Porgy & Bess - Rapid River Magazine

R A P I D R I V E R A R T S & C U L T U R E M A G A Z I N E
march into entertainment
Bravo Finishes Up Another Stellar Season with
“Porgy and Bess”
On March 20 Asheville
Bravo Concerts will
present its final show of
the 2009-2010 season
with George and Ira
Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess.
This opera was first per-
formed in the fall of 1935 in
New York City. It was written
in the heart of the Depression
and based on DuBose Hey-
ward’s novel Porgy
and the play
of the same name, which he
co-wrote with his wife Dorothy
Heyward. The story deals with African
American life in the fictitious Catfish Row
(based on the real-life Cabbage Row) in
Charleston, SC, in 1912.
“Music gives a soul to the universe,
wings to the mind, flight to the
imagination, and life to everything,”
~ Plato (428–347 BC)
The show melds classical music,
popular song, jazz, blues and spirituals into
a quintessentially American masterpiece that
tells the poignant story of a crippled beggar,
the headstrong woman he loves, and the
community that both sustains and comes
between them. The show originated such
classic arias as “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’”, “It
Ain’t Necessarily So” and “Summertime.”
The Dicapo Opera Theatre, one of the
most storied opera companies in New York,
has mounted one of the most acclaimed
touring productions of the show in decades.
This brilliant, updated production features
a cast of over 30 and a live orchestra whose
stunning renditions of Gershwin’s classic are
sure to enthrall and amaze.
“We’re very pleased to finish the
season with such a fantastic show,”
Tracey Johnston-Crum, Bravo’s Execu-
tive Director, said of the event, “we’ve
been producing shows in this community
since the 1930’s and this season finale is
BY DENNIS RAY
a fine example
of the cultural
performances
that Asheville
deserves.”
John-
ston-Crum is
originally from
Asheville and
chose to return
to her hometown
after enjoying a successful career in the
performing arts as a professional actress in
New York. Upon her return, she accepted
a position as manager of events at Grove
Park Inn, where she worked
for four and a half years
before taking over the executive
directorship of Asheville
Bravo Concerts in 2007.
“Asheville Bravo Con-
certs was originally called the
Asheville Civic Music Association
when it was created
in 1932,” explains Chall Gray,
marketing and development
manager of Bravo Concerts.
“It began with a small group
of music lovers pledging
to bring an annual series
of concerts to Asheville by
noted musicians, ensembles,
and large orchestras. They joined what was
already a growing ‘organized audience’
movement across the country,”
In 1999 the Asheville Community
Concert Association made a formal split
with Community Concerts changing to their
current name of Asheville Bravo Concerts.
“Bravo continues to bring new and
exciting work from all over the world,” Gray
says, then adds, “I can’t yet say who we’re
booking in the 2010-2011 season but I can
say it will probably be our best year ever.”
That will be an arduous accomplishment
considering that in 2009 they brought
in the National Acrobats of China and the
famed Vienna Boys Choir and this February
brought in the Moscow Festival Ballet.
When asked if the economy affected
how they book shows, meaning have they
had to book more family friendly programming
as opposed to something more risqué
Johnston-Crum answers, “We were able
to bring Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte
Carlo
earlier this season, which was a pretty
risqué show, but in general our booking
philosophy is to bring shows that serve the
entire community, and that will always
include family programming.”
IF
YOU
GO
Diana Wortham Theatre presents
Complexions
Contemporary Ballet
exciting, mesmerizing,
thoroughly current
TICKETS:
Bravo presents George and
Ira Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess
on March 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $20-55 and can
be purchased by calling the
Asheville Bravo Concerts office at (828)
225-5887, visiting www.ticketmaster.com, or
in person at the Civic Center Box Office.
For more information please visit
www.ashevillebravoconcerts.org.
David Holt and the
Lightning Bolts
fun, funny and
highly entertaining
March Entertainment
Asheville Choral Society . . . . . . . . . pg. 6
Blue Ridge Orchestra . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 6
Asheville Symphony . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 7
David Holt & the Lighting Bolts . . . pg. 9
Bobcat Goldthwait . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 10
Echo Early Music Festival . . . . . . . pg. 12
Hendersonville Chamber Music . . pg. 12
The Boxcar Children . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 23
Arlo Guthrie
Guthrie Family Rides Again
four generations of song
March 19
Battlefield Band
Joyful, raucous Celtic
at Pack Place in downtown Asheville
Vol. 13, No. 7 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — March 2010 5