneumococcus for its role as a cause of pneumonia, was first isolated simultaneously and independently by the U.S. Army physician George Sternberg and the French chemist Louis Pasteur.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: The organism was termed "Diplococcus pneumoniae" from 1920 because of its characteristic appearance in Gram-stained sputum. It was renamed "Streptococcus pneumoniae" in 1974 because it was very similar to streptococci.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: "Streptococcus pneumoniae" played a central role in demonstrating that genetic material consists of DNA. In 1928, Frederick Griffith demonstrated transformation of life turning harmless pneumococcus into a lethal form by co-inoculating the live pneumococci into a mouse along with heat-killed virulent pneumococci. In 1944, Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty demonstrated that the transforming factor in Griffith's experiment was not protein, as was widely believed at the time, but DNA. Avery's work marked the birth of the molecular era of genetics.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: The genome of "S. pneumoniae" is a closed, circular DNA structure that contains between 2.0 and 2.1 million base pairs depending on the strain. It has a core set of 1553 genes, plus 154 genes in its virulome, which contribute to virulence and 176 genes that maintain a noninvasive phenotype. Genetic information can vary up to 10% between strains. The pneumococcal genome is known to contain a large and diverse repertoire of antimicrobial peptides, including 11 different lantibiotics.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: Natural bacterial transformation involves the transfer of DNA from one bacterium to another through the surrounding medium. Transformation is a complex developmental process requiring energy and is dependent on expression of numerous genes. In S. pneumoniae, at least 23 genes are required for transformation. For a bacterium to bind, take up, and recombine exogenous DNA into its chromosome, it must enter a special physiological state called competence.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: Competence in "S. pneumoniae" is induced by DNA-damaging agents such as mitomycin C, fluoroquinolone antibiotics (norfloxacin, levofloxacin and moxifloxacin), and topoisomerase inhibitors. Transformation protects "S. pneumoniae" against the bactericidal effect of mitomycin C. Michod et al. summarized evidence that induction of competence in "S. pneumoniae" is associated with increased resistance to oxidative stress and increased expression of the RecA protein, a key component of the recombinational repair machinery for removing DNA damages. On the basis of these findings, they suggested that transformation is an adaptation for repairing oxidative DNA damages. "S. pneumoniae" infection stimulates polymorphonuclear leukocytes (granulocytes) to produce an oxidative burst that is potentially lethal to the bacteria. The ability of "S. pneumoniae" to repair the oxidative DNA damages in its genome, caused by this host defense, likely contributes to this pathogen's virulence. Consistent with this premise, Li et al. reported that, among different highly transformable "S. pneumoniae" isolates, nasal colonization fitness and virulence (lung infectivity) depend on an intact competence system.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: "Streptococcus pneumoniae" is part of the normal upper respiratory tract flora. As with many natural flora, it can become pathogenic under the right conditions, typically when the immune system of the host is suppressed. Invasins, such as pneumolysin, an antiphagocytic capsule, various adhesins, and immunogenic cell wall components are all major virulence factors. After "S. pneumoniae" colonizes the air sacs of the lungs, the body responds by stimulating the inflammatory response, causing plasma, blood, and white blood cells to fill the alveoli. This condition is called pneumonia.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: Pneumonia is the most common of the "S. pneumoniae" diseases which include symptoms such as fever and chills, cough, rapid breathing, difficulty breathing, and chest pain. For the elderly, they may include confusion, low alertness, and the former listed symptoms to a lesser degree.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: Pneumococcal meningitis is an infection of the tissue covering the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include stiff neck, fever, headache, confusion, and photophobia.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: Sepsis is caused by overwhelming response to an infection and leads to tissue damage, organ failure, and even death. The symptoms include confusion, shortness of breath, elevated heart rate, pain or discomfort, over-perspiration, fever, shivering, or feeling cold.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: Due to the importance of disease caused by "S. pneumoniae", several vaccines have been developed to protect against invasive infection. The World Health Organization recommends routine childhood pneumococcal vaccination; it is incorporated into the childhood immunization schedule in a number of countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Africa.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: Components from "S. pneumoniae" have been harnessed for a range of applications in biotechnology. Through engineering of surface molecules from this bacterium, proteins can be irreversibly linked using the sortase enzyme or using the SnoopTag/SnoopCatcher reaction. Various glycoside hydrolases have also been cloned from "S. pneumoniae" to help analysis of cell glycosylation.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: Historically, "Haemophilus influenzae" has been a significant cause of infection, and both "H. influenzae" and "S. pneumoniae" can be found in the human upper respiratory system. A study of competition "in vitro" revealed "S. pneumoniae" overpowered "H. influenzae" by attacking it with hydrogen peroxide. However, in a study adding both bacteria to the nasal cavity of a mouse within two weeks, only "H. influenzae" survives; further analysis showed that neutrophils exposed to dead "H. influenzae" were more aggressive in attacking "S. pneumoniae".


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: Diagnosis is generally made based on clinical suspicion along with a positive culture from a sample from virtually any place in the body. "S. pneumoniae" is, in general, optochin sensitive, although optochin resistance has been observed.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: The recent advances in next-generation sequencing and comparative genomics have enabled the development of robust and reliable molecular methods for the detection and identification of "S. pneumoniae". For instance, the "Xisco" gene was recently described as a biomarker for PCR-based detection of "S. pneumoniae" and differentiation from closely related species.


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: Atromentin and leucomelone possess antibacterial activity, inhibiting the enzyme enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase, (essential for the biosynthesis of fatty acids) in "S. pneumoniae".


title: Streptococcus pneumoniae

text: Resistant pneumococcal strains are called penicillin-resistant pneumococci (PRP), penicillin-resistant "Streptococcus pneumoniae" (PRSP), "Streptococcus pneumoniae" penicillin resistant (SPPR) or drug-resistant "Strepotococcus pneumoniae" (DRSP). In 2015, in the US, there were an estimated 30,000 cases, and in 30% of them the strains were resistant to one or more antibiotics.


title: The Red Sea Diving Resort

text: The Red Sea Diving Resort (also known as Operation Brothers) is a 2019 spy thriller film written and directed by Gideon Raff. The film stars Chris Evans as an Israeli Mossad agent who runs a covert operation that attempts to rescue Ethiopian-Jewish refugees from Sudan to safe haven in Israel. Michael Kenneth Williams, Haley Bennett, Alessandro Nivola, Michiel Huisman, Chris Chalk, Greg Kinnear, and Ben Kingsley are in supporting roles.


title: The Red Sea Diving Resort

text: The film is loosely based on the events of Israel's Operation Moses and Operation Joshua in 1984-1985, in which the Mossad covertly rescued Jewish-Ethiopian refugees who suffered from persecutions in Sudan in Africa, by smuggling them all the way to the safety of Israel, using a base at the once-abandoned holiday resort of Arous Village on the Sudanese Red Sea coast.


