SHNSF presents George & Ira Gershin's Porgy & Bess
2013-11-27
Golden Gate Theatre
1020 Market St, San Francisco, CA
8:00 PM, Wednesday, November 27, 2013

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

1. [8:05 PM] Overture
2. [8:08 PM; curtain up!] Summertime (Clara & Jake)
3. [8:11 PM] A Woman is a Sometime Thing (Jake & ensemble)
4. [8:15 PM] Crap Game (ensemble)
5. [8:00 PM] Gone, Gone, Gone! (ensemble)
6. [8:00 PM] My Man's Gone Now (Serena)
7. [8:30 PM] Leavin' fo' de Promis' Lan' (Bess & ensemble)
8. [8:00 PM] It Takes a Long Pull to Get There (Jake & ensemble)
9. [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]

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

1. [9:27 PM] Entr'acte
2. [9:31 PM] It Ain't Necessarily So (Sporting Life & ensemble)
3. [9:35 PM] What You Want With Bess? (Bess & Crown)
4. [9:00 PM] It Takes a Long Pull (Jake & the Fishermen)
5. [9:00 PM] Oh, Doctor Jesus (Serena & ensemble)
6. [9:00 PM] Street Cries (Strawberry Woman, Peter & The Crab Man)
7. [9:00 PM] I Loves You, Porgy (Bess & Porgy)
8. [9:00 PM] Oh, de Lawd Shake de Heaven (ensemble)
9. [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]

• 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.

• 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;

• 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.

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 the official show site, with still more notes about the production posted online at Facebook and Ovrtur. Facebook has links to many short Youtube videos of the cast.

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

• Karen D'Souza for the San Jose Mercury News
• Janos Green for SFCV
• George Haymont
• Robert Hurwitt for SFGate
• Rain Jokinen for SF Appeal
• Chad Jones for Theater Dogs
• Chad Jones #2 for SFGate
• Jan Miller
• Robert Sokol
• Woody Weingarten

  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

Back to the calendar!