FOOTLIGHT PLAYERS PORGY AND BESS FULL

American Operetta from 'HMS Pinafore' to 'Sweeney York & London: Oxford University Press, 1992. American Musical Revue: From The Passing Show to New York / Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982. American Musical Comedy from Adonis to Dreamgirls. Textxet: Studies in Comparative Literature, 74. “Octavia Reincarnated: Busenello’s and Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea.” In “Music’s Obedient Daughter”: The Opera Libretto from Source to Score, edited by Sabine Lichtenstein, 37–67. New York: Facts on File, 1985.īoogaart, Jacques. American Song: The Complete Musical Theatre Companion,ġ900-1984. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003.īloom, Ken. Yale Broadway Masters, edited by Geoffrey Block. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from Showīoat to Sondheim. “Broadway Will Not Define Him: Jason Robert Brown’s Works Find Success in Other Venues.” Los Angeles Times, 8 December 2015.īlock, Geoffrey. On the Town: One Hundred Years of Spectacle in Times Square. New York: Applause, 1997.īerman, Marshall. New Broadways: Theatre Across America: Approaching a New Millennium. London: Nick Hern Books, 1994.īerkowitz, Gerald M. Broadway Stories: A Backstage Journey through Musical Themes and Topics of the American Musical after World Warīeddow, Margery. Marburg: Tectum Verlag, 2002.īauch, Marc. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 1996.

“Sondheim and the Art That Has No Name.” In Approaches to the American Musical, edited by Robert Lawson-Peebles, 137-160. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006. “The Ironbridge Letters: A Socratic Dialogue in Epistolary Form Concerning the Musical Theater and Its Anatomy.” American Music 10, no. “From Broadway to Vegas: The Triumphs and Tribulations of Avenue Q.” Studies in Musical Theatre 5, no. & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1987.Ītkinson, Brooks. Broadway: 125 Years of American MusicalĪltman, Rick. “The Musical Dramas of Stephen Sondheim: Some Critical Approaches.” Journal of Popular Culture 12, no. Olivier Awards, presented to West End (London) productions by the SocietyĪdler, Thomas P. (a major dramatic licensing agency they maintain a useful website supportingĪwards, presented to Broadway productions by the American Theatre WingĪwards, presented to Off-Broadway productions by the Village Voice It runs through August 21 at the Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown.A complete list, but a place to get started! Biographies of individualĬomposers are included only if they incorporate significant discussionsĭatabase (statistics about Broadway runs of shows) The climactic fight scene, which follows, is brief but wrenching.įor new comers to opera or for veteran fans, “Porgy and Bess” is the opera to see this summer. Afterward comes a touching passage when the cast, illuminated by golden footlights, gathers at the apron of the stage to pray. Seated in the opera house, one could feel physical jolts as the thunderstorm in the second act rolls in. Though practically every other song is a hit, the numbers aren’t delivered with a preening showy attitude - except for when it comes to Sportin’ Life, who’s all about attitude As Clara, soprano Meroë Khalia Adeeb gave a rather operatic account of the first hit song of the night, “Summertime.” The genuine villain though is Crown, played with a dark and slouching confidence by baritone Norman Garrett. He played it to the hilt with an irresistible mix of overt, hammy virtuosity and underhanded trickery. In fact, he’s made a career out of the role. He’s got one of the best songs of the night with “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” Though a substitute for an ill cast member, Smith never felt like a stand-in. Heading the fine supporting cast was tenor Jermaine Smith as Sportin’ Life. When Porgy and Bess are in bed together singing “Bess You Is My Woman Now,” there’s a bittersweet and unsettled mingling of seduction and devotion. Despite her bright orange slip dress and red hair, Trevigne’s Bess often seems ragged and off kilter physically, a reflection of her wrenching inner conflicts between a life of propriety or of continued addiction. His Porgy has some well earned grit to his voice but also a warm and appealing vibrato that comes through in early numbers like “I Got Plenty of Nothin’.”Īs Bess, soprano Talise Trevigne also sings beautifully. Heading the huge cast is bass baritone Musa Ngqungwana. And with typical good taste and efficiency, director Francesca Zambello has things moving to the right places. Conductor John DeMain keeps things moving.

FOOTLIGHT PLAYERS PORGY AND BESS FULL

The show is full of beautiful music and has more than a few hit songs by George Gershwin. From start to finish the new production of “Porgy and Bess” at the Glimmerglass Festival is a strong and handsome evening of music and theater.

Footlight players porgy and bess