title: The Red Sea Diving Resort

text: "The Red Sea Diving Resort" premiered at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival on July 28, 2019, and was released on July 31, 2019, by Netflix. Critical reaction to the film was predominantly negative, while audiences were far more positive.


title: The Red Sea Diving Resort

text: Kebede Bimro, an Ethiopian Jew loosely based on Ferede Aklum, works with the Israeli Mossad agent Ari Levinson to evacuate Jewish-Ethiopian refugees to Israel. Ari realizes that his ability to operate in Ethiopia would be improved if he had a cover activity that would give him a reason for having a building and vehicles. He proposes to Israeli intelligence officer Ethan Levin a plan that would allow him to evacuate significantly more refugees: rent the Red Sea Diving Resort, an abandoned Sudanese coastal hotel, and run it as a front to facilitate moving refugees out of the country. The unorthodox plan is reluctantly approved, and Ari recruits his former Mossad colleagues Rachel Reiter, Jake Wolf, Max Rose, and Sammy Navon, to assist him.


title: The Red Sea Diving Resort

text: Shortly after the team's arrival in the Islamic country of Sudan, the brochures they had printed inspire actual tourists to begin arriving at the resort. Although hosting guests was not originally part of the plan, Levinson realizes the tourists will provide cover for the team's operations, so the team runs the resort as a legitimate business while simultaneously evacuating refugees to a waiting Israeli ship off the coast. The plan is initially successful, and multiple extraction operations are carried out, but the Sudanese Colonel Abdel Ahmed learns of Bimro after interrogating and then killing a group of refugees. Ahmed visits the resort to investigate but does not discover the refugee operation.


title: The Red Sea Diving Resort

text: One night, Ari and Sammy are arrested after an evacuation mission narrowly escapes from Sudanese soldiers. They are released and return to the resort to find Levin awaiting them; he tells the group the mission has been compromised and that it is canceled.


title: The Red Sea Diving Resort

text: Ahmed again visits the resort, and Rachel is forced to kill one of his men after the soldier discovers a group of refugees hiding there. To evacuate them, Ari decides to perform a final refugee extraction by cargo plane with assistance from Walton Bowen, a CIA officer. Ari and his team transport the refugees to an abandoned British airfield. The team and Bimro narrowly escape Ahmed and extract themselves and the refugees.


title: The Red Sea Diving Resort

text: "The Red Sea Diving Resort" is loosely based on the events of Operation Moses and Operation Joshua (jointly referred to as Operation Brothers), in which Ethiopian Jews were covertly moved from refugee camps in Sudan to Israel during the 1980s. The actual abandoned resort, the Arous Holiday Village on the Red Sea, was located roughly 70 kilometers from Port Sudan and was managed by Mossad operatives until 1985. The existence of these operations was first revealed in Gad Shimron’s 1998 book "Mossad Exodus: The Daring Undercover Rescue of the Lost Jewish Tribe", though the film is not associated with the book.


title: The Red Sea Diving Resort

text: In August 2015, Fox Searchlight purchased the rights for the film. Development on the film was first announced in March 2017, with Gideon Raff directing and writing the screenplay, and Chris Evans and Haley Bennett cast. In April, Michael K. Williams joined the project. In May, Greg Kinnear, Alessandro Nivola, and Ben Kingsley were added to the cast, with a filming start date of June 22, 2017, established. Chris Chalk was cast on June 15. Shooting took place at the Cape Town Film Studios in South Africa and Namibia.


title: The Red Sea Diving Resort

text: In February 2019, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film. It had its world premiere at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival on July 28, 2019. It was released on July 31, 2019.


title: The Red Sea Diving Resort

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 29% based on 42 reviews, with a weighted average of 4.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""The Red Sea Diving Resort" makes uninspired use of actual events, using thinly written characters to tell a story derailed by its own good intentions." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 29 out of 100, based on reviews from eight critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".


title: Taal Volcano

text: Taal Volcano (; ) is a large caldera filled by Taal Lake in the Philippines. Located in the province of Batangas, the volcano is second of the most active volcanoes in the country, with 38 recorded historical eruptions, all of which were concentrated on Volcano Island, near the middle of Taal Lake. The caldera was formed by prehistoric eruptions between 140,000 and 5,380 BP.


title: Taal Volcano

text: Taal Volcano has had several violent eruptions in the past, causing deaths on the island and the populated areas surrounding the lake, with an overall death toll of about 6,000. Because of its proximity to populated areas and its eruptive history, the volcano was designated a Decade Volcano, worthy of close study to prevent future natural disasters. All volcanoes in the Philippines are part of the Ring of Fire.


title: Taal Volcano

text: The municipality of Taal and the Taa-lan River (now known as Pansipit River) were named after the Taa-lan tree, which grows along the river. The tree also grew along the shore of Bombon Lake (now known as Taal Lake). The Taa-lan River was a narrow channel that connects the present-day Taal Lake and Balayan Bay to each other.


title: Taal Volcano

text: Taal Volcano is part of a chain of volcanoes lining the western edge of the island of Luzon. They were formed by the subduction of the Eurasian Plate underneath the Philippine Mobile Belt. Taal Lake lies within a caldera formed by explosive eruptions between 140,000 and 5,380 BP. Each of these eruptions created extensive ignimbrite deposits reaching as far away as present-day Manila.


title: Taal Volcano

text: Taal Volcano and Lake are entirely located in the province of Batangas. The northern half of Volcano Island falls under the jurisdiction of the lake shore town of Talisay, and the southern half in San Nicolas. The other communities that encircle Taal Lake include the cities of Tanauan and Lipa, and the municipalities of Talisay, Laurel, Agoncillo, Santa Teresita, San Nicolas, Alitagtag, Cuenca, Balete, and Mataasnakahoy.


title: Taal Volcano

text: Permanent settlement on the island is prohibited by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), declaring the whole Volcano Island as a high-risk area and a Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ). Despite the warnings, some families remain settled on the island, earning a living by fishing and farming crops in the rich volcanic soil.


title: Taal Volcano

text: Since the formation of the caldera, subsequent eruptions have created a volcanic island within the caldera, known as "Volcano Island". This island covers an area of about with the center of the island occupied by the Main Crater with a single crater lake formed from the 1911 eruption. The island consists of different overlapping cones and craters, of which forty-seven have been identified. Twenty six of these are tuff cones, five are cinder cones, and four are maars. The Main Crater Lake on Volcano Island is the largest lake on an island in a lake on an island in the world. This lake used to contain Vulcan Point, a small rocky island inside the lake. After the 2020 eruption, the Main Crater Lake temporarily disappeared due to volcanic activity, but had returned by March 2020.


