Sondheim vs. Porgy & Bess - YIKES! — Page 10

"No one might have explicitly made racialized comments in the Times piece, but when McDonald says that Bess "is not always a full-blooded character," in my mind she's saying that Bess is an archetype--a variation of the "tragic negress" one might find in the works of Nella Larsen or in Show Boat. Make of that what you will. SeanMartin might have phrased what he was trying to say better, but I don't think his premise--that several educated women of color, attuned to both the history of this piece and the history of race in America--might be trying to refocus the representation of certain aspects of the piece. "

AC,

Thanks for laying that out. I totally see the reasoning behind that. I still don't quite see, for me, why race absolutely HAS to be a central part of this particular discussion, or linked to the comments of Ms. Parks or Ms. McDonald. I, personally, didn't glean that from what she was saying. Of course, as I said before, I also don't know much about the piece itself, aside from its most famous songs.

I guess because for all intents and purposes the novel and the play don't exist anymore. I've never encountered them, but I have a half dozen recordings of "Porgy and Bess."

I think the issue is phrased very well in NYMag.com's piece on the Sondheim brouhaha:

"It’s a story of 'black life' penned by a white Southerner, scored by a New York Jewish composer, written in dialect (cartoonish, by today’s standards) and containing strong whiffs of well-intentioned paternalism, tourism, and exoticism."

But I think "well-intentioned" is possibly the most important phrase in that description.
NY Mag article

Updated On: 8/12/11 at 10:56 AM

I have to say that, as an actor (and, very, very rarely, a director), I'm very much drawn to roles and shows that I find, in some way, troublesome. Be it the politics of a show, the possible stereotyping of characters or the simple fact that I think a show is not particularly good, there's something about trying to unearth what I think is vital in a flawed piece. It's a wonderful challenge, and truly exciting. And, frankly, nothing makes you grow as an artist more than encountering these challenges. I did a production early in my career of The Mousetrap, playing Christopher Wren. Some were offended by my clearly gay (and unhinged) portrayal. And, in some ways, I do think I took the easy way out. So, I've been very much drawn to roles that can very easily fall into stereotype and have tried my best to make them fully realized characters. The funny thing is, by stretching myself in these sorts of roles, it's made me infinitely better at playing every other kind of role.

My guess is these women (smart and creative all) had similar feelings about this project. It's an extrordinary score, but a piece that perhaps has some dated, troubling politics underlying. It's intoxicating taking on that kind of challenge...and sometimes people can get carried away with how they feel about their contributions. My guess is that's where the quotes in the article come into play.

I very much respect Sondheim's opinion that Porgy and Bess is the most perfect piece of music theatre ever created (if that's indeed his opinion). But I also can't discount the many black artists today who might find the piece...untruthful in a way.

"The bottom line is that Sondheim isn't objecting to them making revisions, but he is objecting to them presenting themselves as "fixers" and "show doctors" who are taking care off all the terrible things that were wrong with this piece to begin with"

Hmm...now this sounds horribly familiar. Perhaps it doesn't count if the "fixer" and the "show doctor" is the original book writer, but there were just so many terrible things that Mr. Laurents just had to change in West Side Story...the ending, the grit, removing unnecessary ballets, adding a very necessary red-headed child...oh well, at least his arrogance was earned in the fantastic revival so clearly better than the original in every way...

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I'd like to see Bernadette as Bess.

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I'd love to see Bernadette as Bess.

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You can blame the trend on Walt Disney long before Meredith Wilson. And that trend is supported to this day!

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But it WAS Meredith Wilson's MUSIC MAN. He wrote the whole damned show. Franklin Lacey gets "story" credit, but that's different from writing the book, music and lyrics yourself.

And as best12bars says-- Uncle Walt started the whole thing of branding a person's name above a title long before Meredith Wilson, R&H, or The Gershwins.

And Sir James M. Barrie is none too pleased about that!



WHOSE Peter Pan?

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I know that as a newcomer I have no right to complain, but I wish there were a way to briefly acknowledge informative posts like those directly above this one.

You know: an "I read this and thank you for posting it" button.

It's interesting to read about all the objections attributed to Porgy & Bess. They have existed for a long time. When they were casting the 1959 movie version Sidney Poitier flat out refused to participate because he found the portrayals offensive, he wound up doing it because he was told if he didn't there was no way in hell they were going to give him THE DEFIANT ONES.

Many told Dorothy Dandridge not to do the film as well but her career needed a boost and she feared making the same mistake she made when she turned down the role of "Tuptim" in THE KING & I.

The others who participated, they just used the vehicle to their advantage for exposure, especially when all black productions or roles for black actors period were too few and far between, but many including Diahann Carroll have since discussed their disdain for the material.

ATC is reporting that "Summertime" is having its original key changed-- I guess from the soprano range to the mezzo. I guess aside from butchering the libretto, they're going to butcher the score too.