American Masters: George Gershwin Remembered

[BW]

Here in the NY Metro area on Thirteen: June 7th now, repeated June 11th on Thirteen. If you're not watching it you really should - if you like Gershwin.

For other areas, check your local PBS listings.

This is a wonderful film! :huepfen024:

[dirac]

Thank you, BW, for the heads up. American Masters is an invaluable series.

[dirac]

Trevor Nunn turns “Porgy and Bess” into a musical. Although I’m sure Gershwin would be grateful to have his work shoehorned into a genre he was trying to move beyond, and relieved that “key melodic content” (e.g., the big tunes) would be retained, and granted that “Porgy” isn’t in all respects a fully realized opera, I still think this is a venture that, while not a desecration, is more than a little presumptuous. I assume Gershwin knew that opera appeals to a smaller audience than musical theatre and he was presumably unfazed by that. Oh dear, I must be a “carping purist.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/30/theater/...r=1&oref=slogin

The $5 million production is being produced by the Frankel/Viertel/Baruch/Routh Group, Howard Panter for the Ambassador Theater Group and Tulbart Productions. Tom Viertel, also in London, said the producers were planning to bring the musical to Broadway some time during the 2007-8 season, though no official dates have been set.

"The chance of having this piece of material land in a much larger audience in a way that would allow it to be more dramatic is a wonderful story," Mr. Viertel said.

Asked about the possibility of carping purists who object to such tinkering, Mr. Nunn said his extensive experience with "Porgy" should vouch for his intentions.