title: Taal Volcano

text: There were 42 recorded eruptions at Taal between 1572 and 1977. The first recorded eruption occurred in 1572, the year Augustinian friars founded the town of Taal on the shores of the lake (on what is now San Nicolas, Batangas). In 1591, another mild eruption took place, producing great masses of smoke from the crater. From 1605 to 1611, the volcano displayed such great activity that Father Tomas de Abreu had a huge cross of anubing wood erected on the brink of the crater.


title: Taal Volcano

text: Between 1707 and 1731, the center of volcanic activity shifted from the Main Crater to other parts of Volcano Island. The eruptions of 1707 and 1715 occurred in Binintiang Malaki (Giant Leg) crater, the cinder cone visible from Tagaytay Ridge, and was accompanied by thunder and lightning. Minor eruptions also occurred in Binintiang Munti crater on the westernmost tip of the island in 1709 and 1729. A more violent event happened on September 24, 1716, blowing out the entire southeastern portion of the crater of Calauit, opposite Mount Macolod. Father Manuel de Arce noted that the 1716 eruption "killed all the fishes...as if they had been cooked, since the water had been heated to a degree that it appeared to have been taken from a boiling caldron". The 1731 eruption off Pira-Piraso, the eastern tip of the island, created a new island.


title: Taal Volcano

text: The Main Crater began experiencing further activity on August 11, 1749, and its eruptions were particularly violent (VEI = 4) until 1753. Then came the great 200-day eruption of 1754, Taal Volcano's greatest recorded eruption, which lasted from May 15 to December 12. The eruption caused the relocation of the towns of Tanauan, Taal, Lipa and Sala. The Pansipit River was blocked, causing the water level in the lake to rise. Father Bencuchillo stated that of Taal, "nothing was left...except the walls of the church and convent...everything was buried beneath a layer of stones, mud, and ashes".


title: Taal Volcano

text: After the great eruption, Taal Volcano remained quiet for 54 years besides from a minor eruption in 1790. Not until March 1808 did another big eruption occur. While this outbreak was not as violent as the one in 1754, the immediate vicinity was covered with ashes to a depth of . The eruption brought great changes in the interior of the crater, according to chroniclers of that time. According to Friar Miguel Saderra Maso, "Before [the eruption], the bottom looked very deep and seemed unfathomable, but at the bottom, a liquid mass was seen in continual ebullition. After the eruption, the crater had widened and the pond within it had been reduced to one-third and the rest of the crater floor was higher and dry enough to walk over it. The height of the crater walls has diminished and near the center of the new crater floor, a little hill that continually emitted smoke. On its sides were several wells, one of which was especially remarkable for its size."


title: Taal Volcano

text: On July 19, 1874, an eruption of gases and ashes from the volcano killed all the livestock on the volcano island. From November 12–15, 1878, ashes ejected by the volcano covered the entire island. Another eruption took place in 1904, which created a new outlet in the southeastern wall of the principal crater. , the last eruption from the main crater was in 1911, which obliterated the crater floor creating the present lake. In 1965, a huge explosion sliced off a huge part of the island, moving activity to a new eruption center, Mount Tabaro.


title: Taal Volcano

text: One of the more devastating eruptions of Taal took place in January 1911. During the night of the 27th of that month, the seismographs at the Manila Observatory commenced to register frequent disturbances, which were at first of insignificant importance, but increased rapidly in frequency and intensity. The total recorded shocks on that day numbered 26. During the 28th there were recorded 217 distinct shocks, of which 135 were microseismic and 10 quite severe. The frequent and increasingly strong earthquakes caused much alarm in Manila, but the observatory staff was soon able to locate their epicenter in the region of Taal Volcano and assured the public that Manila was in no danger, as Taal was some away, too far to directly damage the city.


title: Taal Volcano

text: In Manila, in the early hours of January 30, 1911, people were awakened by what they at first perceived as loud thunder. The illusion was heightened when lightning illuminated the southern skies. A huge, fan-shaped cloud of what looked like black smoke ascended to great heights, crisscrossed with a brilliant display of volcanic lightning. This cloud finally shot up in the air, spread, then dissipated, marking the culmination of the eruption, at about 2:30 am.


title: Taal Volcano

text: On Volcano Island, the destruction was complete. It seems that when the black, fan-shaped cloud spread, it created a blast downward that forced hot steam and gases down the slopes of the crater, accompanied by a shower of hot mud and sand. Many trees had their bark shredded and cut away from the surface by the hot sand and mud. This shower was the main cause of the loss of life and destruction of property around the volcano. The fact that practically all the vegetation was bent downward, away from the crater, suggested that there must have been a very strong blast down the outside slopes of the cone. Very little vegetation was actually burned or even scorched. Six hours after the explosion, dust from the crater was noticeable in Manila as it settled on furniture and other polished surfaces. The solid matter ejected had a volume of between 70 and 80 million cubic metres (2.5 and 2.8 billion cu ft). Ash fell over an area of , although the area in which actual destruction took place measured only . The detonation from the explosion was heard over an area more than in diameter.


title: Taal Volcano

text: The eruption of the volcano claimed a reported 1100 lives and injured 199, although it is assumed that more perished than the official records show. The seven barangays that existed on the island previous to the eruption were completely wiped out. Post mortem examination of the victims seemed to show that practically all had died of scalding by hot steam or hot mud, or both. The devastating effects of the blast reached the west shore of the lake, where a number of villages were also destroyed. 702 cattle were killed and 543 nipa houses destroyed. Crops suffered from the deposit of ashes that fell to a depth of almost half an inch in places near the shore of the lake.


title: Taal Volcano

text: Volcano Island sank between as a result of the eruption. It was also found that the southern shore of Lake Taal sank because of the eruption. No evidences of lava could be discovered anywhere, nor have geologists been able to trace any visible records of a lava flow having occurred at any time on the volcano during the eruption. Another peculiarity of the geologic aspects of Taal is the fact that no sulphur has been found on the volcano. The yellow deposits and encrustations noticeable in the crater and its vicinity are iron salts, according to chemical analysis. A slight smell of sulfur was perceptible at the volcano, which came from the gases that escaped from the crater.


title: Taal Volcano

text: Great changes took place in the crater after the eruption. Before 1911, the crater floor was higher than Taal lake and had several separate openings in which there were lakes of different colors. There was a green lake, a yellow lake, a red lake and some holes filled with hot water from which steam issued. Many places were covered with a shaky crust of volcanic material, full of crevices, which was always hot and on which it was rather dangerous to walk. Immediately after the explosion, the various colored lakes had disappeared and in their place was one large lake, about ten feet below the level of the lake surrounding the island. The crater lake gradually rose to the level of the water in Taal Lake. Popular opinions after the creation of the lake held that the presence of the water in the crater cooled off the material below and thus lessened the chances of an explosion or the extinction of the volcano. This explanation has since been rejected by experts. The subsequent eruptions in 1965 and successive activity came from a new eruptive center, Mount Tabaro.


