A glorious homecoming

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess

And sing they did. I loved the singing.

I appreciated, understood and liked the book tweaking done to the original Gershwin- Heyward production and film called " Porgy and Bess." I believe Suzan Lori Parks and Diedre L. Murray have created a more realistic, less stereotypical script. Though I didn't think Diane Paulus's direction was innovative, it was not troublesome. The staging and set were sort of dull. The costumes provided the only "pretty" and I could have used more.

And though I didn't agree that the full and passionate and skillful performance of Audra McDonald put everybody else in the shade, it is her show. She was wonderful and others in the cast were likewise wonderful. Putting it all together finally, all of the elements worked for me. All of the cast was good for me. I loved Norm Lewis' ragged, but virile Porgy. His disability was well done and his vocals were expert. I enjoyed all he did and was occasionally delighted by some note or passage I was not expecting. His voice has these nice surprises and I think he and Audra McDonald are beautiful together both visually and vocally. Of course, this piece doesn't work unless you can be convinced that Bess will/would stay - and be satisfied to do so. Porgy must be attractive to her and clearly Norm Lewis' Porgy is.

Bess is the dance. Bess is the reason for the season. I have read that, for the Gershwins and the Heywards, Bess was an afterthought. Well in this play, she is not. In this production Bess is Audra McDonald and that makes all the difference in the world. With McDonald there does not seem to be the need to diminish her sex appeal or embellish it. She's got it and you can look and see what Crown and Sporting Life and Porgy see. And you can certainly hear it and all of her other myriad attributes in every note out of her throat. I don't have the scholarship to critique the vocals in this production. All I know is taken from the evidence of my ears and my soul. The singing was marvelous.
That the signature song,"Summertime" was sung as a duet by the new parents was one of the small, but meaningful changes in this production. Rather than sing about her frustrations as a poor,rural mother hoping for a good, rich life for her child she was a part of a young couple with high hopes and aspirations. That things don't turn out as Nikki Renee Daniels' Clara would have wished is beside the point since there are no foregone conclusions in the life of a play. Of course we know what will happen though Clara and Jake don't. All parents hope that the road ahead of their child will be paved with ease. Joshua Henry as Jake and Nikki Renee Daniels are sweet and harmonious throughout the play and their energy embellishes the dances.
I liked the dancing in Porgy & Bess. It was not showy or "stagey" or seemingly choreographed though, of course, it was. Ronald K. Brown did a great job with performers who clearly were there to sing. He/They created lovely stage pictures and the competitive, gender-based social dancing echoed the heterosexual contretemps of the main characters.
Yvette Williams as Mariah is a refreshing departure from the much broader film characterization by Pearl Bailey. She is a visual delight in every scene and is a glue for the Catfish Row community. A special mention for Bryonha Marie Parham who sang "My Man's Gone Now" with the vocal brilliance and great depth of passion that the song requires. Yes, Ma'am, thank you.
I laughed at the audience when they gently, good-naturedly booed Crown and Sporting Life in the curtain call. It was atavistic. Cheer the good people and boo the bad ones. Both of the familiar villains were good and properly dangerous. David Alan Grier was excellent as Sporting Life. Who knew he could sing like that? He was in complete control of his character's dignity. He was comic, but not bufoonish. He was a charming villain, but no less serious and dangerous than Crown. This tightrope was skillfully navigated by playwright/adapters, Suzan Lori Parks and Diedre L. Murray and by Grier. Phillip Boykin embodied the play's true villainy as Crown. Whenever he came onstage he changed the stage dynamic and caused a ripple effect in the others. The staging of his violence toward Bess was truly scary. It was dancelike- very dancelike - without seeming to be choreographed. And that became, for me, the metaphor. Men like Crown are, for women like Bess, insurmountable obstacles. Bess could not escape him. She had to tangle with him. And it is a testament to the enduring resonance of this work that I wanted to call out a warning to Bess - I wanted to change the play - I wanted to yell out, "Kick him in the balls and run!"

She didn't. Too bad.

The themes of Porgy & Bess are timeless - and well-worn. There are no surprises. Whatever they trimmed out in this superb adaptation was stuff I didn't miss. The issues and situations raised are oh,so topical. One question: Rihanna, have you seen this show?

To the women who sat near me and surreptitiously videotaped the show: that is piracy and is really,really rude. Respect the performers. Next time I will report you.

Religion, Traditions and Zimerican perspective

THE CONVERT written by Danai Gurira and directed by Emily Mann is running through February 13th at the McCarter Theater in Princeton, NJ. I went down with my little theater wolf-pack and we were really glad to have made the trip. We were pumped up at the chance to see THE CONVERT before it travels to The Goodman in Chicago, then to Los Angeles' Center Theater Group.

If you want to quibble you could say THE CONVERT by Danai Gurira, billed as a world premier by the McCarter, is too long a play by about thirty minutes. But the performances are so good and the directing so expert and the writing so lovely that it seems churlish to complain. It was a true pleasure to see Cheryl Lynn Bruce's work as Mai Tamba. Her skills are impeccable and, as always, her work is memorable. To the inexpert ear, the Shona language and pidgin English as used in the production appeared well rendered by all of the actors. Very little information is lost though the dialogue of Chancellor is often difficult to understand. Pascale Armand begins as appropriately winsome in the role of Jekesa/Ester and finishes as a stalwart woman warrior. It is pleasure to watch the progress. And though we kind of know where things will end, we are surprised and gratified by the clear, unequivocal moral stance that Jekesa/Ester takes - that the playwright, Danai Gurira gives. Zainab Jah is convincing as Prudence. Here again, a character buds, then blooms nicely. LeRoy McClain and Kevin Mambo as Chilford, the aspiring priest and Chancellor, the opportunistic, African businessman are vastly out-done by the three actresses. The play is set in Salisbury/Harare, Zimbabwe in 1895-1897 at the time of the Ndebele-Shona uprising.

"What drives me artistically is the lack of subjective voices from the African world heard in the Western world. In the profession of storytelling, I am blessed to have the opportunity to bring one voice to the other, and therefore, in my small way, to contribute to more balance." by Danai Gurira from NOTE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR by Emily Mann, director of THE CONVERT.


http://www.mccarter.org/theconvert/