Just back from the first preview of PORGY AND BESS....- Page 6

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 6:29pm

Is it me? Or does it sound like Brantley stopped just short of ripping Norm Lewis to shreds. Maybe it was just by comparison to Audra, but he barely mentions that Lewis is in the show, and what little he says sounds like a reserved judgement at best (pulling hard on the reins), and a "this ain't workin' AT ALL" response at worst.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 6:36pm

I didn't get that impression, but it certainly seems clear that he thinks she IS the show.

Mostly I thought Brantley was being paid by the parenthesis.

[whatever2]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 6:39pm

Namo: what's a "beary" musical? are there lots of heavy-set men in chaps with nipple rings?

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 6:51pm

I guess I played into the old adage: If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. And he didn't.

To say the show is basically called "Bess!" is pretty clear that Porgy isn't leaving much, if any, of an impression. Almost as if he wasn't in the room at any moment.

That's pretty harsh, when you're one of the two title roles in the show.


I think it's way worse than "damning him with faint praise." He barely even suggests that Lewis exists in the show. He spent two more sentences a piece on other supporting players.

Harvey (the invisible rabbit) and Bess!

Updated On: 9/1/11 at 06:51 PM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 7:21pm

I was wondering about the term "beary" also.

[ReggieonBway]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 8:31pm

It sounded more like he thought Norm was good, just not at Audra's level.

[marknyc]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 8:39pm

Did anyone else catch the mistake in Brantley's review? I alerted him to it, and he responded that I was correct. It has been removed from the online version.

Here's what I wrote:

I think you may have made a mistake in this sentence:

"And in Diedre L. Murray’s musical adaptation there are now even more eclectic touches, including a...catalogue of put-downs and insults (delivered by Natasha Yvette Williams as Mariah) that suggests a half-hearted proto-hip-hop riff."

I haven't seen the Paulus version, but this sounds like it comes from the original opera: "I hates yo' struttin' style."

You can hear a sample here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Porgy-Bess-Scene-Hates-Struttin/dp/B002WQ7SN2

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 8:49pm

Yeah, "I Hates Yo' Struttin' Style" is in there.

[marknyc]

Posted: 9/1/11 at 8:59pm

Surprising that Brantley wasn't familiar with it.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 9/2/11 at 9:04am

No one does his homework any more.

[Cearsgk]

Posted: 9/2/11 at 10:24am

http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2011/09/02/arts_porgy_and_bess_has_spirit_and_heart/

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/3/11 at 12:25am

Paulus is such a shyster she's thrown up a row of folding chairs, labelled them "obstructed view" and is selling them for $75 bucks on Saturday nights. No doubt this is due to "populist demand."