Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess, at the American Repertory Theater
Gratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****

I've mentioned that Porgy and Bess was never high on the list of musicals I hoped to see someday, for the same reason I spent decades avoiding Fiddler on the Roof. I was afraid it would be filled with stereotypical characters and dialogue that would make me cringe.

In both cases, I'm happy to report, I was so wrong.

I can't say much about the changes made by playwright Suzan-Lori Parks to DuBose Heyward's 1935 libretto. I don't know how director Diane Paulus' version of Porgy and Bess compares with all other versions. I'm not sure whether Stephen Sondheim will like it, if he sees it. All I can say is how this production affected me - and I was captivated.

Porgy and Bess takes place in a close-knit black enclave in South Carolina in the 1930s, where many of the men make their living from the sea. In some ways the inhabitants of Catfish Row reminded me of the Jews of Anatevka - hard-working people sustained by a deep and abiding faith as they try to survive in a world that doesn't regard them as fully human.

Not only was this my first time seeing Porgy and Bess, it was also my first time hearing the beautiful Gershwin score.

When Nikki Renee Daniels, playing Clara, a fisherman's wife, came out holding an infant - yes, a real baby - to sing the lullaby "Summertime," it was mesmerizing. Joshua Henry as her husband, Jake, could not have been sweeter, taking his son in his arms to give him some fatherly advice in "A Woman is A Sometime Thing."

I have to admit, there was something about seeing a baby onstage that got to me. (Nile and Mackenzie Lee, the twins of cast member NaTasha Yvette Williams, who plays Maria, alternate.) What a bold way to say that this not about stereotypes but real people, families. How could you not get drawn in to their stories?

But what made Porgy and Bess so moving was the romance at its core. Abandoned by her lover, Crown, who flees after killing a man, the drug-addicted Bess is shunned. Porgy, a crippled beggar, is the only one who will take her in. Watching this arrangement of convenience turn into real affection was stunning.

As Porgy, Norm Lewis simply won my heart. It was my first time seeing this veteran Broadway actor and he was so endearing - dignified and generous, never pitiful. When he sings "I Got Plenty of Nothing," you know he's probably happier than he's ever been before because, of course, he does have something - the love that this lonely man never expected to enter his life.

And Audra McDonald, ravishing in the fiery red dress she's wearing when we first see her, is remarkable as the tempestuous Bess. You can tell she's struggling - to stay away from drugs and drink, to be accepted by the community that has rejected her. With Porgy, you feel like she's found happiness and a home for the first time.

Of course you don't need me to tell you that Lewis and McDonald, a four-time Tony winner, have gorgeous voices. But they're also incredibly sexy in this musical and have great chemistry together. I loved the way Bess sat on Porgy's lap during "Bess You Is My Woman Now," as they expressed their feelings for each other.

Still, for all the tenderness, Porgy and Bess doesn't shy away from presenting the seamier aspects of life and the unsavory characters lurking on Catfish Row - or the era's stultifying racism.

The tone changed markedly when the musical's two white characters, Christopher Innvar's detective and Joseph Dellger's coroner, appeared and it was startling. The black residents grow quiet and extremely deferential, even as they're treated harshly and with disdain. It was a stark example of the fear that Jim Crow instilled.

I love being surprised by an actor I've never heard of before and that happened with Phillip Boykin as Crown. The sense of menace he brought to the role was palpable. Stocky and strong - he works on the docks as a stevedore - Crown was terrifying, a bully who preys on his own people. There's one very intense scene of sexual violence that was truly scary.

And David Alan Grier brought a light touch to the flashy dope peddler Sportin' Life, who looks down on his country cousins. He tempts Bess with "happy dust" and urges her to come to New York City with him. Grier was terrific giving his own cynical view of the Bible in "It Ain't Necessarily So." And Ronald K. Brown's choreography was fun to watch.

Now, I'm not saying everything was perfect. I though Act II felt slower paced than Act I. And at first, Lewis was dragging his bad leg at such an unnatural angle that I feared he'd do permanent damage. Traditionally, Porgy gets around in a cart pulled by a goat. But here, he uses a cane. I thought it worked fine.

