Just back from the first preview of PORGY AND BESS....- Page 5

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/24/11 at 3:16pm

Except for the case of Kristin in Wicked.

[musicalmack]

Posted: 8/24/11 at 3:26pm

:) What's the story there, Namo?

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 8/24/11 at 3:54pm

hmmm while this "country bitches" moment sounds awesome, what seems to not work here is Porgy turning on Bess.

I think there may have been a more graceful way to do this ending that made Ms. McDonald's Bess seem more sympathetic while not messing with Porgy's character. Hopefully it will be discovered before New York.

[bwaybabe2]

Posted: 8/25/11 at 10:55am

Would love to see this! Does anyone know how long the show might be around? I haven't had a chance to read the thread, so forgive me if the answer has already been mulled around

[Justaguy2]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 1:51am

I think the comparisons to My Fair Lady in this thread are missing the point. Changing the ending of P&B is not like changing the ending of Pygmalion when it became My Fair Lady. More accurately, it would be like someone doing a revival of My Fair Lady and changing it back! There would be a huge outcry if someone revived MFL and altered the ending so that Eliza went off and married Freddy instead of coming back to Higgins. Or if someone changed Camelot to have Guinevere go back to Arthur and live happily ever after. Or a West Side Story where Maria stops Chino and they all live happily ever after. Etc etc. I'm not surprised that there is concern over the changes to P&B. I think it's a pretty big deal!

Posted: 8/26/11 at 6:35am

bk said:
"I'm with Phil Crosby - people writing about this who have no knowledge of the opera whatsoever? I guess youth either has its advantages or disadvantages.

"I only know the original ending from a synopsis I read, but to me, this ending is much more... fulfilling."

You only know the original ending from a synopsis - a SYNOPSIS - and you think you can make a judgment that this thing they're doing is more fulfilling. Here's a novel idea - go buy the opera and listen to it. First of all, it will be good for you. Second of all, then maybe then you can make a post where you can compare the two. You certainly cannot compare it when you have no idea how it works when all the elements are combined. You certainly can't read a synopsis and think you know how the original ending works.

I just read these things and scratch my head, really. I will wait for someone who knows the opera to post something because kids posting who have no idea what the original is like is pretty pointless in terms of chat and debate. "

I'm confused--how do you know the poster's age? And what does age have to do with this? I knew Porgy and Bess practically by heart by the time I was 12--I know some 60+ theatre goers who know nothing of the original work. Sorry--I actually agree with your post, but often I've noticed you bring up age when you find a post that seems ignorant. And maybe you do know the age of the poster--but I don't think it plays a part and just makes you sound like a grumpy old man. :P

(And UGH this ending sounds a mess--so Bess has managed to give up the temptation of happy dust but despite her new found "strength" is run out of town anyway?)
Updated On: 8/26/11 at 06:35 AM

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 10:42am

Yeah. I'm with Eric here. The first time I saw Porgy was when I was 13, I loved it, I obsessed over it. Most adults I knew at that point did not know anything about Porgy, let alone theatre, while I was already working in the industry for 2 years. I am now in my mid twenties, have more than a decade experience in the industry and what I like to think is a pretty vast knowledge of theatre in general.

I understand that many posters here, including you bk, have been in the industry for decades. That said, there are also posters here in their thirties and forties who recently fell in love with theatre and are far more green than some of us youngins.

ps- While I am willing to give this production a chance I am not a fan of changing the ending, and I hope they are able to work on it more so that it works, or that they change it back (which probably won't happen).

Updated On: 8/26/11 at 10:42 AM

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 6:32pm

I got back from one of the last previews today. On the whole I enjoyed this. If I had to criticize a few things, it would be that the set was extremely underwhelming for my money, some of those orchestrations just robbed me the wrong way and some parts of the adaptation like the new version of Frazier and Porgy's change of heart at the end come off as a bit clunky. But the cast is superb and the vocal arrangements are great. The image of Porgy walking off into the sunset is actually pretty beautiful in its simplicity. I definitely think there's room for improvement, especially in terms of the orchestrations but on the whole, this was a pretty enjoyable afternoon at the theater.

