Friday, September 02, 2011
‘The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess’ in Cambridge, Mass.
NYTimes.com: She never sings these particular lyrics. But Audra McDonald has every right to say, “Bess, you is my woman now.” That assertion is implicit in every aspect of her performance in “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” which opened on Wednesday night at the American Repertory Theater here, and it is made with a confidence and conviction that are otherwise lacking in this anxious and confused production.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
It's not often you hear a New York Times reporter write such a "love letter" to an artist (I think that the last time Ben Brantley really did was for Patti LuPone in Gypsy), which gives me high hopes for this production. It's a shame, however, to hear that the rest might not stand up to whatever magic Audra McDonald is working. The show is already slated to come to Broadway in the fall, and I wonder if having the Times write about it this early will affect how it is received when it gets here, how audiences feel about it in Massachusetts now, or if Diane Paulus will change the production a lot before sending it to New York.
It seems as thought Diane Paulus has once again brought a breath of fresh air into classic theatre. Having had the pleasure of attending several productions under her direction, I have been hard pressed to find pieces that are more transcendent into our modern era. Taking words which resonated in 1935 and allowing them to develop into words which resonate in 2011 is not an easy task. Yes, history is cyclic, but issues change faces as they recur.
This being said - classicists do exist. It seems as though the Times reporter who wrote this article may be in favor of a complete preservation of earlier works. And, while it is important to appreciate the importance of these works in their original form, it is also important to keep the arts current by appealing to a wider audience.
Post a Comment