The Justice Theater Project Presents Gershwin's PORGY AND BESS

By: Jun. 06, 2017
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The Justice Theater Project (JTP) presents the final of three shows focusing on fair wage, economic justice, and the working class, and the annual production of our holiday show, "Black Nativity".

The Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess", By George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin

Book Adapted by Suzan-Lori Parks, Musical Score Adapted by Deidre L. Murray

June 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25, 2017

www.thejusticetheaterproject.org

Our Season:

"Economic Justice?" combined performances and discussions about Economic Harmony where every person is guaranteed by society's institutions the equal human right to make a productive contribution to the economy, both through one's labor (as a worker) and through one's productive capital (as an owner), rejecting the exclusionary social barriers to economic self-reliance.

The Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward and Ira Gershwin with book adapted by Suzan-Lori Parks June 9 - 25. Umstead Park United Church of Christ. 8208 Brownleigh Drive, Raleigh 27617

Known worldwide as a masterpiece and "An American Folk Opera," PORGY AND BESS was George Gershwin's final work for the musical stage. When the musical revival opened on Broadway in August 2011, its goal was to "introduce the work to the next generation of theatergoers". The new musical includes changes to the opera's plot, dialogue and score to make the work more appealing to a modern audience. Park's adaptation sought to give dimension to black culture and humanize the depiction of race onstage. Parks has been honored with a MacArthur "Genius" Award, the Horton Foote Prize, and the Kennedy Prize.

Phillip Boykin, who played the role of Crown in the 2010 Broadway revival, describes the revisions: "In the opera, the focus is usually on the voice," Boykin says. "In this production, the focus is really on allowing the audience to see these as real people and go deeper into the characters, and that's one thing that I absolutely love. I really get to do whatever I need to do to portray this character." http://www.npr.org/2011/08/21/139784251/porgy-and-bess-messing-with-a-classic

Musical numbers include favorites including Summertime, A Woman Is a Sometime Thing, My Man's Gone Now, I Got Plenty O' Nuttin', It Ain't Necessarily So, and Bess, You Is My Woman Now. This extraordinary entertainment experience encourages understanding with regard to issues of race, oppressive gender roles, marginalization, poverty, consumerism, substance abuse, and ultimately the invincibility of the human spirit.

JTP's production includes Phillip Bernard Smith as Porgy, Equity Actress Danielle J. Long as Bess, Chase Rivers as Crown, Christopher N. Bailey, Sr. and JaJuan Cofield as Sportin Life, Moses T. Alexander Green as Jake, Connie McCoy as Clara, Juan Isler as Robbins, Terra Hodge as Serena, MeMe Cowans Taylor as Mariah, and an ensemble that includes Noah Anderson, Vincent Bland, T.J. Swann, Sean Gargan, Sean Malone, Chanda Branch, Aya Wallace, India Williams, Tieshya Coleman, Lynnette Barber, Maria Barber, India Williams, Alana Bleimann, and the Children of Catfish Row: Kaori Doughty, JAda Lewis, Noah Guilford, Kyla Guilford and Leah Guilford.

Directed by Deb Royals, Music Direction by Ronzel Bell, Technical Direction and Set Design by Jeffrey Nugent, Choreography and Assistant to the Director Sheldon Mba, Assistant to the Director Aya Wallace, Costume Design by Brenda Hayes, Lighting Design by E. Renee Eisenhour, Lighting Consultation by Tom Wolf, Stage Management by Kiara Kimitriadis and LaNeisha Farrar, Props by Erin Folk, Set Build Crew Chief Nora Kelly, Lighting Technician Gabriel Adamson, Dramaturge by Carly Prentis Jones, Sound Design Assistance by Cory Arnold, Assistant to the Stage Managers Caden Atkinson

Each of the ten performances will feature an "Intermission Advocate". Non-profit partners will have representatives at the show, an information booth in the lobby, an insert in the program describing their organization, and five minutes at the end of the 20 minute intermission to talk about their work in the community.

Saturday, June 17th at 6:00 pm - VIP Send a Kid to Camp fundraising night featuring music by Rozlyn Sorrell and additional JTP singers, food by Trali Irish Pub, silent auctions, and VIP seating for the 8:00 pm show. $50 non-season members, $25 season members. All proceeds will support the $10,000 in tuition assistance given each summer to camper families during JTP's five weeks of youth summer theater camps at St. Francis of Assisi in Raleigh, and the Emily K Center in Durham.

