When Producer Sam Goldwyn decided to make a big cinemusical out of Porgy and Bess, the Negro folk opera (music by George Gershwin), the one trouble he did not foresee was a shortage of candidates for the leading roles. Since its first performance in 1935. the tuneful story of sorrow and joy along Catfish Row has been one of the theater's few durable meal tickets for Negro entertainers. It has enjoyed successful revivals on Broadway, innumerable road companies and a State Department-blessed international tour that included Russia and the satellites.
Last week Goldwyn finally admitted that he had come up against...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
