The Gershwins'
Porgy and Bess
Uris Theatre
September 25, 1976 - December 5, 1976
Mark Hellinger Theatre
December 7, 1976 - January 9, 1977
Previews Began: September 20, 1976
Opening Night: September 25, 1976
Closing Night: January 9, 1977
Music: George Gershwin
Lyrics: Ira Gershwin
DuBose Heyward
Libretto: DuBose Heyward
An operatic adaptation of Porgy that follows the lives of the inhabitants of Catfish Row, an African-American section of Charleston, South Carolina, including the crippled Porgy, his beloved Bess, who is under the thrall of the dangerous Crown, and the sinewy drug dealer Sportin’ Life.
Musical Numbers
ACT ONE
Summertime………………………………………….Clara. Jake
A Woman Is a Sometime Thing………..Jake, Ensemble
Here Come de Honey Man……………………………..Peter
They Pass By Singing……………………………………..Porgy
Oh Little Stars………………………………………………Porgy
Gone, Gone, Gone……………………………………Ensemble
Overflow…………………………………………………Ensemble
My Man’s Gone Now……………………………………Serena
Leavin’ fo’ de Promis’ Lan…………………Bess, Ensemble
It Takes a Long Pull…………………………Jake, Ensemble
I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’…………………..Porgy, Ensemble
Buzzard………………………………………..Porgy, Ensemble
Bess, You Is My Woman Now………………..Porgy, Bess
Oh I Can’t Sit Down…………………………………Ensemble
I Ain’t Got No Shame……………………………….Ensemble
It Ain’t Necessarily So………….Sportin’ Life, Ensemble
What You Want With Bess?…………………Bess, Crown
ACT TWO
Oh, Doctor Jesus…………………………Serena, Ensemble
I Loves You, Porgy…………………………………Bess, Porgy
Oh, He’venly Father…………………………………Ensemble
Oh de Lawd Shake de Heaven………………….Ensemble
A Red Headed Woman…………………Crown, Ensemble
Clara, Clara……………………………………………..Ensemble
There’s a Boat That’s Leavin’ Soon for New
York……………………………………………Sportin’ Life, Bess
Good Mornin’, Sistuh!…………………………………….Porgy
Oh, Bess, Oh Where’s My Bess…………Porgy, Serena,
Maria
Oh Lawd, I’m on My Way……………….Porgy, Ensemble
CAST
OPENING NIGHT
Donnie Ray Albert Porgy
(Alternate)
Steven Alex-Cole Crab Man
Ensemble
John D. Anthony Ensemble
Shirley Baines Annie
Ensemble
Earl Baker Ensemble
Kenneth Barry Mr. Archdale
Phyllis Bash Strawberry Woman
Ensemble
Kenneth Bates Ensemble
Raymond Bazemore Frazier
Ensemble
Carol Brice Maria
Barbara Buck Ensemble
Alex Carrington Scipio
Clamma Dale Bess
(Alternate)
Curtis Dickson Jake
Ella Eure Ensemble
Wilhelmenia Fernandez Ensemble
William Gammon Policeman
Elizabeth Graham Ensemble
Earl Grandison Ensemble
Kenneth Hamilton Ensemble
Betty Harris Ensemble
Esther Hinds Bess
(Alternate)
Loretta Holkmann Ensemble
Delores Ivory-Davis Serena
(Alternate)
Alma Johnson Ensemble
Cora Johnson Ensemble
Betty D. Lane Clara
Abraham Lind-Oquendo Porgy
(Alternate)
Roberta Long Ensemble
Hartwell Mace Jim
Ensemble
Larry Marshall Sportin’ Life
Patricia McDermott Ensemble
George Robert Merritt Crown
(Alternate)
Myra Merritt Lily
Ensemble
Naomi Moody Ensemble
Robert Mosley Porgy
(Alternate)
Irene Oliver Bess
(Alternate)
Glover Parham Robbins
Ensemble
William Penn Ensemble
Dwight Ransom Ensemble
Ross Reimueller Jasbo Brown
Cornel Richie Undertaker
Ensemble
John B. Ross Coroner
Rodrick Ross Ensemble
Hansford Rowe Detective
Wilma A. Shakesnider Serena
(Alternate)
Alexander B. Smalls Ensemble
Andrew Smith Crown
(Alternate)
Bernard Thacker Mingo
The Undertaker
Ensemble
Mervin Wallace Peter
The Honey Man
Ensemble
Barbara Ann Webb Ensemble
Wardell Woodard Ensemble
Denice Woods Ensemble
Barbara L. Young Ensemble
REPLACEMENTS
Elizabeth Graham Clara
Bruce Hubbard Ensemble
Alexander B. Smalls Jake
Barbara Ann Webb Maria
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