CMU School of Drama


Friday, August 12, 2011

Stephen Sondheim Takes Issue With Plan for Revamped 'Porgy and Bess'

NYTimes.com: "There’s a spanking new version of “Porgy and Bess” on the way, one that seeks to transform the classic 1935 opera into a commercial Broadway musical. To that end, the director Diane Paulus and the playwright Suzan-Lori Parks have added new scenes, punched up some dialogue, invented biographical details and — most radically — added a more upbeat ending. Such tinkering with the renowned Gershwin work was bound to draw fire from some quarters, and indeed it has, following the publication of an Arts & Leisure article by Patrick Healy about the production, which stars Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis. It begins performances at the American Repertory Theater next Wednesday in Cambridge, Mass., with plans to transfer to Broadway next winter."

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