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Porgy and Bess Program [pdf] - American Repertory Theater
Porgy and Bess Program [pdf] - American Repertory Theater Porgy and Bess Program [pdf] - American Repertory Theater
lues, but he insisted on casting classically trained African-American singers—something of a bold decision at that time. When Paulus and Parks made their presentation for the estates last year, they talked about the strength of the show being the immortal score, including classic songs such as “Summertime,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So” and “I Loves You, Porgy.” But what needed developing and underlining, they argued, was the story and character arcs. They talked about a production that wasn’t operatic in scope, but intimately scaled—zooming in on the interior life of the characters. The story centers on the denizens of the Catfish Row enclave in Charleston, South Carolina circa 1930, focusing in particular on the searing love triangle between three unlikely lost souls. When the troubled prostitute Bess is abandoned after her controlling lover Crown commits murder and flees town, she turns to the crippled beggar Porgy for nurturing and a place to call home. As their love blooms, Crown and his conniving cohort, the drug-dealing gambler Sporting Life, threaten to pull the new lovers apart—while Bess struggles to contain her addiction and Porgy veers towards a desperate act. Paulus says she and Parks were clear from Day 1 that they were not going to “Katrina-ize” Porgy by moving it to a contemporary setting. Instead, the women concentrated on strengthening and adding dimension to the characters and their story arcs, figuring out what makes these people tick and underlining the dramatic transformations that happen to them through the course of the story—often using the novel as a guide to flesh out specifics. They paid particular attention to fleshing out Bess’ character arc and understanding her motivations. “We want to strip away anything that becomes distracting, that would raise the question of: Is that authentic? What’s authentic is the emotions, the story, the desperate journeys of these characters and the complexity of who these people are. Therein lies the richness of the theatrical experience: The audience’s identification with these people. Sitting in the audience, no matter what century I live in and whatever my background, I can say I understand what Bess is feeling. I can Classic. Homer and Joyce. Shakespeare and Mamet. Velasquez and Sargent. If you’re interested in how great writers and artists transform our world, we invite you to check out our courses—on campus or online. Select courses: 8 AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATER www.extension.harvard.edu
identify with Porgy. I’m rooting for that love affair to survive. It’s the specific becoming universal.” In moving Porgy from the opera form to the musical-theater idiom, the team has had to decide which musical recitatives should now be spoken as dialogue instead of sung and which ones should be retained. Paulus has also kept the set design simple, shunning supposedly authentic scenery in favor of a more abstract, timeless approach. “We’ve tried to break free of the past conventions of Porgy and Bess, having ‘realistic’ architecture on stage, with gates and shutters and buildings. We all know that’s not real anyway.” Two other potentially controversial changes to the show: Gone is Porgy’s goatdrawn cart (he ambles around with a cane instead), and there’s a new, more upbeat ending. One of the biggest challenges facing Paulus and Parks is the thorny problem of racial stereotyping in Porgy and Bess. With the birth of the Civil Rights movement, Porgy became a radioactive property among African-Americans. Harry Belafonte turned down the 1959 film version, and Sidney Poitier later said he THREE’S COMPANY: American Repertory Theater Artistic Director Diane Paulus (middle) poses with The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess collaborators Suzan-Lori Parks (left) and Diedre Murray (right). at the shalin liu SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2 PM JAZZ: Grace Kelly and Phil Woods, saxophones SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 5 PM JAZZ: Bill Charlap Trio 37 Main Street, Rockport, Massachusetts CLASSICAL – JAZZ – FOLK – OPERA & THEATRE HD BROADCASTS CONCERTS AND EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR! Met Opera HD Broadcasts Six Encore Productions September 6 – October 4 Visit www.rockportmusic.org for afull calendar of events! Group and senior discounts available! THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 7 PM COMEDY: One Man, Two Guvnors National Theatre HD Broadcast SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 7 PM JAZZ: Regina Carter, violin THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 7 PM COMEDY: The Kitchen National Theatre HD Broadcast FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 8 PM JAZZ: New YorkVoices FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 8 PM FOLK: Livingston Taylor www.rockportmusic.org | 978.546.7391 THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS 9
- Page 3 and 4: Contents SEPTEMBER 2011 12 Artistic
- Page 5 and 6: ackstage (continued) Zimmerman’s
- Page 7: atrical history and bring them forw
- Page 11 and 12: Miles Davis and Nina Simone, popula
- Page 13: Charlie Haydock, CFA Chief Investme
- Page 17 and 18: Cast (in order of appearance) Clara
- Page 19 and 20: ADDITIONAL STAFF Dialect Coach.....
