PORGY AND BESS  at the Richard Rodgers Theatre

(Seen January 25, 2012)


With a revised book by Suzan-Lori Parks and a new insight by director Diane Paulus, there is a feminist slant that focuses on Bess, as befits its star, Audra McDonald.  And this seems to be a darker, more brutal view of life in the Catfish Row we might have previously known. 

Even the physical set-up of Catfish Row seems industrial looking, and most of the 'livin' here is not easy.  The good guys and the bad guys are more clearly delineated, and even the music sounds harsher.

But there is no getting away from the fact that the Gershwin score is the most important aspect of this show, and that music shines through all the tampering and the slanting.

Audra McDonald is an impressively strong-but-vulnerable Bess.  Norm Lewis is the dreamy-eyed cripple who falls in love with a woman not meant for him; and David Alan Grier is a personable, evil, manipulative Sportin' Life.  Philip Boykin is a physically frightening Crown, with an equally imposing voice.  The large ensemble is full of strong, impressive soloists, who also come together as a melodious chorus.

If you've never seen a production of PORGY & BESS, try to see this one.  But this is hardly a definitive version.