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Patricia Murray-Bett, on behalf of Living Arts Inc of New York, has presented three UK tours of the widely acclaimed touring production of their Gershwin masterpiece Porgy & Bess. Since 1992, this stunning and triumphant production has played to standing ovations and worldwide acclaim on six continents and in over 400 cities. The strengths of this production of Porgy & Bess are in its wonderfully powerful music, its talented cast, and dedicated staff, who installed and performed this production in sports arenas, auditoriums, proscenium theatres, and in the open air at the Roman amphitheatre in Caesarea, ranging between 900 and 5,000 seats, and not always in ideal conditions. The audiences always leave the theatre with a smile on their faces, humming one wonderful Gershwin tune or another, usually after prolonged applause and standing ovations. Demand for the show in the UK has inspired the producers to create a very special version for smaller halls and theatres. It is fully costumed with the stars of the production performing the greatest hits in a 2 hour concert version and a tour is being planned now. PORGY AND BESS is based on the DuBose Heyward novel that tells the moving story of the cripple Porgy and the residents of Charleston's famed Catfish Row. It later became a successful play called PORGY written by Heyward and his wife, Dorothy, which served as the inspiration and basis for the collaboration between George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin and Heyward that eventually became the boundary breaking musical drama, PORGY AND BESS. Recognized as an American masterpiece, the story entwines pride, prejudice, pathos and passion through a jazz and blues influenced score. Originally billed as a "Folk Opera", PORGY AND BESS introduced classic Gershwin songs like Summertime, I Got Plenty O' Nuttin' and It Ain't Necessarily So, as well as magnificent and enthralling choruses that stunned music and drama critics alike at its premiere in 1935.
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PORGY
& BESS
