The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess: Theater Review
9 / 10
The Bottom Line. Boldly reinterpreted and performed with spectacular feeling, this revival brings an American masterwork back to blazing dramatic life.
9 / 10
The Bottom Line. Boldly reinterpreted and performed with spectacular feeling, this revival brings an American masterwork back to blazing dramatic life.
8 / 10
Seventy-six years after its New York premiere, the great American opera “Porgy and Bess” by George and Ira Gershwin and Dubose and Dorothy Heyward has returned to Broadway in a CliffsNotes edition that is gorgeously sung but conceptually conflicted.
| 1935 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| 1942 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
| 1943 | Broadway |
Broadway |
| 1944 | Broadway |
Broadway |
| 1952 | West End |
London Revival West End |
| 1953 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
| 1961 | Off-Broadway |
City Center Revival Off-Broadway |
| 1964 | Off-Broadway |
City Center Revival Off-Broadway |
| 1976 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
| 1983 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
| 2000 | Broadway |
New York City Opera Production Broadway |
| 2006 | West End |
London Revival West End |
| 2013 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Leading Actress in a Musical | Audra McDonald |
| 2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Norm Lewis |
| 2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Audra McDonald |
| 2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Phillip Boykin |
| 2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | 0 |
| 2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical | Acme Sound Partners |
| 2012 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Audra McDonald |
| 2012 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Norm Lewis |
| 2012 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Revival of a Musical | 0 |
| 2012 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Norm Lewis |
| 2012 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Audra McDonald |
| 2012 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Phillip Boykin |
| 2012 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | 0 |
| 2012 | Theatre World Awards | Outstanding Debut Performance | Phillip Boykin |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Musical | ESosa |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | Diane Paulus |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Christopher Akerlind |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Christopher Jahnke |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | William David Brohn |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | David Alan Grier |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Phillip Boykin |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical | Norm Lewis |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Audra McDonald |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Christopher Hart |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Jerry Frankel |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Rebecca Gold |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Howard Kagan |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Jeffrey Richards |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Cheryl Wiesenfeld/Brunish Trinchero/Lucio Simons TBC |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Joseph & Matthew Deitch |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Mark S. Golub & David S. Golub |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Terry Schnuck |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Freitag Productions/Koenigsberg Filerman |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | The Leonore S. Gershwin 1987 Trust |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Universal Pictures Stage Productions |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Ken Mahoney |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Judith Resnick |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Tulchin/Bartner/ATG |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Paper Boy Productions |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Christopher Hart |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Alden Badway |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Broadway Across America |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Irene Gandy |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Will Trice |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | American Repertory Theater |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Will Trice |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Jeffrey Richards |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Jerry Frankel |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Rebecca Gold |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Howard Kagan |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Cheryl Wiesenfeld/Brunish Trinchero/Lucio Simons TBC |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Joseph & Matthew Deitch |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Mark S. Golub & David S. Golub |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Terry Schnuck |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Freitag Productions/Koenigsberg Filerman |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | The Leonore S. Gershwin 1987 Trust |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Universal Pictures Stage Productions |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Ken Mahoney |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Judith Resnick |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Tulchin/Bartner/ATG |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Paper Boy Productions |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Alden Badway |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Broadway Across America |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Irene Gandy |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | American Repertory Theater |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Jeffrey Richards |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess |
| 2012 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Musical | Acme Sound Partners |