George Gershwin "PORGY and BESS" Todd Duncan / Anne Brown 1935 Souvenir Program

Description

This is a rare souvenir program from the
Original Broadway production of the GEORGE GERSHWIN, IRA GERSHWIN and DU BOSE HEYWARD American Folk Opera "PORGY AND BESS" which played the Alvin Theatre in New York City. (The musical opened October 10th, 1935 at the Alvin Theatre and closed January 25th, 1936, running for a disappointing 124 performances.) ..... Despite its early demise, this Gershwin masterwork remains one of the greatest of all American musicals and musical theatre scores. It wasn't until years later, after GEORGE GERSHWIN's untimely death that the work received the acclamation it deserved. The Original Broadway principals included TODD DUNCAN as "Porgy", ANNE BROWN as "Bess", JOHN W. BUBBLES as "Sportin' Life" and WARREN COLEMAN as "Crown". Others in the cast included HELEN DOWDY, FORD L. BUCK, ABBIE MITCHELL, EDWARD MATTHEWS, GEORGETTE HARVEY, OLIVE BALL, RUBY ELZY, HENRY DAVIS, JACK CARR, GUS SIMONS, ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, HAROLD WOOLF, BURTON McEVILLY, JOHN GARTH, J. ROSAMOND JOHNSON, GEORGE LESSEY, RAY YEATES, GEORGE CARLETON 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 SERGEI SOUDEIKINE; Costumes supervised by JEAN TATE; Directed by ROUBEN MAMOULIAN; Produced by THE THEATRE GUILD
..... DETAILS: The over-sized 24 page program measures 9" X 12" inches and includes full production credits, cast of characters, photos of
GEORGE GERSHWIN and
ROUBEN MAMOULIAN, bios of each member of the creative team, synopsis of scenes, list of musical numbers, promotional text, two pages of excerpts from a number of New York reviews and several wonderful production photos and illustrations ..... PLEASE NOTE: The scanned pages have been cropped due to the limitations of my scanner. The margins are slightly wider than shown ..... CONDITION: With the exception of light surface rubbing to the covers and the left side of George Gershwin's bio page, this rare program 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 sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard
.
Pay me securely with any major credit card through PayPal!