The set by Riccardo Hernandez is pretty bare - evoking the simple wooden shacks of poor black Southerners. There's not much more onstage than a table and chairs. It was okay in the 540-seat Loeb Drama Center but I wonder if it'll get swallowed up in the 1,300-seat Richard Rodgers Theatre when Porgy and Bess moves to Broadway.

I'd read that this production changes the musical's ending, so I checked out the Wikipedia entry afterward. If you've seen Porgy and Bess before, the change is not what you may think it is. As someone who just assumed it was part of the original work, I found it compelling.

One of my favorite moments in the musical occurs near the beginning - the rousing, spiritual-like "Leaving for the Promised Land." It's so fitting because Porgy and Bess takes place around the time of a real exodus, the migration of 2 million African-Americans from the South to the North, Midwest and West in search of a better life.

What I think Parks and Paulus have done in the end is to bring us to that point of departure, with all of its anxiety and ambivalence. Both Porgy and Bess appear changed. Yet, there's always the temptation to go back to your old, bad habits. And despite the danger in staying put, it's difficult to leave the only home you've ever known.

Porgy and Bess premiered at the Colonial Theatre in Boston in 1935. Over the decades, its depiction of black life has made many African-American theatergoers and performers uncomfortable. The Gershwin and Heyward estates requested a revised production that would address those concerns and appeal to African-American audiences.

I can only speak for myself but what I saw was a warm, sensitive and nuanced portrayal of a community. I also think that the passage of time has helped. The characters in Porgy and Bess no longer have to stand for every black person. In the hands of this incredibly talented cast they are individuals - good and bad - and fully human.

Porgy and Bess runs through Oct. 2 at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass. Broadway previews begin Dec. 17 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, with an opening night of Jan. 12. According to the A.R.T program, the babies appear by permission of the Office of Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I have no idea whether there will be babies on Broadway but I hope so.

Stephen Sondheim on Porgy and Bess

I've never seen Porgy and Bess. I'm not even sure I've ever heard any of the songs. So the objections raised by Stephen Sondheim to changes in the upcoming production go over my head.

In fact, some of the things that have gotten stuck in his craw are downright perplexing. In his letter to The New York Times, Sondheim says that the line "Bring my goat!" which apparently has been taken out, is "one of the most moving moments in musical theater history." Really?

To be honest, Porgy and Bess was on a list of works I had no interest in ever seeing. I knew it took place in a poor black community in South Carolina in the 1930s and I figured it would be a stereotypical portrait. The song titles made me cringe: "Oh, Dere's Somebody Knockin at de Do," "Here Come de Honey Man," "I Ain't Got No Shame." I could go on but you get the point.

Despite my reservations, I bought a ticket to see Porgy and Bess at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass., later this month, in its pre-Broadway engagement.

What made me change my mind was Audra McDonald, the four-time Tony winner who'll play Bess. I have enormous respect for McDonald. I figure if she's signed on, then I would give it a chance.

And I was glad to read the article in The Times that drew Sondheim's attention, in which representatives of the Gershwin and Heyward estates express their desire for a version of Porgy and Bess that would draw African-American theatergoers.

So it shocked me to read Sondheim's letter excoriating McDonald, director Diane Paulus and Suzan-Lori Parks, a Pulitzer Prize-winning African-American playwright who is adapting the book for the musical. To be frank, it's a bit unseemly for someone of Sondheim's stature to come down so hard before the first preview. With great power comes great responsibility.

The sniping at McDonald seems especially petty. She has been a fierce advocate for gay rights, for which she is rightly praised. So when she speaks as an African-American woman about her concerns with racism in Porgy and Bess, she deserves to be treated with respect.

I understand that Sondheim is speaking from the perspective of a musical theatre purist who has a great love for Porgy and Bess. But instead of calling out the largely African-American performers and creative team for their "arrogance" I wish he'd at least consider the viewpoint of African-Americans toward this work. It doesn't even seem to have entered his mind.

In an article in The Boston Globe, the performers and creative team talk about the work and about the importance of adapting it for a modern audience.

