Cast members reflect on stepping into the iconic show
Audra McDonald
Bess
“I think where I am now in my life is that…I’ve lived a bit. I’m 40, I’ve lived a lot. Bess is someone who is looking to make a change in her life and doesn’t know how to go about doing it. She realizes this can end one of two ways—either she is going to get out, or the situation is going to kill her. [Bess is] someone looking to find the truth of who they are, to rise from a bad situation and use their own strength to move on. As an African-American divorced single mother, there’s a lot I can identify with in Bess. I mean, I’ve never been a prostitute or done ‘happy dust’ or anything like that! But looking for self-worth, finding it within one’s self and battling one’s demons.”
Norm Lewis
Porgy
“I hope to honor the history of the show, the Porgy and Bess of the past and, hopefully, of the future. Todd Duncan, who was the very first Porgy, refused to go on stage in Washington, D.C., unless it was an integrated audience. Duncan would not go on, no matter how they pressured him and threatened him…he still stayed true. And they integrated the audience. [Duncan] got his way. I want to honor what he—and the Gershwins—did for us.”
David Alan Grier
Sporting Life
“Traditionally, Sporting Life is a song-and-dance guy. He comes in, and then he goes out. But in this version, we’re working on who Sporting Life is. He comes from
that community. He’s from Catfish Row. He grew up there. Everyone knows him. He’s probably the most well-traveled and worldliest person there, because he’s gone away from that community and he’s found his niche…drugs and prostitution. But they all know him from the neighborhood. In previous productions, this hasn’t been fully dealt with. Sporting Life is a more rooted character in this production, and the stakes are much higher for him.”
Philip Boykin
Crown
“When I was a little boy, my uncle had the album of Porgy and Bess with Leontyne Price and William Warfield on it. As a poor child growing up in West Greenville, South Carolina, I looked at these two wonderful black African-American people on the cover of an album, and something in me just turned on right away. And I thought: if they can be on the cover of an album singing opera—I didn’t know what it was at that time—then I can do it. And I always wanted a better tomorrow. So it’s really ironic that a Porgy and Bess album cover started my career. And here I am. It’s a wonderful gift.”
Nikki Renée Daniels
Clara
“People know more about [Porgy and Bess] than they think. You have pop stars today on American Idol singing ‘Summertime.’ I think the score is going to stand on its own forever. But in this new production, people will get to know the story, the characters, and the stories behind the songs. I used to sing ‘Summertime’ in vocal competitions when I was in high school. Now, I’m getting more towards that point in life where I want to have a family, and I can definitely relate to Clara on that
level. I got married two years ago. That strong love between her and Jake—that she would do anything for him—I relate to that today more than I ever did.”
Joshua Henry
Jake
“I love that it’s a slice of African-American life in the 1930s. It seems like I’m always around the ‘30s—my last show was Scottsboro Boys, which is set in 1939. It was a period of change and moving forward for this community. It’s very exciting that this production focuses on the authenticity of the people [of Catfish Row]. It’s also a dream come true to be working with this caliber of talent. It’s a rare time when you feel that there’s something very special on your hands, and that’s how I feel right now. I’m blessed to be here.”
