Description
This is a rare November 2nd, 1942 (Opening Night) "Stagebill" playbill from the Post-Broadway engagement of the GEORGE GERSHWIN, IRA GERSHWIN and DU BOSE HEYWARD American Folk Opera "PORGY AND BESS" at the Studebaker Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. (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, MICHAEL WOR 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 CHERYL CRAWFORD ..... DETAILS: The sixteen page playbill measures 6 3/4" X 9 1/2" inches and includes full production credits, cast list, synopsis of scenes, list of musical numbers, bios of each of the leading actors and wonderful vintage advertising but with the exception of the front cover, no cast photos ..... CONDITION: With the exception of slight surface rubbing to the cover, minor creasing and light edge wear, this rare 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.
