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[MUSIC - "SUMMERTIME" FROM PORGY AND BESS]
[APPLAUSE]
FEMALE SPEAKER: That was beautiful.
That was Sumayya Ali and David Hughey, performing "Summertime"
from the Tony Award winning musical,
"The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess."
Thank you so much.
[APPLAUSE]
We are so lucky to have the wonderful cast
and a few creative members of this production here at Google.
I would like to welcome Suzan-Lori Parks,
the musical book adapter, and the first African-American
woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
[APPLAUSE]
We also have Diane Paulus, the show's Tony Award
winning director.
[APPLAUSE]
And Michael Strunsky, trustee of the Ira and Leonore Gershwin
estate, and nephew of Ira Gershwin.
[APPLAUSE]
Let's start with you, Suzan-Lori.
For those who might not know, can you
please tell us what the story of "Porgy and Bess" is all about?
SUZAN-LORI PARKS: Yes. "Porgy and Bess" is a love story.
It's set in Catfish Row, which is
a neighborhood in South Carolina.
Now, the main action concerns a man named Porgy.
And he was born disabled.
And because he was born with a disability,
he actually believes that God has made him to be lonely,
without love.
And of course, he's wrong.
Because into his life comes love in the form
of a woman named Bess.
And "Porgy and Bess" is also about the community
of Catfish Row.
And you get to meet the good folks and the bad folks,
the church going ladies and the scallywag men.
You get to see them survive a hurricane.
BTW, Bess happens to be also involved
with a guy called Crown.
And so you get a little bit of a love triangle going on
in there.
DIANE PAULUS: Lots of drama.
SUZAN-LORI PARKS: Lots of drama.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Thank you.
And Diane, this is a great American masterpiece
with a significant history.
Can you tell us a little bit more about that history?
DIANE PAULUS: Yes.
This piece is a great American masterwork.
And it started as a novel in 1925
called "Porgy," written by DuBose Heyward.
It later became a play that DuBose's wife Dorothy basically
wrote.
She encouraged her husband to turn it into a play.
They eventually co-wrote it together.
It premiered on Broadway in 1927.
George Gershwin was looking for a subject matter
to write his great American folk opera.
He famously read the novel of "Porgy" in one sitting.
Wrote George Gershwin a letter and said,
I want to turn this into an opera.
At the time, George Gershwin said, oh, it's a play.
It's having a success on Broadway.
So George patiently waited.
And eventually, he wrote it in 1935.
He brought in his brother, Ira Gershwin,
who worked on the libretto and the lyrics with DuBose Heyward.
It premiered in Boston, 1935, then went to Broadway.
So this piece actually began on Broadway
in the musical theater stage.
There's an incredible piece of history that I want to mention.
In 1936, the original cast goes on a very short tour.
They go to Washington, DC.
And they play at the National Theatre.
And of course, when they arrive, the theater is segregated.
So the original Porgy, named Todd Duncan,
said, well, this is a problem.
We're not going to perform this if this theater is segregated.
And the producers at the National Theatre
said, well, that's the way it is.
He said, no, no, no.
You don't understand.
We're not going to perform.
So the producers said, we have a solution-- Wednesdays
and Saturday matinees for black people.
And Todd Duncan said, not good enough.
And Anne Brown, who was the original Bess, 19-year-old out
of the Juilliard School, had never acted in her life.
George plucked her out of Juilliard,
took her into the show.
She stood by Todd Duncan's side.
Then the producers at the National
said, all right, we've got another solution--
the second half of the upper balcony, for every performance,
for black people.
And Todd Duncan and Anne Brown, and at this point,
the whole cast said, still not good enough.
They got a little nervous.
The producers, the cast was being threatened
to be fined for breaching their contract.
They wouldn't relent.
And in March of 1936, the National Theatre
is desegregated for the first time in its history,
thanks to this production.
So yes--
[APPLAUSE]
To me, that is why I do the theater.
It's not just what's happening now.
It's the history we come from, and the fact that this work has
had this long history through the 20th century,
onwards into the '50s, with a production that
tours Europe with Leontyne Price,
William Warfield, Cab Calloway.
The young Maya Angelou was a dancer in the chorus.
Becomes a movie in 1959 with Sidney Poitier,
Sammy Davis, Jr., eventually touring opera houses
all over the world.
And then the great gift of this production,
to have incredible, contemporary artists like Suzan-Lori
Parks, Diedre Murray, our choreographer, Ron Brown,
and this phenomenal cast that you'll meet today,
who are bringing their own humanity, their story,
their integrity to add another chapter
to this incredible history.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Thank you.
And Michael, as the nephew of Ira Gershwin,
I'm sure you've seen hundreds of productions
of "Porgy and Bess."
