TV: Inside Opening Night of PORGY & BESS with Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis & More!

Click Here to Play the Video!

On Thursday, January 12, The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.  Broadway Beat was on hand for exciting opening night party to chat with the cast and company and takes you inside below!

This marks the last of hundreds pieces filmed by Broadway Beat's Bradshaw Smith, who tragically passed away on Monday, January 16 of a stroke, and features a new intro as part of a new Broadway Beat look that he had been working on for months.  BroadwayWorld is forever grateful for having had the opportunity to work with Bradshaw and will miss him dearly. 

Porgy and Bess stars Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis and David Alan Grier. Joining these Broadway A-listers onstage were Phillip Boykin as Crown, Nikki Renée Daniels as Clara, Joshua Henry as Jake, Christopher Innvar as Detective, Bryonha Marie Parham as Serena and NaTasha Yvette Williams as Mariah as well as Allison Blackwell, Roosevelt André Credit, Trevon Davis, Joseph Dellger, Wilkie Ferguson, Carmen Ruby Floyd, Heather Hill, David Hughey, Andrea Jones-Sojola, Alicia Hall Moran, Cedric Neal, Phumzile Sojola, Nathaniel Stampley, Julius Thomas III, J.D. Webster and Lisa Nicole Wilkerson.

The classic story by DuBose and Dorothy Heyward is set in Charleston's fabled Catfish Row, where the beautiful Bess struggles to break free from her scandalous past, and the only one who can rescue her is the crippled but courageous Porgy. Threatened by her formidable former lover Crown, and the seductive enticements of the colorful troublemaker Sporting Life, Porgy and Bess' relationship evolves into a deep romance that triumphs as one of theater's most exhilarating love stories.

Following its sold-out world premiere engagement at Boston's American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), the creative team, led by Tony-nominated director Diane Paulus (Hair), Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog), and two-time Obie Award-winning composer Diedre L. Murray (Running Man), now brings George and Ira Gershwin's legendary masterwork to the Broadway stage for the first time in more than 35 years. The creative team also includes choreographer Ronald K. Brown, set designer Riccardo Hernandez, costume designer ESosa, lighting designer Christopher Akerlind and sound designer ACME Sound Partners.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!