McDonald said that while she's performed songs from Porgy and Bess in concert, she's been reluctant to play Bess onstage. She mentions the "Sambo-type racist talk" that bothered her. “I want them to be real people in the way that Lorraine Hansberry was able to lift the shade and [let] everybody peer into a real American family with ‘Raisin in the Sun.’ ’’

Parks said the song “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’ ’’ “has stuck in the craw of many a folk, because people have interpreted it as the happy darky song: There he is, out of nowhere, for no reason, singin’ about how he ain’t got nothin’ and how that makes him happy.’’

Philip Boykin, who plays Crown, says: “There are things I’ve done in the opera ‘Porgy and Bess’ that I’ve hated for years. I’ve hated the lines.’’ But with Parks willing to hear suggestions, he’s been able to ditch some of them. “I just love it,’’ he said. “I love it, love it, love it, love it, love it.’’

I'll admit I'm not a purist. If somebody wants to remake my favorite movie, Casablanca, and have (spoiler alert!) Ilsa stay with Rick at the end, I'd say, "that sounds interesting." As far as I know Porgy and Bess did not come down from God at Mount Sinai, delivered into the arms of George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. (And this idea that a work is sacrosanct, that it can never be reinterpreted or altered, isn't that how a lot of people feel about the Bible?)

The Globe article notes "what has been the greatest obstacle for Porgy and Bess over the decades: the perception that this depiction of a black community in the American South, written in dialect by whites, is a racist work."

No one wants to make Porgy and Bess unrecognizable. But there's a difference between making an audience confront its prejudices, no matter how uncomfortable that may be, and making them comfortable in their prejudices.

If we can make the portrayal of black people in the 1930s less offensive, if we can make black audiences feel welcome and performers more comfortable, while still retaining the elements that everyone says make Porgy and Bess a great work, then why not? Or at least, why not try?

Downstage Center hits 300

Today marks another milestone for my favorite podcast, the American Theatre Wing's Downstage Center. This week's interview, with composer John Kander, is number 300.

Congratulations!

At the time of my first trip to Broadway, in 2007, I was pretty much a blank slate when it came to theatre. Four-time Tony winner Audra McDonald? I would have shrugged. But somehow I found my way to Downstage Center, then a co-production of the Wing and XM Satellite Radio.

The interviews with actors, directors, playwrights and designers were my ticket to the world of theatre on Broadway and beyond. I'd download the podcast from iTunes and listen at the gym or in the car.

The hosts, XM Satellite's John von Soosten and the Wing's executive director, Howard Sherman, were great at making the shows relaxed and conversational. Their questions were insightful and the guests weren't rushed - they were given plenty of time to talk about their lives and careers.

For example, I now know that at age 16, McDonald played Eva Peron in a Fresno, Calif., dinner-theatre production of Evita. One of Nathan Lane's first professional acting jobs was in a musical about the history of New Jersey, called Jerz. And Jan Maxwell got her Equity card after being cast as the understudy for the role of Lily St. Regis in a bus-and-truck tour of Annie.

It's been great to find an interview with someone whose work I've just seen onstage. I can't pick a favorite - every program has an anecdote or a quote that sticks with me, and I've shared a few of them on my blog. But the one with Marian Seldes is a gem. I even had a chance to tell her how much I enjoyed it.

Since August 2009 Downstage Center has been solely a Wing production, with Sherman handling the interviewing. (On the Wing's blog, he writes about the program's history.) I hope it'll continue, with his participation, after he steps down as executive director next year.

Audra McDonald, your lips are fabulous

I love this comment from the lovely Anne Hathaway, doing Shakespeare in Central Park through July 12, when the weather cooperates.

Hathaway, whose character in Twelfth Night is masquerading as a man, tells the women of The View what it's like to kiss costar Audra McDonald:

"We did a photo shoot yesterday and the photographer wanted us to kiss. So we kind of spent a good 15 minutes making out and I've never really focused on it before but Audra McDonald, your lips are fabulous. I mean they're just pillowy and soft. And I was just like, wow."

