Good morning, all! I will shortly head down to Toyland. I've got a libretto to scan for Ben Davis, and I'd like to scan as much of JUBILEE Act One possible.
DR slingshot, good news about Zach! I'll ask for Mikey: how's the vet?
DR vixmom, you are always a prizewinner in my book!
DR Laura, we must be clear about Porgy and Bess: there is the original 1934 folk opera composed by George Gershwin to a libretto by Dubose Heyward and additional lyrics by Ira Gershwin; in 1942 or so, producer Cheryl Crawford stage a production that converted much of the recitative to spoken dialogue, which to me violates one of piece's major conceits, and this became the standard text of all productions until the 1970s when the work started to get performances of what actually exists in the published vocal score, and since then the work has been established as the opera that George Gershwin actually composed; then, early in this decade, the Gershwin estate, in what I believe was an attempt to extend the copyright, decided Porgy and Bess needed to be saved and turned into a musical theatre piece. Who cares what George, Ira or Dubose would think of the of this idea: they can't complain; THEY'RE ALL DEAD!. So the graverobbers dug up the body and cut it apart. The first attempt in England, staged by Trevor Nunn, was not a success, so Diane Paulus and her team have produced a new musical theatre piece, with arrangements and musical diversions from a moron and a more politically correct text. And yes, I am offended, since this garbage now touring as "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess" is a travesty of a masterpiece. As for the original work that premiered in 1935, it's brilliant and I admire it enormously.
I believe that is all of my news for the moment.
