# George & Ira Gershin's Porgy & Bess at Golden Gate Theatre, November 27, 2013

[SHNSF](https://www.shnsf.com/online/porgy) presents George & Ira Gershin's _Porgy & Bess_  
2013-11-27  
[Golden Gate Theatre](https://www.shnsf.com/theatres/goldengate)  
[1020 Market St, San Francisco, CA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1020+Market+St,+San+Francisco,+CA&hl=en)  
8:00 PM, Wednesday, November 27, 2013

## Act One

[8:00 PM orchestral tuning; dead air awhile; 8:05 PM lights down]

01. [8:05 PM] Overture
02. [8:08 PM; curtain up!] Summertime (Clara & Jake)
03. [8:11 PM] A Woman is a Sometime Thing (Jake & ensemble)
04. [8:15 PM] Crap Game (ensemble)
05. [8:00 PM] Gone, Gone, Gone! (ensemble)
06. [8:00 PM] My Man's Gone Now (Serena)
07. [8:30 PM] Leavin' fo' de Promis' Lan' (Bess & ensemble)
08. [8:00 PM] It Takes a Long Pull to Get There (Jake & ensemble)
09. [8:45 PM] I Got Plenty o' Nuttin' (Porgy)
10. [8:00 PM] I Hate Your Struttin' Style (Mariah)
11. [8:00 PM] Bess, You is My Woman Now (Porgy & Bess)
12. [9:05 PM] Oh, I Can't Sit Down (ensemble)  
[set ends 9:08 PM]

## Act Two

[9:23 PM orchestra ready; noodlin, then tuning; dead air...]

01. [9:27 PM] Entr'acte
02. [9:31 PM] It Ain't Necessarily So (Sporting Life & ensemble)
03. [9:35 PM] What You Want With Bess? (Bess & Crown)
04. [9:00 PM] It Takes a Long Pull (Jake & the Fishermen)
05. [9:00 PM] Oh, Doctor Jesus (Serena & ensemble)
06. [9:00 PM] Street Cries (Strawberry Woman, Peter & The Crab Man)
07. [9:00 PM] I Loves You, Porgy (Bess & Porgy)
08. [9:00 PM] Oh, de Lawd Shake de Heaven (ensemble)
09. [10:00 PM] A Red Headed Woman (Crown & ensemble)
10. [10:00 PM] Clara, Don't You Be Downhearted (ensemble)
11. [10:00 PM] There's a Boat That's Leavin' Soon for New York (Sporting Life)
12. [10:00 PM] Where's My Bess? (Porgy, Mariah & Serena)
13. [10:00 PM] I'm On My Way (Porgy & ensemble)  
[set ends 10:40 PM]

## Performers

### Principals

* Sumayya Ali as _Clara_: vox;
* Denisha Ballew as _Serena_: vox;
* Alvin Crawford as _Crown_: vox;
* Dwelvan David as _the Crab Man_: vox;
* Danielle Lee Greaves as _Mariah_: vox;
* David Hughey as _Jake_: vox;
* Kingsley Leggs as _Sporting Life_: vox;
* Sarita Rachelle Lilly as _the Strawberry Woman_: vox;
* Alicia Hall Moran as _Bess_: mezzo-soprano vox;
* Chauncey Packer as _Peter, the Honey Man_: vox;
* Nathaniel Stampley as _Porgy_: vox.

### Supporting Cast

* Dan Barnhill as _the Detective_: vox;
* Vanjah Boikai: chorus;
* Adrianna M. Cleveland as _a woman of Catfish Row_: ensemble vox;
* Roosevelt André Credit as _a Fisherman_: ensemble vox;
* Cicily Daniels as _a woman of Catfish Row_: ensemble vox;
* Nkrumah Gatling as _a Fisherman_: ensemble vox;
* Tamar Greene as _a Fisherman_: ensemble vox;
* Nicole Adell Johnson as _a woman of Catfish Row_: ensemble vox;
* James Earl Jones II as _Robbins_: ensemble vox;
* Quentin Oliver Lee : chorus;
* Cheryse McLeod Lewis : chorus;
* Kent Overshown as _Mingo, the Undertaker_: ensemble vox;
* Lindsay Roberts : chorus;
* Fred Rose as _the Policeman_: ensemble vox;
* Soara-Joye Ross as _a woman of Catfish Row_: ensemble vox;

### Production Credits

* Acme Sound Partners: sound design;
* Christopher Akerlind: lighting design;
* William David Brohn: orchestration;
* Ronald K. Brown: choreographer;
* Arcell Cabuag: associate choreographer;
* Ira Gershwin: lyrics;
* George Gershwin: original composer;
* Rob Greene: wig, hair & makeup design;
* Riccardo Hernandez: scenic design;
* Dubose & Dorothy Heyward: original libretto, lyrics;
* Hudson Theatrical Associates: technical supervisor;
* Christopher Jahnke: orchestration;
* J. Jared Janas: wig, hair & makeup design;
* Constantine Kitsopoulos: music supervisor;
* John Miller: music coordinator;
* Diedre L. Murray: musical score adaptation;
* Harrington Nancy: associate director;
* Suzan-Lori Parks: book adaptation;
* Diane Paulus: director;
* Emilio Sosa: costume design.