Here's Hathaway's appearance on The View:



And here's an article on the production from The New York Times:

“I have a double learning curve, not only because it’s my first time with Shakespeare but because this is my first major theatrical production,” Ms. Hathaway said. “So just staving off a nervous breakdown has been the main thing for me.”

Even though I'm not a big Shakespeare fan, the cast for this play really makes me wish I could make it to Twelfth Night. The whole Shakespeare in the Park experience sounds great - theatre under the stars, with a gentle summertime breeze.

I'll have to put it on my list of goals to accomplish next year.

Stepping into Violet's slippers

So Phylicia Rashad is taking over the role of acerbic, pill-popping matriarch Violet Weston in the Broadway production of August: Osage County starting May 26. She'll replace Estelle Parsons, who will be part of the Tony and Pulitzer-winner's national tour this summer.

I only know Rashad from The Cosby Show and A Raisin in the Sun on television. I can't say whether this is an inspired move on the part of the producers or a misguided piece of stunt casting.

And I know the audience might find it difficult to suspend disbelief having a black actress on stage with white children and a white sister. It might make August: Osage County seem primarily about race when it's not about that at all. (Update: Ok, there is a Native American character and it is partly about race. I've only seen the play once and that was 18 months ago, so I'll admit I've forgotten Violet's racially charged dialog.)

Still, I do find the prospect of an African-American Violet Weston intriguing. And Rashad is a veteran stage actress, winner of a Tony for her portrayal of Lena Younger in the Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun.

Over the past couple of years, I've seen quite a bit of colorblind and nontraditional casting. Trinity Repertory Company has a tradition of doing it, so I've seen plays with women in roles that have been written for men and African-American actors playing historical figures who were white.

On Broadway, I saw Audra McDonald in 110 in the Shade and she was wonderful. The fact that white actors played her father and one of her brothers didn't bother me at all. Maybe because it was a musical or the story, involving a mysterious stranger, had a fantasy quality, but I thought the colorblind casting worked.

With August: Osage County, the aspects of Tracy Letts' play that were the most memorable were the ones about family: the relationships between parents and children, between husband and wife, and among siblings. What makes this family interesting is their history - the secrets they keep, the things that bind them together and tear them apart.

When it works, nontraditional, colorblind casting offers an opportunity for actors and the audience to stretch themselves. Whether it'll work in this case, I don't know. But if Rashad can pull it off, more power to her.

From stage to screen - and back

Last night I watched "Private Practice," the spinoff of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy." I've never seen "Grey's Anatomy." I'm not terribly interested in medical shows. And it turns out that this one is pretty forgettable. But Audra McDonald is in it, and that's a big attraction for me.

I saw the four-time Tony winner on Broadway in July in "110 in the Shade." Wow. What an incredible, rich, operatic voice. (Ok, I've never actually been to an opera, but her voice is what I imagine an opera singer's would sound like).

Plus, she's just a great actress. She's a beautiful, confident woman who makes us believe through sheer force of her acting skills that she's awkward, unattractive and insecure. I'd never seen her in anything before, and she totally won me over. Unfortunately, I don't think your average TV-show dialogue really demonstrates the full extent of her talent.

Audra McDonald isn't the only theater veteran I've watched on television this week. I'm at the beginning of a "Sex and the City" marathon, and it was a wonderful surprise to see Marian Seldes playing Mr. Big's mother.

I've seen a few movie and television actors on stage so far. The ever-growing list includes Kevin Spacey, Colm Meaney, David Hyde Pierce and Angela Lansbury. Next month, I'll add Kevin Kline in "Cyrano" to the roster. (Jennifer Garner's in it, too, but I never watched "Alias.")

I have to admit that for me, that's one of the thrills of going to a Broadway show. I enjoy watching an actor whose work I've admired on television or in the movies perform on stage. Now, I'm realizing it works the other way around as well - I enjoy watching an actor I've liked on stage perform on TV or in a movie.

To hear a terrific interview with Audra McDonald, check out this Downstage Center program from 2005. In it, she discusses getting her start at a dinner theater in Fresno, Calif., when she was 16, playing Eva Peron in "Evita," and the relief she felt at finally not winning a Tony Award.