The Gershwin’s ‘Porgy and Bess’: A revival to behold

From the wistful, beautiful first notes of Gershwin’s classic “Summertime” at the opening of the first act, to the last notes of Porgy’s “I’m On My Way” as he sets out to find his love at the end of the last act, this production is a glorious conglomeration of beautiful Gershwin music with a heart-wrenching plot creatively redesigned by award-winning director Diane Paulus. She brings us a bigger and better “Porgy and Bess” and her casting – for the most part – is impeccable.
“Porgy and Bess” is an opera by George Gershwin first preformed in 1935. It has had many reinvasions with Leontyne Price to Andra McDonald playing Bess. Originally four hours long, it has been trimmed down to two and a half hours, with the celebrated original songs “Bess You is My Woman Now,” “I Loves You Porgy” and “I Got Plenty Of Nutten.”
“Porgy and Bess” tells the story of Porgy, a crippled black beggar living in the slums of Charlston, S.C. It deals with his attempt to rescue Bess from Crown, her violent possessive lover, and Sportin’ Life, the drug dealer.
Nathanial Stampley’s Porgy is beautifully handled. He plays indigent Porgy with a deep sensitivity of what is going on around him and a desire to make a better life for himself and Bess. He carries the role with a fine voice and believability.
Alice Hall Moran makes Bess her own – she brings in Bess’s insecure, tortured soul with every note and delivers to the brink of her own destruction.
Kingsley Leggs as Sportin’ Life doesn’t give off the chemistry needed to make his murky, manipulative character believable, although he does deliver a durable “It Aint’s Necessarily So” in the second act.
The rest of the cast is solid and gives 110 percent to the fast-moving, well-directed production; although I found Roland K. Brown’s chorography a little too modern and not quite fitting this plot.
“Porgy and Bess” takes place in the late ’30s on Catfish Row in a fictitious tenement on the wharf of Charleston, S.C. The simple sets by Riccardo Hernandez and lighting by Christopher Akerlind blend with the lives of the people of Catfish Row without overwhelming the characters and location.
The unsung hero of this show is the exceptional 23-piece orchestra and its conductor, Dale Rieling. Check out Mark O’Kain stuffed in his drum and percussion section in the pit. It’s a place of wonderment – his section takes up about an eighth of the pit and holds just about every precession instrument imaginable – there are at least three marimbas, an xylophone, timpani drums, snare drums and five different cymbals, plus God knows what else, and each area has a small TV monitor where he picks up the conductor’s instructions. He plays the first notes of the show and is in constant motion for the entirity. Nope, you don’t go anywhere without these musicians . They are never given enough credit.
“The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess” is pure delight and a great way to spend a grand evening.
Camille Bounds is the theatre, arts and special events editor for Sunrise Publications.
Where: Golden Gate Theatre, 1 Taylor St., San Francisco
Through: Dec. 8
Tickets: $40-$210
Details: (888) 746-1799 or visit wwwshnsfsf.com.