Among the handful of artists who have left a permanent mark on 20th-century American music, George Gershwin stands apart. Capable of writing successfully in multiple idioms, he insisted on striving for something more than mere imitation. Gershwin longed to be an original, and before his untimely death from a brain tumor at age 38, he managed to create a legacy that includes, in addition to dozens of wonderful songs, two of the most significant compositions in American musical history: 1924’s Rhapsody in Blue and Porgy and Bess, a “folk opera” written for an all-African-American cast in 1935. Even if you have never seen a production of Porgy and Bess, you probably know the music, and you undoubtedly know at least one of its songs by heart, as “Summertime” has become one of the most popular standards in the American songbook.
This month, Ensemble Theatre Company presents Porgy and Bess in a 21st-century version designed for a cast of 14 and a five-piece jazz ensemble. Known as The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, it was commissioned by the late composer’s estate in 2011, the second such attempt made to modernize the show and reduce both its original three-hour length and the expense of putting on a full production, which would require an orchestra of 40 instruments and a choir. Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks rendered the original opera’s recitative passages as acted scenes, modernizing some of the more problematic aspects of the work’s handling of race. Director Diane Paulus and musical consultant Diedre Murray also contributed to the transformation of Gershwin's mighty (and mighty difficult) folk opera into something that more closely resembles musical theater.
Ensemble Artistic Director Jonathan Fox has assembled a formidable cast for this production, which has reportedly broken all previous New Vic records for advance sales. Karole Foreman, who will play Bess, previously appeared in two Ensemble productions, Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel and last season’s Sweeney Todd. Elijah Rock, who will play Porgy, is a newcomer to Ensemble but a veteran performer of songs by Gershwin and others. His album Gershwin for My Soul, produced by the show’s musical director Kevin Toney, will be released later this month.
