Composer: George Gershwin; Libretto: DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, Ira Gershwin . At: Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis. Phone: 773-753-4472; $45-$65. Runs through: July 3
BY SCOTT C. MORGAN
Court Theatre definitely deserves an "A" for ambition in tackling The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess. Too bad the end results aren't always satisfactory.
Although it first opened on Broadway in 1935, many critics have since championed Porgy and Bess as "The Great American Opera." So it took considerable effort by Court Theatre to reduce and revise Porgy and Bess to squeeze into its intimate 260-seat space.
Undoubtedly director Charles Newell and music director Doug Peck were aiming to bring out more layered and nuanced performances by condensing Porgy and Bess to just a 15-member ensemble. And since so many jazz artists have covered immortal Porgy and Bess tunes like "Summertime," and "It Ain't Necessarily So," it's not sacrilege to alter vocal keys or scale down composer George Gershwin's original orchestrations to be played here by just six musicians.
However, to my taste, much of the epic dramatic sweep of Porgy and Bess is lost in this Court Theatre adaptation. The physical limitations of the Court's space are often distracting, particularly for some character entrances (notably Todd M. Kryger as the crippled title character of Porgy) and at the end of a few climactic scenes (like the Kittiwah Island aftermath of Crown's rape of Bess).
The abstracted white design concept imposed by Newell and his design team smacks of high-concept artiness (particularly the dominating square platform and descending fabric strips of John Culbert's set and Jacqueline Firkins's bleached costume scheme). Even worse, the lack of specificity to locales is potentially baffling for some first-time audiences.
However, aside from these staging shortcomings, Court's Porgy and Bess still can move audiences thanks to the impeccable musicianship of its cast and band performing the glorious Gershwin score.
Sean Blake is appropriately cocky and slinky as the drug-peddler Sportin' Life, while Bethany Thomas masterfully navigates the growling passion and soprano sobs of the funeral lament "My Man's Gone Now." James Earl Jones II's Crown is also sung with plenty of power and macho swagger.
There's no denying that Kryger and Alexis J. Rogers sing marvelously in their respective title roles of the beggar Porgy and the good-time girl Bess. But I wanted more chemistry and complexity from the two (I also wanted more emotional extremes in the Bess of Rogers, whose take on the role shows more calculation than desperation).
Now there is always room for great works of American musical theater to be smartly reconceived on an intimate scale, as the Court Theatre has shown in the past with such award-winning productions as Man of La Mancha or Caroline, or Change. But in the case of such an operatic and iconic property like Porgy and Bess, bigger is better in my book.