## Notes

Off to a good start: an uneventful trip, traffic-wise, and we got the very closest possible legal parking spot, right before the passenger loading zone!

Next highlight? We're seated 2nd row, dead center, and the seats in front of us are mysteriously empty. Hey, I got no problem with that!

We're a little early -- entering just a few minutes before the house was opened to the audience, but as showtime approaches, it's clear that tonight is only lightly sold -- maybe 3/4 at best? It's really quite a shame, as the show is quite good, but I can understand that Thanksgiving Eve probably isn't a hot seller in too many markets no matter what the show is.

So as I said, the show is really good. I particularly like the ensemble interaction -- the little dances, the flirting, and the witty repartee -- all combine to really push the story along inbetween the big set pieces. Which is not to say that the singers were slacking (nor the orchestra for that matter), but I _expected_ them to be good, after all, this was a Broadway show on tour, right!

Anyway, I'm really glad I went, and a little sorry to have skiipped the opera hall revival of Porgy a few years earlier. Maybe next time! 

Lot's of information is posted at [[http://www.PorgyandBessTheMusical.com|the official show site]], with still more notes about the production posted online at [[https://www.facebook.com/TheGershwinsPorgyandBessNationalTour|Facebook]] and [[http://www.ovrtur.com/production/2901624|Ovrtur]]. Facebook has links to many short Youtube videos of the cast.

Plenty of reviews have been posted online, here are a few:

* [[http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_24523513/review-gershwins-porgy-and-bess-sumptuous-musical-treat|Karen D'Souza]] for the San Jose Mercury News
* [[http://www.sfcv.org/reviews/porgy-amp-bess-opera-or-musical-yes|Janos Green]] for SFCV
* [[http://myculturallandscape.blogspot.com/2013/11/its-not-just-about-goat.html|George Haymont]]
* [[http://www.sfgate.com/performance/article/The-Gershwins-Porgy-and-Bess-review-a-new-take-4983900.php|Robert Hurwitt]] for SFGate
* [[http://sfappeal.com/2013/11/controversial-classic-porgy-and-bess/|Rain Jokinen]] for SF Appeal
* [[http://www.theaterdogs.net/2013/11/14/porgy-sings-anew-at-the-golden-gate/|Chad Jones]] for Theater Dogs
* [[http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/The-Gershwins-Porgy-and-Bess-United-by-music-4961688.php|Chad Jones #2]] for SFGate
* [[http://www.jointforcesjournal.com/_jfj.php?READ=yes&which=999|Jan Miller]]
* [[http://www.edgesanfrancisco.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=theatre&sc2=reviews&sc3=&id=151482|Robert Sokol]]
* [[http://www.marinscope.com/sausalito_marin_scope/lifestyles_entertainment/article_f55158da-4d99-11e3-b395-001a4bcf887a.html|Woody Weingarten]] 

{{tag>music theatre P+B_cast P+B_production Golden_Gate_Theatre Sumayya_Ali Roosevelt_André_Credit Denisha_Ballew Dan_Barnhill Vanjah_Boikai Adrianna_M._Cleveland Alvin_Crawford Cicily_Daniels Dwelvan_David Nkrumah_Gatling Danielle_Lee_Greaves Tamar_Greene David_Hughey Nicole_Adell_Johnson James_Earl_Jones_II Quentin_Oliver_Lee Kingsley_Leggs Cheryse_McLeod_Lewis Sarita_Rachelle_Lilly Alicia_Hall_Moran Kent_Overshown Chauncey_Packer Lindsay_Roberts Fred_Rose Soara-Joye_Ross Nathaniel_Stampley Acme_Sound_Partners Christopher_Akerlind William_David_Brohn Ronald_K._Brown Arcell_Cabuag Ira_Gershwin George_Gershwin Rob_Greene Riccardo_Hernandez Dubose_&_Dorothy_Heyward Hudson_Theatrical_Associates Christopher_Jahnke J._Jared_Janas Constantine_Kitsopoulos John_Miller Diedre_L._Murray Harrington_Nancy Suzan-Lori_Parks Diane_Paulus Emilio_Sosa}}

[[2013#November_events|Back to the calendar!]]