title: Taal Volcano

text: Ten years after the eruption, no changes in the general outline of the island could be discerned from a distance. On the island, however, many changes were noted. The vegetation had increased; great stretches that were formerly barren and covered with white ashes and cinders became covered with vegetation.


title: Taal Volcano

text: There was another period of volcanic activity on Taal from 1965 to 1977, with the area of activity concentrated in the vicinity of Mount Tabaro. The 1965 eruption was classified as phreatomagmatic, generated by the interaction of magma with the lake water to produce the violent explosion that cut an embayment on Volcano Island. The eruption generated "cold" base surges which travelled several kilometers across Lake Taal, devastating villages on the lake shore and killing about a hundred people.


title: Taal Volcano

text: One American geologist, who had witnessed an atomic bomb explosion as a soldier, visited the volcano shortly after the 1965 eruption and recognised "base surge" (now called pyroclastic surge) as a process in volcanic eruption.


title: Taal Volcano

text: Precursory signs were not interpreted correctly until after the eruption; the population of the island was evacuated only after the onset of the eruption.


title: Taal Volcano

text: After nine months of repose, Taal reactivated on July 5, 1966, with another phreatomagmatic eruption from Mount Tabaro, followed by another similar eruption on August 16, 1967. The Strombolian eruptions, which started five months after on January 31, 1968, produced the first historical lava fountaining witnessed from Taal. Another Strombolian eruption followed a year later on October 29, 1969. The massive flows from the two eruptions eventually covered the bay created by the 1965 eruption, reaching the shore of Lake Taal. The last major activities on the volcano during this period were the phreatic eruptions of 1976 and 1977.


title: Taal Volcano

text: Since the 1977 eruption, the volcano had shown signs of unrest since 1991, with strong seismic activity and ground fracturing events as well as the formation of small mud pots and mud geysers on parts of the island. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) regularly issued notices and warnings about current activity at Taal, including about the ongoing seismic unrest.


title: Taal Volcano

text: On August 28, the PHIVOLCS notified the public and authorities that the Taal seismic network recorded 10 volcanic earthquakes from 05:30 to 15:00.


title: Taal Volcano

text: On June 8, the PHIVOLCS raised the volcano status to Alert Level 2 (scale is 0–5, 0 referring to No Alert status), which indicates the volcano is undergoing magmatic intrusion, a precursor to an eruption. PHIVOLCS reminded the general public that the Main Crater was off-limits due to the possibility of hazardous steam-driven explosions and build-up of toxic gases. Areas with hot ground and steam emissions, such as portions of the Daang Kastila Trail, are considered hazardous. From May 11–24, Main Crater Lake's temperature increased by . The composition of Main Crater Lake water has shown above normal values of MgCl, SOCl, and Total Dissolved Solids. There has been ground steaming, accompanied by hissing sounds, on the northern and northeast sides of the main crater. On April 26, the volcanic seismicity was reported to have had increased.


title: Taal Volcano

text: From April 9 to July 5, the alert level on Taal Volcano was raised from 1 to 2 because of the increased seismicity of Volcano Island. Frequency peaked at about 115 tremors on May 30 with a maximum intensity of IV, accompanied by rumbling sounds. Magma was intruding towards the surface, as indicated by continuing high rates of CO emissions in the Main Crater Lake and sustained seismic activity. Field measurements on May 24 showed that lake temperatures had increased slightly, pH values were slightly more acidic, and water levels were higher. A deformation survey conducted around Volcano Island from April 26 to May 3 showed that the volcano edifice had inflated slightly relative to the April 5–11 survey.


title: Taal Volcano

text: In 2019, Alert Level 1 was raised on the volcano because of frequent volcanic activities since March. Based on the 24-hour monitoring of the Taal Volcano's seismic network, 57 volcanic earthquakes were observed from the morning of November 11 to the morning of November 12.


title: Taal Volcano

text: The volcano erupted on the afternoon of January 12, 2020, with the alert level of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) escalating from Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 4. It was an eruption from the main crater on Volcano Island. The eruption spewed ashes to Calabarzon, Metro Manila, some parts of Central Luzon, and Pangasinan, in the Ilocos Region, which cancelled classes, work schedules, and flights. Ashfalls and volcanic thunderstorms were reported, and forced evacuations were made from the island. There were also warnings of a possible volcanic tsunami. The volcano produced volcanic lightning above its crater with ash clouds. The eruption progressed into magmatic eruption, characterized by a lava fountain with thunder and lightning. By January 26, 2020, PHIVOLCS observed an inconsistent, but decreasing volcanic activity in Taal, prompting the agency to downgrade its warning to Alert Level 3. On February 14, 2020, PHIVOLCS downgraded the volcano's warning to Alert Level 2, due to consistent decreased volcanic activity. A total of 39 people died in the eruption, mostly because they refused to leave their homes or suffered health-related problems during the evacuation.


title: Taal Volcano

text: In February 2021, residents from Taal Volcano Island were preemptively evacuated due to the volcano's increasing activity. On March 9, 2021, PHIVOLCS raised the alert level from 1 to 2. In June 2021, the volcano's emission of sulfur dioxide gas caused vog to appear over nearby provinces, and even Metro Manila. On July 1, 2021, the volcano erupted at around 3:16 p.m, and the alert level was raised from Alert Level 2 to Level 3. Five eruptions were recorded on July 7.


title: Taal Volcano

text: Between January 29 and 30, 2022, the volcano had nine phreatomagmatic bursts on its main crater. On March 26, PHIVOLCS raised the volcano's alert level status to Alert Level 3 due to a short lived-phreatomagmatic eruption with the evacuation of around 1,100 residents around the area and surrounding towns. Two phreatomagmatic events were recorded in which it emitted toxic plumes of 800 meters and 400 meters. Locals have then reported an explosion near the crater around 1:00 PM (Philippine Time) with subsequent spurs of ashes around the lake. High level toxic emissions have been recorded as well as 14 volcanic earthquakes and 10 volcanic tremors within the day. The next day on March 27, volcanic activities were relatively tranquil with almost no recorded earthquakes although sulfur dioxide emission still measured at 1,140 tons. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) estimated that some 3,850 individuals were displaced on Monday, March 28. On April 9, PHIVOLCS downgraded again the alert level status from Level 3 to Level 2. It was then downgraded further to Alert Level 1 after around three months on July 11.


title: Taal Volcano

text: On August 3, PHILVOLCS recorded a low-level unrest of the volcano with the increase of sulfur dioxide (SO) emission. Thereupon, the alert level 1 warning was raised although evacuation of nearby population was not yet implemented. Abnormal spike of sulfur in the atmosphere was measured up to 12,125 tons that day. For comparison, daily and usual sulfur dioxide emission was measured up to 4,952 tons since July 15. Volcanic smog, or vog, and toxic gases were largely observed in Batangas and surrounding towns since August 2.


