Porgy and Bess (1993) (TV)

Director:

Trevor Nunn

Writers:

DuBose Heyward (libretto)
DuBose Heyward (play)

Release Date:

6 October 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Music

Plot:

The story of a disabled beggar in Charleston,S.C. who falls in love with a prostitute, this is the first...

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Disability | Hurricane | American | Drugs

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Willard White	...	Porgy
Cynthia Haymon	...	Bess
Gregg Baker	...	Crown
Cynthia Clarey	...	Serena
Marietta Simpson	...	Maria
Damon Evans	...	Sportin' Life
Paula Ingram	...	Clara, and singing voice of Annie
Gordon Hawkins	...	Jake
Harolyn Blackwell	...	Clara (singing voice)
Bruce Hubbard	...	Jake (singing voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve Agyei	...	Dancer
Maureen Brathwaite	...	Lily
Barrington Coleman	...	Mingo
Colenton Freeman	...	Nelson / Crab Man
Yolanda Grant	...	Annie
Joshuez Harriott	...	Scipio
Camellia Johnson	...	Strawberry Woman
William B. Johnson	...	Frazier
Bruce Leader	...	Dancer
Wayne Marshall	...	Jasbo (piano player at honkytonk)
Ted Maynard	...	Mr. Archdale
Billy J. Mitchell	...	Coroner
Austris Paige	...	Undertaker
Suzie Steen	...	Hi Brow Southerner
Linda Thompson	...	Neighbor
Alan Tilvern	...	Detective
Ron Travis	...	Policeman
Mervin Wallace	...	Peter
D. Alonzo Washington	...	Robbins
Curtis Watson	...	Jim
Johnny Worthy	...	Robbins (singing voice)

Also Known As:

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

184 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

For this production, as well as for the 1986 Glyndebourne stage production on which this is based, director Trevor Nunn decided that it would be more effective to have Porgy walking with the aid of crutches rather than riding around on a soapbox fitted out with wheels and pulled by a goat, as in all previous productions of the opera. He felt (rightly or wrongly) that this would make Porgy more sexually attractive to Bess.

Quotes:

Serena: [singing] My man's gone now. / Ain't no use a-lis'nin' / For his tired footsteps / Climbin' up the stairs.

Movie Connections:

Version of Porgy and Bess (1959)

Soundtrack:

Yo' Struttin' Style

Gershwin's best?

Gershwin's fully-fledged opera, 'Porgy and Bess', had of course been filmed in the 1950s (in a version my generation, born later, has never seen due to restrictions in making it available for re-release or home video), but this TV version goes some way to putting a definitive record in images as well as music on the screen.

The performances of the two leads are top-class - Willard White, a singer/actor so versatile that he has also played the lead in Shakepeare's 'Othello' (brilliantly) for the Royal Shakespeare Company; and Cynthia Harmon, a beautifully-voiced soprano. Also in fantastic form are Gregg Baker as Crown (he can also be seen in a version of 'Carmen' taped a year or so later), and Damon Evans as Sportin' Life. As as been noted elsewhere, the late Bruce Hubbard can be heard as Jake but was replaced for this film by Gordon Hawkins (who plays the role well); while Harolyn Blackwell sings while Paula Ingram plays the doomed and delicate Clara.

The strength of this production is Trevor Nunn's sympathetic direction from his original Glyndebourne staging some years before. All the songs are done with class (my favourites, 'Bess You Is My Woman Now', 'Summertime', 'I Got Plenty Of Nuttin', and 'It Ain't Necessarily So' coming off particularly well). A valuable record of a ground-breaking crossover between grand opera and the modern musical.