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THE GERSHWINS' PORGY AND BESS Send This Review to a Friend
If someone is coming to “Porgy and Bess” for the first time, or not measuring it up against the opera itself, this trimmed, adjusted version can still offer pleasures.
Foremost are the score and the performances, especially that of Audra McDonald as Bess. But if the original was performed on Broadway before, why not bring it back in full as written by the Gershwins?
In fact, it is wrong to call this production “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.” It should be dubbed “The Suzan-Lori Parks/Diedre L. Murray/Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess as Directed by Diane Paulus” Why not do it as originally presented? One reason is probably money. The slimmed down version is cheaper to stage and more easily geared for road companies. Another is the condescending idea of attempting to make it more accessible to contemporary audiences. Stephen Sondheim had a point in his aversion to the tampering that had been heralded.
But let’s deal with what is there in this offering. McDonald not only has a great voice, but she is a superb actress, and when she blends her acting skills with her singing, the result is moving and complex. What emerges is a portrait of the pain Bess experiences, her desire to change her life around, but her inability to make the right choices, her susceptibility to drugs, and how she hates herself for not being able to keep from doing the wrong thing. She gives a tumultuous, award-caliber performance, which is reason enough to see this show.
There are other standout performances as well. Norm Lewis is appealing as the crippled Porgy, and he masterfully builds his character into self-assertion. He also has a strong voice, and when he sings “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” the show soars. Likewise, her “I Loves You, Porgy” is emotionally rousing.
Other standouts are David Alan Grier as Sporting Life and Phillip Boykin as the menacing Crown. Among the women, a highlight is Bryonha Marie Parham as Serena singing “My Man’s Gone Now” and NaTasha Yvette Williams as Mariah singing “I Hates Your Strutting Style.”
The cast delivers on some of the best Gershwin songs, such as Porgy singing “I Got Plenty of Nothing” and Sporting Life and the Ensemble singing “It Ain’t Necessarily So.”
The production is in dire need of a better set. The scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez is primarily a minimalist grouping of background slabs that don’t mean anything. Ronald K. Brown’s choreography has a clichéd look.
The acting, the vocal power and the durable Gershwin music and lyrics are the ingredients that still have a super-charged, emotional impact. At the Richard Rodgers Theatre, 226 West 46th Street. Phone: 877-250-2929.
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