Saturday, June 24th at 2:00 pm, Arts Access will provide audio description for the visually impaired. Patrons using the description service will receive free admission to that show, as well as their driver. Reservations required in advance.

Sunday, June 25th at 3:00 pm free child care will be facilitated by Seed Art Share, and curriculum appropriate activities will take place with the children. Reservations required in advance.

During all of JTP's shows and productions, complimentary tickets are given to members of TROSA, Passage Home Inc., and many other community support organizations that are too numerous to name. Patrons can help fund these tickets by purchasing a $20 tax deductible ticket to sponsor these groups when purchasing their ticket on line.

CALENDAR LISTING:

The Justice Theater Project presents The Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" the Tony Award winner revised musical featuring Danielle J. Long and Phillip Bernard Smith. June 9-25, Umstead Park United Church of Christ. 8208 Brownleigh Drive, Raleigh. Tickets: $27 Adults, $23 Senior/Students/Military, $20 Groups of 10+. Saturday, June 10th is $20 night. Saturday, June 24th at 2:00pm is audio described. Sunday, June 25th at 3:00 pm includes free childcare. Reservations required for all shows. Email thejusticetheaterproject@gmail.com , 919-264-7089. www.thejusticetheaterproject.org

A note from the Dramaturge, Carly Prentis Jones:

In the opera Porgy and Bess, you don't really have an opportunity to get to know the characters on a deep, humanized level - many of them lack dimension. There are times in opera, that the focus is primarily on the beauty of the voice and less on the development of believable characters with motivations, backstories and story arcs - I believe this was the case in Porgy & Bess. It is important to note that both Gershwin and Heyward passed away within five years of the opera's premiere, and that operas typically go through revisions after inception as it travels. In fact, many have told the story of the creators cutting the original four-hour work the very night of the premiere. Many believe that Gershwin and Heyward planned on further development of the opera. This might explain the lack of character development. When Suzan-Lori Parks work fleshed out the script for the musical revival, she was able to add interesting backstory and dialogue to explain the characters and make them real people to audiences. Whenever a character is portrayed as "one-dimensional" or without much substance - it is easier to fall in the lines of popular racial stereotypes that lack a human connection - this is because they are not seen as real people.

For example, Porgy's popular song "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'", has been seen by many as a very clear representation of minstrelsy - the unfortunately familiar portrayal of the cheerful "darkie with empty pockets". He happily sings, "I got plenty o' nuttin' and nuttin's plenty for me. I got no car, I got no mule, got no misery". This song also lacks development and motivation - as pure entertainment for the audience which is also reflective of minstrelsy. To solve this issue and to make the song more dramatically cohesive, the revival's creative team added text that was not there before - this dialogue set the song up so that it made more sense in the context of the play and added meaning for Porgy to sing the song.

The opera also never explains why Porgy is disabled. The book Porgy by Dubose Hayward, which Porgy & Bess originated from, explains that Porgy was crippled from birth. The original line "God made me to be lonely" was used in the new script to create a beautiful moment showing a man having a conversation with God, "From the day I was born, you made me to be lonely..." The creative team also made a controversial decision to eliminate the famous "goat cart" plot device that has been historically used by Porgy in the opera. In the revival, he walks with a cane.

There are a lot of questions about the motivations of characters throughout the opera. Bess is an extremely under-developed character. During the development of the script, Audra McDonald who plays the lead of Bess, explains why this is important:

"Okay, at this moment, they're going through withdrawal, cocaine withdrawal," McDonald says. "At this moment, someone has just been murdered. At this moment, someone is promising to murder someone so that you will not relapse and run away. I mean, all of these things, when you put them in a realistic context, the songs come even more alive."

The Justice Theater Project is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. The Justice Theater Project is funded in part by the City of Raleigh based on recommendations by the Raleigh Arts Commission. The Justice Theater Project is supported by United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County. The Catholic Community of Saint Francis of Assisi. The Franciscan Friars of the Holy Name Province. IBM Corporation, GlaxoSmithKline.

The Justice Theater Project receives additional support from St. Francis of Assisi, Justice and Peace Pastoral Ministries, and the Triangle Community Foundation.

The Justice Theater Project (JTP) is an advocacy and activist theater company whose mission is to use the performing arts to bring to the fore of public attention the needs of the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed. Each year JTP presents a diverse combination of original works, main stage productions, and community outreach events focusing on issues of social justice.

JTP provides free admission for the visually impaired, and extends an extraordinary amount of complimentary tickets to local nonprofit organizations. All shows feature discussions, educational opportunities, and outreach.



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