By John Nathan
05 May 2007

Clarke Peters and Nicola Hughes in Porgy and Bess.
photo by Tristram Kenton

Trevor Nunn's reworking of Porgy and Bess, renamed The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, plays its final performance at London's Savoy Theatre May 5.

After opening on Nov. 9, 2006, the musical announced an extended booking period to Oct. 27, but the show is making way for the West End transfer of Fiddler on the Roof.

A Broadway production of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, which received three Olivier nominations, is planned for spring 2008.

The London cast includes Clark Peters and Nicola Hughes, who play the title roles in Nunn's two-and-a-half hour reworking of the classic.

Casting for the other principal roles includes Cornell John (Les Miz) as Crown, Dawn Hope (Simply Heavenly) as Serena and O-T Fagbenle (Six Degrees of Separation) as Sportin' Life.

Peters and Hughes co-starred in the London production of Simply Heavenly. Peters' credits include Five Guys Named Mo, Mourning Becomes Electra, The Iceman Cometh and Driving Miss Daisy. Hughes' include Damn Yankees, Fosse and Tommy.

Porgy and Bess features some of the greatest songs in musical theatre, including "Summertime," "I Got Plenty O' Nothin'" and "It Aint Necessarily So." The show premiered on Oct. 10, 1935, at New York’s Alvin Theatre. With a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by his brother Ira and a book by DuBose Heyward, Porgy and Bess was based on Dubose and Dorothy Heyward's novel "Porgy.'

Set in the fictional Catfish Row, SC, the show was the first time the musical form attempted to reflect the African-American working-class experience. Since its premiere, the show has attained opera status.

Nunn's £3 million (about $5.5 million) production features a 40-strong cast and a 20-piece orchestra.

The company of London's Porgy and Bess.