And Porgy does not initially brush off Bess when he comes home.

Updated On: 8/27/11 at 06:32 PM

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 6:52pm

I think one of the most powerful moments in the theater is when Porgy gets out of jail and returns home triumphantly (having defeated both Crown and the white cops), only to find the townspeople acting oddly because they know Bess has run off with Sportin' Life!

His bewilderment turns to alarm and then to despair. "Where is my Bess?"

Meanwhile we in the audience wonder, will this defeat Porgy and turn him back into the social outcast and emotional malcontent we met at the beginning of the play? Now that his "Plenty o' Nothin'" has become literally true, how will he survive having nothing now that he has had a taste of having it all (i.e., love)?

The moment is dramatic irony at its best and I have no idea why the adapters were willing to discard such an unforgettable scene. I can only assume Miss MacDonald demanded it or there was an outbreak of insanity at ART.

Posted: 8/27/11 at 7:22pm

What's the new version of Frazier.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 7:52pm

In the original opera, there's a character named Lawyer Frazier who runs an off-the-books divorce court. In this new version, Frazier lives in Catfish Row and I guess isn't a practicing lawyer anymore but his license is still good (like I said, it's clunky). But Porgy still asks him to grant Bess a divorce. If I didn't explain it very well, I apologize.

Oh and needless to say, the lines about there not being a hurricane got a few unintentional laughs.

Updated On: 8/27/11 at 07:52 PM

[PK2]

Posted: 8/29/11 at 2:19pm

I just saw it this past weekend also and I am very thankful to get to see this. I appreciate the thought that creative team has put into the show. I think either the outcome is successful or not(for me it is), we can see that this is not a paint by numbers type of revival. It's not a tourist friendly type of show. There is no american idol style of belting out. It's everything that I'm looking for in experiencing theatre.

The performance and the story work very well for me, especially in act 2. Yes, it did not have the shock moment at the end but the tragic is still there. I love the set as well. I love the lighting and the shadow of the performers, which is cast on the set. It gave me a feeling of observing current production with a shadow from the past.

I do miss a full orchestra sound. I'm not sure if they are still working on that but I think I would have been in heaven if the orchestra were bigger and fuller than current orchestra.

Hope to see it again on Broadway.

Note: No, I'm not connected to this production or performers or anything in anyway.

[madison228]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 11:17pm

I saw the show on 8/20 (hi doodlenyc!!) and again tonight and was surprised (but happy) to see that they have changed the ending.

The earlier version (on 8/20) of the ending made no sense to me - it seemed like it was designed to make Bess a more "likable" character. (I don't know the protocol on spoilers, so I'm being vague.)

Now, the ending seems closer to the original (I've only seen an "in concert" production of the show, but I'm familiar with the basic story) and, to me anyway, it is much more moving.

The show ran longer tonight than 10 days ago, but otherwise the only difference I noticed was that they got a larger doll/baby for Act II!

I enjoyed the show, and the audience (both performances) went wild for it. The entire cast is outstanding, but Norm Lewis steals the show (in my opinion).

The only thing I didn't really like was David Alan Grier's portrayal of Sporting Life. I'd love to hear from others about this, but I felt like he played the character too much like a comedic "song and dance man", with no real sinister side. This felt particularly problematic to me during "There'a Boat That's Leaving Soon" - he was doing his light comedic thing, and Audra was being all dramatic/traumatized - it seemed like they were in two different places. But maybe his part is always played this way?

[A Director]

Posted: 8/31/11 at 1:56am

May the production bomb in Cambridge. George, DuBose, Ira and Dorothy are turning in their graves.

