The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess Will Be a Limited Broadway Run | Playbill

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News The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess Will Be a Limited Broadway Run Producers have announced that the Broadway production of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, which will arrive at the Richard Rodgers Theatre Dec. 17, will be presented as a limited engagement through June 24, 2012.

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Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis Photo by Michael Lutch

The revised staging of the four-hour folk opera, which has been contoured into a two-and-a-half-hour production, premiered at the American Repertory Theater in August under the direction of Tony Award-nominated director Diane Paulus (Hair).

Norm Lewis (Sondheim on Sondheim, Side Show, Les Miserables) and four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald (Ragtime, Marie Christine, Master Class), who starred in the titular roles, will reprise their A.R.T. performances for Broadway audiences. Also confirmed to repeat his work in the Broadway production is Tony Award nominee David Alan Grier (The First, Race, Dreamgirls), who originated the role of Sportin' Life at A.R.T.

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess is scheduled to officially open its 26-week limited Broadway engagement Jan. 12, 2012.

Additional casting is expected shortly.

Porgy and Bess has music by George Gershwin, lyrics by his brother Ira and a book and additional lyrics by DuBose Heyward. It is based on the play Porgy, by DuBose and Dorothy Heyward. The latest treatment of the work  has been reshaped by Paulus, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog, Book of Grace) and Pulitzer Prize nominee Diedre Murray (Running Man).

The production is making a much-publicized New York debut. Prior to its opening at A.R.T., Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning lyricist Stephen Sondheim weighed in on the new creative team's approach to the classic. 

The Gershwin and Heyward Estates have given their blessing to the new production, which is aiming to reach Broadway audiences accustomed to the structure of musical theatre.

The creative team includes choreographer Ronald K. Brown, set designer Riccardo Hernandez, costume designer Emilio Sosa and Tony Award-winning lighting designer Christopher Akerlind. Acme Sound Partners will design sound. Orchestrations are by William David Brohn and Christopher Jahnke, with music supervision by David Loud.

For tickets, visit Ticketmaster.com. The Richard Rodgers Theatre is located at 226 West 46th Street.

 
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