Remembering PORGY AND BESS on the 80th Anniversary of its public debut
Remembering PORGY AND BESS on the 80th Anniversary of its public debut
#1Remembering PORGY AND BESS on the 80th Anniversary of its public debut
Posted: 9/30/15 at 9:06pm
80 years ago today on September 30th, 1935, the work had its world premiere at the Colonial Theatre in Boston. It has gone on to produce numerous standards, been revived on Broadway an unprecedented seven times and is a classic to this day, both in its original form and in its many variations. Here are some production shots from the original production.
The Cast:
The Set & Group Numbers:
And the creatives join the cast onstage for the bows on Opening night:
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#2Remembering PORGY AND BESS on the 80th Anniversary of its public debut
Posted: 9/30/15 at 9:09pm
What a set! I wish I can see a production as close to the original as possible. I've only seen the recent revival.
#3Remembering PORGY AND BESS on the 80th Anniversary of its public debut
Posted: 9/30/15 at 9:42pm
I got goosebumps looking at those beautiful pictures!
#4Remembering PORGY AND BESS on the 80th Anniversary of its public debut
Posted: 9/30/15 at 9:45pm
It's really amazing work, done by Florence Vandamm. Even the staged publicity shots are so dynamic and dramatic, as they should be.
The second group shot with the shadows is especially amazing.
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Fantod
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
#5Remembering PORGY AND BESS on the 80th Anniversary of its public debut
Posted: 9/30/15 at 10:14pm
I just wish that production values nowadays could look like the ones back then. What a set, what a cast. Beautiful spread as always, Nowack.
yfs
Featured Actor Joined: 11/1/13
#6Remembering PORGY AND BESS on the 80th Anniversary of its public debut
Posted: 9/30/15 at 10:24pm
It has survived everything, including being misunderstood by critics in its own time and butchered by hapless creative artists in ours.
#7Remembering PORGY AND BESS on the 80th Anniversary of its public debut
Posted: 10/1/15 at 4:08pm
It's just a testament to the power of the score that it's been so resilient through so many variations.
I too wish we could see a set like that in a production today.
Keeping BroadwayWorld Illustrated
#8Remembering PORGY AND BESS on the 80th Anniversary of its public debut
Posted: 10/1/15 at 6:12pm
Let's give a shout out to the set designer, Sergei Sudeikin, himself a character in the recent play "Nikolai and the Others." Like Boris Aronson, he was Russian, which makes it all the more impressive that he was able to create a set so evocative of the American south--I wonder if he visited Charleston for research, does anyone know? (Although, to play devil's advocate, the set with the houses looks more European to me than American.)
#9Remembering PORGY AND BESS on the 80th Anniversary of its public debut
Posted: 10/1/15 at 6:25pm
Here's some rare black and white footage: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wnw_mip1dWQ
#10Remembering PORGY AND BESS on the 80th Anniversary of its public debut
Posted: 10/4/15 at 2:21am
The creation of Porgy and Bess is a story that's hard to get a handle on. It's the middle of the Great Depression, when most entertainment is light and meant to lift the mood of the suffering population.
So Ira tells George that he thinks that it's time for another Gershwin musical and there are some songs left over from Girl Crazy that would be a good starting point. George tells him that he wanted to do something a little different. That he had read the novel Porgy by Dubose Heyward quite a few years ago and thought that it would make a great four hour opera starring an all-Negro cast. The public, he thought, might be a little tired of lighter fare and would flock to see the story of a lame Negro beggar who lived near Charleston, SC. The beggar, Porgy, tried to make his own a sex and drug ridden woman, Bess, who was already attached to a violent lover and a dope dealer.
Porgy, rather incredibly both to him and probably the audience, seems to win her ("Bess, You Is My Woman Now"), but the dark forces carry her back to New York and the end of the opera finds Porgy ready to limp all the way to New York to pursue her once again.
Finally, George and Heyward would go down to South Carolina and live among the people for a while so that the score that Gershwin wrote would reflect the actual music popular with the people of Catfish Row.
The final lavish production would be a great hit, filling the theater for years and making lots of money.
It would be much simpler today. George would tell Ira that he agreed it was time for a new light musical, but he would just as soon avoid writing any new songs. He would take his most popular songs from his other musicals and shove them into a new very silly comedy. Casting well-known actors would pull in the people no matter how silly the story. Maybe he could even get Mathew Broderick.
#11Remembering PORGY AND BESS on the 80th Anniversary of its public debut
Posted: 10/4/15 at 9:04am
As if it were possible me for me to feel more cheated by the smallness of the Paulus revival.
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