Despite musical theater god Stephen Sondheim’s majestic smack-down of this new revival, for what he feels are extreme reworkings of the original work (read his New York Times op-ed HERE), the show apparently still will go on…
Slated to bow at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA next month, this incarnation of the George Gershwin/DuBose Heyward opera Porgy and Bess, will also make its way to the bright lights of Broadway, starting on December 17th, with its official opening on January 12th, 2012, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
The American Repertory Theater cast ( Audra McDonald, David Alan Grier, Norm Lewis, Joshua Henry, Philip Boykin, and Trista Dollison) will also star in the Broadway run of the production.
Pultizer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks‘ (Topdog/Underdog) has teamed with Tony Award-nominated director Diane Paulus (Hair) to create this reworking.
“The Gershwin and Heyward estates have given us the charge to create a version of Porgy and Bess that will have a unique identity as a musical… I am delighted to be working with Suzan-Lori Parks on making the characters in the story more fully realized. With one of the most incredible scores ever written, we want to bring Porgy and Bess to life on the musical stage in a way that feels essential, immediate, and passionate,”” said Paulus.
And Suzan-Lori Parks added, “Our approach is fresh and respectful; we’re working to retain all the best-loved elements of the original while crafting a piece that speaks to contemporary audiences.“
I’m undoubtedly intrigued and curious to see what this ends up looking, sounding and feeling like.
The pictures included in this post give us our first look.