title: Taal Volcano

text: PHIVOLCS maintains a distinct Alert Level system for six volcanoes in the Philippines, including Taal Volcano. There are six levels in the system, numbered 0 to 5.


title: Taal Volcano

text: Volcanologists measuring the concentration of radon gas in the soil on Volcano island measured an anomalous increase of radon concentration by a factor of six in October 1994. This increase was followed 22 days later by the magnitude 7.1 Mindoro earthquake on November 15, centered about south of Taal, off the coast of Luzon. A typhoon had passed through the area a few days before the radon spike was measured, but when Typhoon Angela, one of the most powerful to strike the area in ten years, crossed Luzon on almost the same track a year later, no radon spike was measured. Typhoons, therefore, were ruled out as the cause, and strong evidence suggests that the radon originated in the stress accumulation before the earthquake.


title: A Chorus Line

text: A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante.


title: A Chorus Line

text: Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. "A Chorus Line" provides a glimpse into the personalities of the performers and the choreographer, as they describe the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers.


title: A Chorus Line

text: Following several workshops and an Off-Broadway production, "A Chorus Line" opened at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway July 25, 1975, directed by Michael Bennett and co-choreographed by Bennett and Bob Avian. An unprecedented box office and critical hit, the musical received twelve Tony Award nominations and won nine, in addition to the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.


title: A Chorus Line

text: The original Broadway production ran for 6,137 performances, becoming the longest-running production in Broadway history until surpassed by "Cats" in 1997, and the longest-running Broadway musical originally produced in the US, until surpassed in 2011 by the revival of "Chicago". It remains the seventh longest-running Broadway show ever. "A Chorus Line"s success has spawned many successful productions worldwide. It began a lengthy run in the West End in 1976 and was revived on Broadway in 2006, and in the West End in 2013.


title: A Chorus Line

text: The show opens during an audition for an upcoming Broadway production. The formidable director Zach and his assistant choreographer Larry put the 24 dancers through their paces. Every dancer is desperate for work ("I Hope I Get It"). After a round of cuts, 17 dancers remain. Zach tells them he is looking for a strong 8-member dancing chorus of four boys and four girls. Wanting to learn more about them, he asks the dancers to introduce themselves. Reluctantly, the dancers reveal their pasts. The stories generally progress chronologically from early life experiences through adulthood to the end of a career.


title: A Chorus Line

text: The first candidate, Mike Costa, explains that he is the youngest of 12 children. He recalls his first experience with dance, watching his sister Rosalie's dance class when he was a preschooler ("I Can Do That"). Mike replaced her one day when she refused to go to class—and he stayed. Bobby Mills tries to hide his unhappy childhood by making jokes. As he speaks, the other dancers distrust this strange audition process and debate what they should reveal to Zach ("And..."), but since they all need the job, the session continues.


title: A Chorus Line

text: Zach is angered that the streetwise Sheila Bryant is seemingly not taking the audition seriously. Opening up, she reveals that her mother married at a young age and her father neither cared about nor loved them. At age six she realized, as had fellow auditionees Bebe Benzenheimer and Maggie Winslow, that ballet helped her escape her unhappy family life ("At the Ballet"). Scatterbrained and tone-deaf Kristine Urich-DeLuca laments being unable to sing, while her husband Al finishes her phrases in tune ("Sing").


title: A Chorus Line

text: Mark Anthony, the youngest dancer, relates his first exposure to the female anatomy and his first wet dream, while the other dancers share their own memories of adolescence ("Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love"). The 4'10" Connie Wong laments the problems of being short, and Diana Morales recollects her horrible high school acting class ("Nothing"). Don Kerr remembers his first job at a nightclub and Judy Turner reflects on her problematic childhood while some auditioners talk about their parents' opinions ("Mother"). Greg Gardner discusses discovering his homosexuality and Richie Walters recounts nearly becoming a kindergarten teacher ("Gimme the Ball"). Finally, the newly-buxom Val Clark explains that talent alone isn't everything, and silicone and plastic surgery can really help improve one's image and career prospects ("Dance: Ten; Looks: Three").


title: A Chorus Line

text: The dancers go downstairs to learn a song for the audition's next section, but experienced dancer Cassie Ferguson, who has had notable successes as a soloist, stays onstage to talk to Zach. They have a history together: Zach had previously cast her in a featured part, and they had lived together for several years. Zach tells Cassie that she is too good for the chorus and shouldn't be at this audition. However, she explains her current inability to find solo work and is willing to "come home" to the chorus where she can at least express her passion for dance ("The Music and the Mirror"). Zach relents and sends her downstairs to learn the dance combination.


title: A Chorus Line

text: Zach calls Paul San Marco, who has been reluctant to share his past, onstage for a private talk, and he emotionally relives his childhood and teenage years, his early career in a drag act, facing his manhood and his homosexuality, and his parents ultimately discovering his lifestyle and disowning him for it, before breaking down, with Zach comforting him. Cassie and Zach's complex relationship resurfaces during a run-through of the number created to showcase an unnamed star ("One"). Zach confronts Cassie, feeling that she is "dancing down," and they rehash the issues in their relationship and her career. Zach points to the machine-like movement of the other dancers, who have all blended together and will probably never be recognized individually, and mockingly asks if she wants this. Cassie defiantly defends the dancers: "I’d be proud to be one of them. They’re wonderful...They’re all special. I’d be happy to be dancing in that line. Yes, I would...and I'll take chorus...if you'll take me."


title: A Chorus Line

text: During a tap sequence, Paul falls and injures his knee that recently underwent surgery. After Paul is carried off to the hospital, all at the audition stand in disbelief, realizing that their careers can also end in an instant. Zach asks the remaining dancers what they will do when they can no longer dance. Diana leads the company in "What I Did for Love").The final eight dancers are selected: Mike, Cassie, Bobby, Judy, Richie, Val, Mark, and Diana.


title: A Chorus Line

text: "One" (reprise/finale) begins with an individual bow for each of the 19 characters, their hodgepodge rehearsal clothes replaced by identical spangled gold costumes. As each dancer joins the group, it is suddenly difficult to distinguish one from the other: ironically, each character who was an individual to the audience seems now to be an anonymous member of a never-ending ensemble.


title: A Chorus Line

text: The musical was formed from several taped workshop sessions with Broadway dancers, known as "gypsies," including eight who eventually appeared in the original cast. The sessions were originally hosted by dancers Michon Peacock and Tony Stevens. The first taped session occurred at the Nickolaus Exercise Center January 26, 1974. They hoped that they would form a professional dance company to make workshops for Broadway dancers.


