George Gershwin "PORGY and BESS" Todd Duncan / Avon Long 1943 San Francisco

Description

This is a rare April 26th, 1943 broadside (single page playbill) from the two-week, Post-Broadway engagement of the GEORGE GERSHWIN, IRA GERSHWIN and DU BOSE HEYWARD American Folk Opera "PORGY AND BESS" at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, California. (The revival opened January 22nd, 1942 at the Majestic Theatre in New York City and ran for 286 performances before going on the road.) ..... Despite the early demise of the original 1935 production (ran for only 124 performances), this Gershwin masterwork remains one of the greatest of all American musicals and musical theatre scores. It wasn't until several years after GEORGE GERSHWIN's untimely death at the age of 38 that the work received the acclamation it deserved. This revival featured several members of the Original Broadway Cast including TODD DUNCAN as "Porgy", WARREN COLEMAN as "Crown" and HELEN DOWDY as "Strawberry Woman". Others in the cast included ETTA MOTEN as "Bess", AVON LONG as "Sportin' Life", EDWARD MATTHEWS, GEORGETTE HARVEY, RUBY ELZY, JIMMY WATERS, HENRY DAVIS, JACK CARR, ROBERT ECTON, JOHN GARTH, J. ROSAMOND JOHNSON, CATHERINE AYERS, HARRIETT JACKSON, JOHN DEMMIGAR, WILLIAM BOWERS, WILLIAM WOOLFOLK, AL WEST, RICHARD BOWLER, WILLIAM McDANIEL, JUNE HAWKINS and THE EVA JESSYE CHOIR ..... CREDITS: Book by DU BOSE HEYWARD founded on the play "Porgy" by DU BOSE and DOROTHY HEYWARD; Music by GEORGE GERSHWIN ("Girl Crazy", "Lady, Be Good!", "Oh, Kay!", "Funny Face", "Rosalie", "Of Thee I Sing", "Porgy and Bess", "George White's Scandals"); Lyrics by DU BOSE HEYWARD and IRA GERSHWIN; Sets designed by HERBERT ANDREWS; Costumes supervised by PAUL DU PONT; Orchestra Conducted by ALEXANDER SMALLENS; Directed by ROBERT ROSS; Produced by EDWIN LESTER by arrangement with CHERYL CRAWFORD ..... DETAILS: The single page, two-sided playbill measures 5 3/4" X 15 5/8" inches, is printed on a light brown newsprint stock and includes full production credits, cast list, synopsis of scenes and list of musical numbers, but no cast photos ..... CONDITION: With the exception of a heavy fold across the middle, this playbill is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.
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