To celebrate the box-office opening, the first 12 ticket buyers in line will receive a specially designed Porgy and Bess picnic basket, which will include a chance to win an opening-night prize package inside. The next 90 individuals in line will receive a limited edition messenger bag, with Porgy's classic line "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'" silk-screened on it. They will also have the chance to win a Porgy and Bess poster.
The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess will begin Broadway previews Dec. 17 towards a Jan. 12, 2012 opening. It is presented as a limited engagement through June 24, 2012.
The cast will be led by McDonald (Ragtime, Marie Christine, Master Class) as Bess and Norm Lewis (Sondheim on Sondheim, Side Show, Les Miserables) as Porgy. Also cast is Tony Award nominee David Alan Grier (The First, Race, Dreamgirls) as Sportin' Life. All three actors originated the roles at the American Repertory Theater premiere last summer.
Also confirmed is actress Bryonha Parham, who will portray Serena. Much of the original A.R.T. cast are expected to return for the Broadway engagement, though producers have not officially announced complete casting at this time.
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. Tony Award-nominated director Diane Paulus (Hair) helms the production which has adaptation and additional scenes by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog, Book of Grace) and musical adaptation by Pulitzer Prize nominee Diedre Murray (Running Man).
The revised staging of the four-hour folk opera has been contoured into a two-and-a-half-hour production. It is now billed as a musical.
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.