title: A Chorus Line

text: Michael Bennett was invited to join the group primarily as an observer, but quickly took control of the proceedings. Although Bennett's involvement has been challenged, there has been no question about Kirkwood and Dante's authorship. In later years, Bennett's claim that "A Chorus Line" had been his brainchild resulted not only in hard feelings but a number of lawsuits as well. During the workshop sessions, random characters would be chosen at the end for the chorus jobs based on their performance quality, resulting in a different "cast" being selected every run-through. However, several of the costumers objected to this ending, citing the stress of having to change random actors in time for the finale. This resulted in the ending being cut in exchange for the same set of characters being "cast." Marvin Hamlisch, who wrote "A Chorus Line"s score, recalled how, during the first previews, audiences seemed put off by something in the story. This problem was solved when actress Marsha Mason told Bennett that Cassie (Donna McKechnie in the original production) should win the part in the end because she did everything right. Bennett changed it so that Cassie would always win the part.


title: A Chorus Line

text: "A Chorus Line" opened Off-Broadway at The Public Theater on April 15, 1975. At the time, the Public did not have enough money to finance the production so it borrowed $1.6 million to produce the show. The show was directed by Bennett and co-choreographed by Bennett and Bob Avian. Advance word had created such a demand for tickets that the entire run sold out immediately. Producer Joseph Papp moved the production to Broadway and on July 25, 1975, it opened at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran for 6,137 performances until April 28, 1990.


title: A Chorus Line

text: Additional cast members Carole Schweid and John Mineo were understudies named "Barbara" and "Jarad", although they only went on covering other roles. Also, Tim Cassidy was an understudy for "Bobby".


title: A Chorus Line

text: The production was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, winning nine: Best Musical, Best Musical Book, Best Score (Hamlisch and Kleban), Best Director, and Best Choreography, Best Actress (McKechnie), Best Featured Actor (Sammy Williams), Best Featured Actress (Bishop) and Best Lighting Design. The show won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, one of the few musicals ever to receive this honor, and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play of the season.


title: A Chorus Line

text: In 1976, many of the original cast went on to perform in San Francisco. Open roles were recast and the play was again reviewed as the ""New" New York Company" which included Ann Reinking, Sandahl Bergman, Christopher Chadman, Justin Ross (who would go on to appear in the film), and Barbara Luna.


title: A Chorus Line

text: When it closed, "A Chorus Line" was the longest running show in Broadway history until its record was surpassed by "Cats" in 1997. On September 29, 1983, Bennett and 332 "A Chorus Line" veterans gathered to celebrate the musical becoming the longest-running show in Broadway history.


title: A Chorus Line

text: Up to February 19, 1990, "A Chorus Line" had generated $146 million from its Broadway gross and $277 million in total U.S. grosses and had 6.5 million Broadway attendees. At the time, it was the second most profitable show in Broadway history after "Cats" with profits of $50 million (including ancillary income). 75% of the profits went to Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival and 25% to Bennett's Plum Productions. Since its inception, the show's many worldwide productions, both professional and amateur, have been a major source of income for The Public Theater that Papp had founded.


title: A Chorus Line

text: U.S. and international tours were mounted in 1976, including a sit-down engagement in Los Angeles at the Shubert Theatre.


title: A Chorus Line

text: A London production opened in the West End at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 1976, initially with the International Cast from the US, including Jane Summerhays as Sheila. The production ran for three years and won the Laurence Olivier Award as Best Musical of the Year in 1976, the first year the awards were presented. The original British cast took over in 1977. It included Jean-Pierre Cassel as Zach, Diane Langton as Diana Morales, Jeff Shankley as Al, Michael Staniforth as Paul, Stephen Tate as Greg (later replacing Cassel as Zach) and Geraldine Gardner (aka Trudi van Doorn of "The Benny Hill Show") as Sheila. Elizabeth Seal was cast as Cassie but was replaced at the eleventh hour by her understudy Petra Siniawski who played the role for the entire British cast run.


title: A Chorus Line

text: The original Australian production opened in Sydney at Her Majesty's Theatre in May 1977 and moved to Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre in January 1978. The cast featured Peta Toppano as Diana, David Atkins as Mike, and Ross Coleman as Paul.


title: A Chorus Line

text: In 1980, under the direction of Roy Smith, the Teatro El Nacional of Buenos Aires produced a Spanish version of "A Chorus Line" lasting 10 months (and then only to make way for an already scheduled subsequent production).


title: A Chorus Line

text: In Spain the show opened in December 1984 at Teatre Tívoli in Barcelona, directed by Roy Smith and translated into Spanish by Nacho Artime and Jaime Azpilicueta, before transferring to Teatro Monumental in Madrid.


title: A Chorus Line

text: In July 1986, "A Chorus Line" was produced in Italy for the first time. It premiered at the Nervi Festival of Dance in Genoa, followed by a five-week Italian tour. The choreography was adapted for the festival's performing space by Baayork Lee who had played Connie in the original production and subsequently became a close collaborator of Michael Bennett, the original choreographer.


title: A Chorus Line

text: The German-language version was again directed by Lee and first opened in 1987 in Vienna, Austria, where it ran for one season followed by the German-language CD release produced by Jimmy Bowien in 1988.


title: A Chorus Line

text: The first—and as of 2016 only—professional Hungarian production of the musical opened its limited run on March 25, 1988, under the title "" ("In Memory of Michael Bennett"). It was performed by Ódry Színpad (the company of the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest) translated into Hungarian by György Gebora, and directed by Imre Kerényi. The character Zach was renamed Michael and played by Kerényi.


title: A Chorus Line

text: The 2006 Broadway revival opened at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater on October 5, 2006, following a run in San Francisco. The revival closed on August 17, 2008, after 759 performances and 18 previews. It cost $8 million to finance and recouped its investment in 19 weeks. The production was directed by Bob Avian, with the choreography reconstructed by Baayork Lee, who had played Connie Wong in the original Broadway production. The opening night cast included Paul McGill, Michael Berresse, Charlotte d'Amboise, Mara Davi, James T. Lane, Tony Yazbeck, Heather Parcells, Alisan Porter, Jason Tam, Jessica Lee Goldyn, Deidre Goodwin, and Chryssie Whitehead. On April 15, 2008, Mario Lopez joined the cast as the replacement for Zach. The production was the subject of the documentary film "Every Little Step".


title: A Chorus Line

text: The production received two Tony Award nominations in 2007 for Featured Role (Charlotte d'Amboise) and Revival (Musical). The original contract for "A Chorus Line" provided for sharing the revenue from the show with the directors and dancers that had attended the original workshop sessions. However, the contract did not specify revenue when the musical was revived in 2006. In February 2008, an agreement was reached between the dancers and Michael Bennett's estate.


title: A Chorus Line

text: A 2008 U.S. touring production opened on May 4, 2008, at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and toured through June 2009. This production featured Michael Gruber as Zach, Nikki Snelson as Cassie, Emily Fletcher as Sheila, and Gabrielle Ruiz as Diana.