[Cearsgk]

Posted: 8/31/11 at 9:27am

Somewhere I read "Summertime" was lowered only because it should be more of a lullaby and put the baby to sleep. I thought the real baby was very weird, she was so so young. Did she have ear plugs in?

[Cearsgk]

Posted: 8/31/11 at 9:32am

I totally agree with madison about Lewis and Grier. What stays with me about the show is Norm Lewis.
Good idea to get a bigger doll.
I'm glad I'm seeing it again next month.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 12:52pm

Brantley weighs in showing a lota lovin' for Audra. Everything else...not so much.
NY Times Out-of-Town Review

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 1:09pm

And Brantley puts this little bombshell in parentheses:

(The show’s original ending, which had been replaced in the early previews, has now been restored.)

(Or did we already know this?)

Updated On: 9/1/11 at 01:09 PM

[landryjames2]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 1:17pm

Favorite line in that review-"...or if you must, The Gershwin's Bess"

I can't stop laughing.

[ReggieonBway]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 1:21pm

Clearly there was something wrong with the production beyond the freaky ending that Brantley didn't like - personally, I enjoyed it immensely. I hope it gets a cast recording when it hits Broadway.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 2:12pm

So the TIMES has officially changed it's policy of reviewing out of town shows that have announced a Broadway run.

That is certainly a love letter (another one) to the beautific Audra. The rest is pretty damning.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 2:34pm

This is how I want my "Gershwins".

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 2:51pm

I saw the matinee the day before the hurricane, from the second row. What you have here is an extraordinary confluence of talent onstage (I mean, what are you going to do? NOT go see Audra and Norm?) assembled by a backstage team of painfully ordinary talent, starting with Diane Paulus.

I lost count the number of times we watched as the ensemble listlessly filed off stage single file, before the next scene would start. It's the kind of thing you see in high school theater. Keep things moving, Diane, the next scene should have started already.

Before Paulus arrived in Cambridge with her alleged mandate to make the ART more "populist," even the most turgid Robert Brustein production with music by Philip Glass had breathtaking sets. It's as if Paulus has reacted against that with this set that looks like an after-thought. And, can we PLEASE have a moratorium on tables? A single table moved around to different sections of the performing space doesn't really convey different locations very well. Think "La Vie Been Done."

Still, you've got Lewis, McDonald, Boykin and Henry singing beautifully, as well as much of the ensemble. I loved Grier's performance up to and including "It Ain't Necessarily So," but from that point on he is completely under-served by Paulus. I got the sinking feeling that I could tell the specific moment at which I could delineate the parts of the show that had been rehearsed a lot, and where I was seeing the half-baked under-rehearsed portion.

I don't blame any of the mess on Parks and Murray, they're just hired guns I believe to have been acting in good faith. But Paulus is a woman of pedestrian vision. How many times is she going to place a scene's main singer center stage with everybody else clumped around them in a half-circle? Too many times, is how many, because she really thinks what people REALLY want to see is a rock concert. That's how she tries to appeal to younger theatergoers, no matter how inappropriate the material for that sort of interpretation.

I honestly would go see it again for the acting and the vocals, which I feel manage to rise above the crap they're surrounded with. This statement is, of course, entirely cast-dependent. Oh, and when this opens on the Broadway, it will be THE beary-est musical ever seen there.

PS... I just looked and there is exactly one (1) seat left for the rest of the run. This does not include the last weekend's performances, which Audra will miss.

Updated On: 9/1/11 at 02:51 PM

[Cearsgk]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 4:50pm

Fascinating stuff, FindingNamo! I am an enthusiastic and constant theater patron, but uneducated on how it all works. I've been aware of the controversy surrounding Paulus since the minute she got here, and wondered about it. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know if all you say is true, and of course it's subjective, but it sure is very interesting!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 5:45pm

I'm not knowledgeable enough to know if what I say is true either, other than when a cast with some exceptional talents meets a director with nothing more than average talents, the results are some great performances surrounded by mundanity.