- Page 21 and 22: Courtesy of Ira and Leonore Gershwi
- Page 23 and 24: ALLISON BLACKWELL Woman of Catfish
- Page 25 and 26: cast (continued) pearances include
- Page 27 and 28: cast (continued) BRYONHA MARIE PARH
- Page 29 and 30: orchestra (continued) LEO EGUCHI Ce
- Page 31 and 32: orchestra (continued) GREG NEWTON T
- Page 33 and 34: creative team (continued) Venus (19
- Page 35 and 36: creative team (continued) and Misal
- Page 37 and 38: creative team (continued) JULIE BAL
- Page 39 and 40: A.R.T./MXAT Institute For Advanced
- Page 41 and 42: annual fund donors (continued) $1,0
- Page 43 and 44: A.R.T. EDUCATION EXPERIENCE & COMMU
- Page 45 and 46: Staff AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATER ST
- Page 47 and 48: guide to local theater (continued)
- Page 49 and 50: guide to local theater (continued)
- Page 51 and 52: SLASHER, Apollinaire Theatre Compan
- Page 53 and 54: Direct from its sold-out run at the
- Page 55 and 56: guide to cambridge dining (continue
- Page 57 and 58: guide to cambridge dining (continue
identify with <strong>Porgy</strong>. I’m rooting for that love affair<br />
to survive. It’s the specific becoming universal.”<br />
In moving <strong>Porgy</strong> from the opera form to the<br />
musical-theater idiom, the team has had to decide<br />
which musical recitatives should now be spoken as<br />
dialogue instead of sung <strong>and</strong> which ones should<br />
be retained. Paulus has also kept the set design<br />
simple, shunning supposedly authentic scenery in<br />
favor of a more abstract, timeless approach. “We’ve<br />
tried to break free of the past conventions<br />
of <strong>Porgy</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Bess</strong>,<br />
having ‘realistic’ architecture<br />
on stage, with gates<br />
<strong>and</strong> shutters <strong>and</strong> buildings.<br />
We all know that’s<br />
not real anyway.” Two other potentially controversial<br />
changes to the show: Gone is <strong>Porgy</strong>’s goatdrawn<br />
cart (he ambles around with a cane<br />
instead), <strong>and</strong> there’s a new, more upbeat ending.<br />
One of the biggest challenges facing Paulus<br />
<strong>and</strong> Parks is the thorny problem of racial stereotyping<br />
in <strong>Porgy</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Bess</strong>. With the birth of the<br />
Civil Rights movement, <strong>Porgy</strong> became a radioactive<br />
property among African-<strong>American</strong>s. Harry<br />
Belafonte turned down the 1959 film version,<br />
<strong>and</strong> Sidney Poitier later said he<br />
THREE’S COMPANY:<br />
<strong>American</strong> <strong>Repertory</strong><br />
<strong>Theater</strong> Artistic<br />
Director Diane Paulus<br />
(middle) poses with<br />
The Gershwins’ <strong>Porgy</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> <strong>Bess</strong> collaborators<br />
Suzan-Lori Parks<br />
(left) <strong>and</strong> Diedre<br />
Murray (right).<br />
at the shalin liu<br />
SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2 PM<br />
JAZZ: Grace Kelly <strong>and</strong><br />
Phil Woods, saxophones<br />
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 5 PM<br />
JAZZ: Bill Charlap Trio<br />
37 Main Street, Rockport, Massachusetts<br />
CLASSICAL – JAZZ – FOLK –<br />
OPERA & THEATRE HD BROADCASTS<br />
CONCERTS AND EVENTS<br />
THROUGHOUT THE YEAR!<br />
Met Opera HD Broadcasts<br />
Six Encore Productions<br />
September 6 – October 4<br />
Visit www.rockportmusic.org for afull<br />
calendar of events!<br />
Group <strong>and</strong> senior discounts available!<br />
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 7 PM<br />
COMEDY: One Man, Two Guvnors<br />
National Theatre HD Broadcast<br />
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 7 PM<br />
JAZZ: Regina Carter, violin<br />
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 7 PM<br />
COMEDY: The Kitchen<br />
National Theatre HD Broadcast<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 8 PM<br />
JAZZ: New YorkVoices<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 8 PM<br />
FOLK: Livingston Taylor<br />
www.rockportmusic.org | 978.546.7391<br />
THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS 9
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