title: A Chorus Line

text: In 2012, the musical toured Australia, gaining much critical acclaim. Baayork Lee directed the production and it gained many nominations, including Helpmann nominations for Best Actress in a Musical for West End star, Anita Louise Combe playing Cassie, Best supporting Actress in a musical, Deborah Krizak and Best supporting Actor in a musical, Euan Doidge and it won best musical. The same production and cast then came to Singapore, playing at the Marina Bay Sands, Sands Theater from May 4 to 27, 2012.


title: A Chorus Line

text: The show returned to London for a West End revival in February 2013 at the London Palladium, running through August of that year. It was directed by original choreographer Bob Avian, with John Partridge, Scarlett Strallen, and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt starring. James T. Lane is reprising his Broadway role and Leigh Zimmerman won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her portrayal of Sheila in this production. Producers announced on June 9, 2013, that the London revival cast would record a new cast album featuring never-before-heard songs which were written for the show but never made the final cut.


title: A Chorus Line

text: In 2015, the Original Broadway cast of "Hamilton" paid tribute to "A Chorus Line" 40th anniversary and performed "What I Did For Love", with the original cast of "A Chorus Line" joining them onstage.


title: A Chorus Line

text: Reports surfaced in June 2016 that a second Broadway revival is planned for 2025, in honor of the show's 50th anniversary.


title: A Chorus Line

text: In 2016, approval was granted to director Donna Feore to allow changes in choreography so the show could be performed for the first time on a thrust stage, in the Festival Theatre at the Stratford Festival of Canada.


title: A Chorus Line

text: In 2018, New York City Center presented "A Chorus Line" as their annual gala presentation. The production was directed by Bob Avian, co-choreographer of the original 1975 production, and choreographed by Baayork Lee, Broadway's original Connie Wong.


title: A Chorus Line

text: In 2019, a Spanish-language version of the musical premiered as part of the inaugural season of Teatro del Soho in Málaga, Spain, starring the theater's founder Antonio Banderas as Zach. Banderas also co-directed the musical with Baayork Lee.


title: A Chorus Line

text: In 1975, the rights for a film were sold to Universal Pictures for $5.5 million plus 20% of the distributor's gross rentals above $30 million. Universal subsequently sold the rights to PolyGram. The film was released in 1985, starring Michael Douglas as Zach. It also featured Alyson Reed and Terrance Mann as Cassie and Larry respectively. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough with a screenplay by Arnold Schulman. It was produced by Cy Feuer and distributed by Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Universal Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing only $14 million from a $25 million budget. Songs "Montage Part 1: Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love" and "Montage Part 4: Gimme The Ball" were cut and replaced with "Surprise, Surprise", a new song written by Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban. "The Music and the Mirror" was also cut and replaced with "Let me dance for you" written by Hamlisch and Kleban. "What I Did for Love" was sung by Cassie instead of Diana and was sung as a counterpart during "The Tap Combination." Songs "And...", and "Sing!" were cut entirely.


title: A Chorus Line

text: As Kelly Bishop, who played Sheila in the original Broadway cast, later noted, "it was appalling when director Richard Attenborough went on a talk show and said 'this is a story about kids trying to break into show business.' I almost tossed my TV out the window; I mean what an "idiot!" It's about veteran dancers looking for one last job before it's too late for them to dance anymore. No wonder the film sucked!"


title: A Chorus Line

text: In 1976, "One" and "What I Did For Love" were performed by the cast of "The Brady Bunch Variety Hour".


title: A Chorus Line

text: In 1988, the 60th Academy Awards featured a variation of "I Hope I Get It" at the beginning of the ceremony.


title: A Chorus Line

text: In 1990, original cast members Baayork Lee and Thommie Walsh collaborated with Robert Viagas on the book "On the Line: The Creation of A Chorus Line", which chronicles the musical's origins and evolution and includes interviews with the entire original cast.


title: A Chorus Line

text: In 1990, Visa launched a marketing campaign around "A Chorus Line" as it was touring the United States. The promotions included television commercials featuring the musical and the right to say that tickets for the show could be charged only on Visa cards. Visa paid $500,000 for the promotion.


title: A Chorus Line

text: Also in 1990, much of the original cast reunited to perform selections from the musical as well as talk about it on the talk show "Donahue". This performance was given to benefit the final run of the show as it was about to close on Broadway at the time. The highlight of the appearance was an emotionally charged performance of "At The Ballet" as performed by Kelly Bishop, Kay Cole and Nancy Lane which left several of the cast and the studio audience fighting back tears. Another highlight was the comical performance of "Dance: Ten, Looks: Three (Tits and Ass)" as done by Pamela Blair. Renee Baughman was the only original cast member who couldn't attend the show's taping because she had to care for her seriously ill father.


title: A Chorus Line

text: "The Simpsons" episode "Treehouse of Horror V" closes with a parody of "One", which the Simpson family and Groundskeeper Willie sing (with alternate lyrics) after they are turned inside out by a mysterious fog.


title: A Chorus Line

text: Figure skater Oksana Baiul performed to One en route to defeating Nancy Kerrigan at the 1994 Olympics.


title: A Chorus Line

text: Michael Bennett and Ed Kleban are portrayed in the 2001 musical "A Class Act", a partly fictionalized account of Kleban's life using some of the lyricist's unpublished songs.


title: A Chorus Line

text: In "What I'll Never Do For Love Again," the 20th episode of the fifth season of "Ally McBeal" (2002), Elaine Vassal auditions (ultimately in vain) for a Boston production of "A Chorus Line," singing "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three" and "The Music and the Mirror."


title: A Chorus Line

text: James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo produced and directed a documentary film about the musical called "Every Little Step", which includes footage of Michael Bennett and interviews with Marvin Hamlisch, Bob Avian, former theater critic for "The New York Times" Frank Rich, and original cast members Donna McKechnie and Baayork Lee. The film includes some of the audiotapes made at the early workshop sessions and shows behind-the-scenes footage of the audition, rehearsals, and performances of both the original 1975 production and the 2006 Broadway revival. Production of the documentary began in 2005 when 3,000 hopefuls arrived on the first day of auditions for the revival. The film made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2008 and was released as "Broadway Broadway" in Japan the following month. The documentary opened in limited release in the US in April 2009.


title: A Chorus Line

text: In 2009, music from the score was used in the television series "Fringe" in the episode "Brown Betty", and also in the movie "Land of the Lost" that same year featuring Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, and Anna Friel


title: A Chorus Line

text: The song "What I Did for Love" has been recorded by Aretha Franklin on "Sweet Passion" (1977), Petula Clark, The Three Degrees on their 1977 album "Standing Up for Love", Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on "Are a Drag" (1999), Christine Ebersole in a 2009 episode of "The Colbert Report", and most recently by Lea Michele in the first episode of the second season of the hit musical television series "Glee". In a later episode in the same season, Jenna Ushkowitz and Harry Shum Jr. performed "Sing!", although the male and female vocals were switched. The episode "Hell-O" from the show's first season was planned to feature a performance of "Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love", although the performance was cut; in a later episode the song can be heard playing in the background. Never officially released, the song was performed by Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff. "At The Ballet" was featured in the show's fourth season and was performed by Chris Colfer, Naya Rivera, Lea Michele and Sarah Jessica Parker.


