THIS PORGY AND BESS IS MEDIOCRE AT BEST.....

[Balboa212]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 2:23am

I don't know what show many of you saw but what I saw is bound to be an "on the fence" situation with the critics. The orchestra sounds very scaled down, the piece lacks heart and soul, as good as Audra and Norm Lewis are, there is barely any chemistry between them other than what is written on the page.
Having seen several operatic productions, the cast seems very slim with about 20 in number, and all in all it looks like a glossy Broadway production that never really goes deep into the story or feeling.

I was not un-entertained, just really underwhelmed with the talent surrounding this production and certainly won't recommend it to anyone. Run to see FOLLIES before it closes, it's the best production playing from the physical production, the story, the book, the music, and the performances.

See this Porgy and Bess if you can't get tickets to anything else, something tells me it will be a real easy ticket in a few weeks. Sorry folks, just my opinion, and the 3 people I saw the show with.

[CAX]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 2:26am

and you joined the site this morning to say this?

[Balboa212]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 2:28am

no, i forgot my old account, I have posted for years and am a pro in the business for 35 years. I can easily discerne great , from mediocre, to not very good. Thanks for asking.

[jdrye222]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 3:41am

Why are you shouting?
Mediocrity doesn't usually inspire shouting.
I think that you were expecting something that it is not intending to be - I'm not pretending to LOVE the current production --- but when you say you've seen the full opera, etc, that's great but this wasn't intending to be that.
I have to disagree about no chemistry between Audra and Norm - they both seem to give each other the stage and that creates a beautiful relationship.
Phillip Boykin was the surprising standout to me.
I think the orchestra sounded wonderful, but I was in the front of the orchestra level, so I was likely hearing things acoustically and not through a terrible sound designer's distortion of it. Sound designers on broadway notoriously destroy large orchestras. I don't understand it.

[lynnetoomey]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 10:58am

Agree with jdrye222 on this one. Found the whole thing proficient, yet oddly uninspired. It feels like a watered-down regional opera house "Porgy and Bess" as opposed to a new take on the piece as a Broadway show. I've read many other comments about the tinny sound design, and unfortunately, I had the same reaction. There is little sweep or grandeur coming from the orchestra pit. Some lovely performances, but just left the theatre feeling a bit empty.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 12:55am

Re-posted from another thread- and why not?

Well, I finally saw the thing. And as someone old enough and fortunate enough to trace his experiences with PORGY AND BESS back to back-stage conversations with Avon Long and Eva Jessye in the 1960's, I have to say that the resulting excrescence of this dreadful experience at the Richard Rodgers, in every respect, stinks to high heaven. The theatre will never be properly fumigated when this show is (hopefully very swiftly) withdrawn.

I miss Peter.
I miss Archdale.
I miss Frazier.
I miss Scipio.
I miss the goat.
I miss the buzzard.
I hate the lack of any indication of locale.
I hate the over-amplified orchestra with the hideous orchestrations.
I hate the feedback between Porgy and Bess' body mikes.
I hate the scar on Bess' face. Yes, she has one in the original novel, but Heyward never said it made her look like Catwoman.
I hate Bess crawling on her belly like a reptile to sniff cocaine off the stage floor, looking like Catherine Malfitano at her worst.
I hate Maria (not "Mariah") doing Frazier's divorce scene- what was THAT??
I hate the musical staging. My companion kept expecting the chorus to break into FINIAN'S RAINBOW.
I was amused that Jake's crew made it back before the hurricane without him. What did they do, swim back?
I like the fact that Porgy now refers to his cane as his "stick"- thank you, Stephen Sondheim.
I like the shadow effects in the lighting during the wake and the hurricane- THANK YOU, ROUBEN MAMOULIAN!!!

Updated On: 1/11/12 at 12:55 AM

Posted: 1/11/12 at 2:17pm

Hey Bill... did you know going in that you wouldn't be seeing the traditional, 4-hour opera? I actually think it's cool that there are different version of the show. I wasn't familiar with the original piece going in, so I had an easy time connecting with this production.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 10:08pm

Some people might find it "cool" to have, for instance, a version of THE KING AND I where the king recovers, marries Mrs. Anna and places her in his harem, all happily ever after. Wouldn't that be sweet? No, I don't think so. The mess at the Richard Rodgers Theatre is trash, trash, trash. There's no way around it. You said you went to the show not being familiar with the piece. Believe you me, you know no more about PORGY AND BESS now than you did going in.

[Mistress_Spouzic]

Posted: 1/12/12 at 2:06pm

Well, I went last night and I enjoyed it. I'd never seen it before so I can't speak much to the changes. I liked the duet, which I realize isn't usually a duet.

The bad would be...
-- The dancing, aside from one scene at the picnic, it seemed really awkward. Do people really dance at funerals?
-- The set was just there and I'm a visual person so I wanted more. A window to blow away or something??
-- Ok, I'm disabled and totally biased but some of those Porgy lines made me cringe. Not all, but some.

The good...
-- Staging. When one of the cops uses a chair to be threatening, it seemed a bit cheesy, but the more violent scenes and Bess crouching & crawling through her various episodes of fear and need were really affective.

The great...
-- Amazing acting and singing all around. Audra McDonald, I'm a fan and wow she blew me away. The perfect picture of a broken women scared and scarred. Norm Lewis, I'd never seen him before, but he did a fantastic job. Cheers on his ability to walk like that the whole show while giving it his all vocally. Nikki Renee Daniels and Joshua Henry are adorable. Phillip Boykin is really easy to hate and loved his little bow at the end.
-- The music. Great orchestra, beautiful overture, etc.
-- The lighting. Had that storm scene been paired with just a few scarier stage effects it would have been perfection.
-- Loved the costumes. Bess makes a real transformation from her red dress falling off the shoulder through to her sunday best.

[Jon]

Posted: 1/12/12 at 6:30pm

My favorite version is still Garrett Morris as Porky in "PORKY AND BESS" on SNL in the late 1970's"

BI-BI-BI-BESS
YOU IS MA-MA-MA-MA
WO-WO-WO-WOMAN NI-NI-NI-NOW...