George Gershwin "PORGY and BESS" William Warfield / Robert Guillaume 1964

Description

This is a rare May 1964 playbill from the New York City Center
revival of the GEORGE GERSHWIN, IRA GERSHWIN and DU BOSE HEYWARD American Folk Opera "PORGY AND BESS" at the New York City Center Theatre in New York City. (The production opened May 6th, 1964 and ran for a limited engagement of only 31 performances.) ..... 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 Broadway revival starred WILLIAM WARFIELD as "Porgy", VERONICA TYLER as "Bess" and ROBERT GUILLAUME as "Sportin' Life" and the cast included GWENDOLYN WALTERS, CAROL BRICE, WILLIAM DILLARD, IRVING BARNES, BARBARA SMITH CONRAD, MARIE YOUNG, TONY MIDDLETON, AL FANN and WALTER REIMER ..... 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 STEPHEN O. SAXE; Costumes supervised by STANLEY SIMMONS; Orchestra Conducted by JULIUS RUDEL; Directed by JOHN FEARNLEY; Produced by THE NEW YORK CITY CENTER LIGHT OPERA
..... DETAILS:
The 60 page playbill measures 6" X 9" inches and includes full production credits, cast list, synopsis of scenes, list of musical numbers and bios of each of the leading actors, but no cast photos. The playbill includes a full page ad for the 1953 Broadway Revival recording of
"PORGY and BESS" starring
WILLIAM WARFIELD as "Porgy" and LEONTYNE PRICE as "Bess"
on RCA Victor Records ..... BONUS:
The playbill also includes the illustration of ETHEL MERMAN and ERNEST BORGNINE in "Private Lives", Number 3 in the AL HIRSCHFELD series "Unlikely Casting" (last scanned image)
..... CONDITION: With the exception of the date written on the front cover and minor edge wear, this
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.