title: A Chorus Line

text: The "South Park" episode "W.T.F." features a scene that opens with the piano intro for "One" followed by a parody of "Nothing".


title: A Chorus Line

text: The "Scrubs" episode "My Malpractical Decision" features a parody of "One", accompanying an imaginary sequence in which Neena Broderick repeatedly assaults a barrage of unfortunate bystanders in the genitals.


title: A Chorus Line

text: In the "House MD" Season 6 episode "The Down Low", James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) starts singing "One" in the last few seconds of the episode, much to the discomfort of Wilson's best friend, Gregory House (Hugh Laurie).


title: A Chorus Line

text: In August 2013, ACL alumna Melissa R. Randel ("Judy Turner") mounted her original production "The Hat" at The New York International Fringe Festival – FringeNYC. "The Hat" was inspired by her experience as a young Broadway dancer who learns on the eve of a performance that her father has died. Randel appeared in more than 2,000 performances of the musical from 1981 to 1985 at Broadway's Shubert Theatre and on National and international tours, and can be seen as a featured dancer in Richard Attenborough's film adaptation of "A Chorus Line".


title: Capote (film)

text: Capote is a 2005 biographical drama film about American novelist Truman Capote directed by Bennett Miller, and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman in the title role. The film primarily follows the events during the writing of Capote's 1965 nonfiction book "In Cold Blood". The film was based on Gerald Clarke's 1988 biography "Capote". It was released September 30, 2005, coinciding with Capote's birthday.


title: Capote (film)

text: The film became a box office success and received acclaim from critics for Hoffman's lead performance. It eventually won several awards, and was nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director for Miller, Best Supporting Actress for Catherine Keener, and Best Adapted Screenplay, with Hoffman winning the Academy Award for Best Actor.


title: Capote (film)

text: In 1959, the bodies of the Clutter family are discovered on their Kansas farm. While reading "The New York Times", Truman Capote is riveted by the story and calls "The New Yorker" magazine editor William Shawn to tell him that he plans to document the tragedy.


title: Capote (film)

text: Capote travels to Kansas, inviting childhood friend Nelle Harper Lee to come along. He intends to interview those involved with the Clutter family, with Lee as his go-between and facilitator. Alvin Dewey, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation's lead detective on the case, brushes him off. Still, Dewey's wife Marie is a fan of Capote's writing and persuades her husband to invite Capote and Lee to their house for dinner.


title: Capote (film)

text: Capote's stories of movie sets and film stars captivate Marie. Over time, her husband warms to Capote and allows him to view the photographs of the victims. The Deweys, Lee, and Capote are having dinner when the murder suspects, Perry Smith and Richard "Dick" Hickock, are caught. Flattery, bribery, and a keen insight into the human condition facilitate Capote's visits to the prison where the accused are held.


title: Capote (film)

text: Capote begins to form an attachment to Smith. He informs Shawn of his intent to expand the story into a full-length book. Following the trial and conviction, after which both Smith and Hickock are sentenced to death, Capote gains continued access to the murderers by bribing Warden Marshall Krutch.


title: Capote (film)

text: Capote spends the following years regularly visiting Smith and learning about his life, excepting a year-long stint when he goes to Morocco and Spain to write the "first three parts" of the book, accompanied by his romantic partner Jack Dunphy.


title: Capote (film)

text: The story of Smith's life, his remorseful manner, and his emotional sincerity impress Capote, who becomes emotionally attached to him despite the gruesome murders. Capote aids Smith and Hickock by obtaining expert legal counsel for them and initiating an appeal. Still, he is frustrated, as Smith declines to relate exactly what happened the night of the murders.


title: Capote (film)

text: Though initially an effort to provide proper representation and extend Capote's opportunity to speak with the killers, the appeals process drags on for several years. Without the court case being resolved, Capote feels he is stuck with a story without an ending, and he is unable to complete his book. Eventually, he gets Smith to describe the killings and his thoughts at the time in great detail. He has what he wants from Smith, but he sees a callousness and selfishness in his own actions in the process.


title: Capote (film)

text: Now with everything in hand, Capote still must wait for the appeals process to conclude before he feels he can publish his work. Over time, Lee's best-selling novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" is turned into a movie, but Capote is unable to share in the joy of his friend's success, too caught up in drinking through his own misery.


title: Capote (film)

text: With the last appeal rejected, Smith pleads for Capote to return before he is executed, but Capote cannot bring himself to do so. A telegram from Smith to Harper Lee ultimately compels Capote to return to Kansas. There he is an eyewitness as Smith and Hickock are executed.


title: Capote (film)

text: Capote talks to Lee about the horrifying experience and laments that he could not do anything to stop it. She replies, "Maybe not. The fact is you didn't want to." While returning home, Capote looks through photos from the case and at the writings and drawings given to him by Smith.


title: Capote (film)

text: An epilogue points out that "In Cold Blood" turned Capote into the most famous writer in America, also noting that he never finished another book. A postscript gives the epigraph he would have chosen for the title of "": "More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones", a quote from Saint Teresa of Ávila.


title: Capote (film)

text: "Capote" grossed $28.8 million in the United States and Canada and $21.2 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $50 million. DVD/Blu-ray sales totaled $17 million by 2018. The production budget was $7 million.


title: Capote (film)

text: "Capote" received wide acclaim from critics, with Hoffman's performance the subject of particular praise. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 89% of critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 8.20/10 based on 197 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Philip Seymour Hoffman's riveting central performance guides a well-constructed retelling of the most sensational and significant period in author Truman Capote's life." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 88 out of 100 based on 40 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Roger Ebert gave the film a full four-star rating, stating: ""Capote" is a film of uncommon strength and insight, about a man whose great achievement requires the surrender of his self-respect."


title: Capote (film)

text: "Capote" won several awards, including the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film, and was named one of the top ten films of the year by both the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review. It was nominated for five Academy Awards and five British Academy Film Awards, including for best film, best director (for Miller), best supporting actress (for Catherine Keener) and best adapted screenplay (for Futterman), with Hoffman winning the award for best actor at both ceremonies. In addition to the Academy Award and British Academy Film Award, Hoffman won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as awards from numerous critics groups for his performance. Furthermore, director Miller won the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Director and received a nomination at the Directors Guild of America Awards, and Futterman's screenplay was nominated at the Writers Guild of America Awards.