So tell us, what's different about this Broadway production?
MICHAEL STRUNSKY: Well, Diane has told you
all about the opera, the development of the opera,
starting in 1935.
Well, the family has come to realize
that opera is a kind of specialized taste.
And "Porgy and Bess" has such a wonderful universality
that we wanted to find a team and put together
a team that could bring "Porgy and Bess" back as a Broadway
musical.
And we picked this lady here on my left.
And what you're going to see and what you're going to hear today
is much more of the Broadway musical version
than the opera version.
The Broadway musical version is accessible.
It has a tighter dramatic structure than the opera.
Yes, it doesn't have the highs and lows of opera performance.
But at the same time, we have come
to feel that this is a gift that we
hope the country and the world will appreciate,
that they can come and see it in a more
understandable and viable way.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Thank you.
And Diane, so this was a musical on Broadway
with a lot of incredible dancing and choreography.
Could you tell us about how that works into the show?
DIANE PAULUS: Yes.
We have a great choreographer named Ron Brown.
And I think another difference, often
when this is done in a big opera house,
you have a separate group of dancers
who are doing the dancing.
But in this production, we have a tight ensemble.
Everybody is doing everything.
They are singing.
They are acting.
And they are dancing.
And Ron's approach was, I think, similar to all of our work
on the show, was to really build authentic expression.
That it's not a Broadway musical,
here we go, five, six, seven, eight, jazz hands.
This is about character and history and people's soul
searching existence.
And that was my quest in the production.
And it went everything, for how we cast the show,
how we did the costumes, and how they move on stage.
Every movement has meaning.
And it's connected.
SUZAN-LORI PARKS: Can I just say,
we won't see the dances today, but the dancing
is absolutely amazing.
And I've seen the show many, many times.
I still cannot believe you guys are dancing like you do
on stage at the Golden Gate, and singing brilliantly,
and acting at the same time.
I'm amazed.
[APPLAUSE]
FEMALE SPEAKER: And finally, this version
of "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess"
has had an exciting journey-- the world premiere
at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University,
followed by the Broadway revival that won the 2012 Tony
Award for Best Musical Revival, pretty awesome.
And so it won the Tony.
So what is most exciting out of all this?
What is most exciting about taking this production
across the country?
DIANE PAULUS: Well, first of all, making theater is hard,
like everything.
And it takes time.
And we have been on a journey for years, building this show.
And it's like making a painting.
You just get to go in there and deepen it and detail it
and rediscover it.
And here we are in 2013.
The world's changed.
We can kind of feel the show in a new way with new performers.
I think this tour, taking the show out across America,
is, to me, sort of the pinnacle of this journey.
Because this is an American masterwork
that belongs to American audiences
all across the country.
I mean, it was great.
We did it up at Harvard.
Great we did it on Broadway.
But every single person in every little hometown across America
should be able to see this show and say, yes, I
understand the story.
I relate to this struggle, to this love, and to know it.
Not just people who know the opera,
but for young people, that's what's touched me,
is that a young generation can now say, George Gershwin, wow.
He's good.
And those lyrics, Ira and DuBose, those are pretty good.
And you know what?
That's our American cultural history
that we need to educate and give to people so they
can own it and be proud of it.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Great.
Thank you.
Thank you guys.
So I'd now like to welcome Nathaniel Stampley and Alicia
Hall Moran, who play Porgy and Bess, to perform "Bess, You
Is My Woman Now."
[APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC - "BESS, YOU IS MY WOMAN NOW"]
[APPLAUSE]
FEMALE SPEAKER: Thank you.
That was so beautiful.
That was so great.
Thank you.
So you guys play Porgy and Bess.
Can you tell us, who are the characters of Porgy and Bess?
NATHANIEL STAMPLEY: Well, Porgy and Bess
are two people that probably wouldn't normally be together.
And through the course of the show and this story,
some extraordinary events happen that bring them together.
And they truly are each other's true loves.
And so once they're together, their lives completely change.
They become really different people.
And so it's wonderful to take this journey every single night
with Alicia.
ALICIA HALL MORAN: And Suzan-Lori Parks
helped encourage us to understand these characters as
essential as Romeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde.
These are two Americans in love, in English.
[LAUGHTER]
FEMALE SPEAKER: Thank you.
And how did you guys work to develop
both your individual characters and their relationship?
ALICIA HALL MORAN: Bess is a fiery woman
who often finds herself on the outside of things.
And I don't have any difficulty understanding
that point of view.
[LAUGHTER]
I had a really lovely upbringing.
So I think that for me, all of the work
has been in understanding kind of that emotional
disenfranchisement, and really trying
to be more honest to the humanity of it,
to resist mean mugging, to resist feeling that there's
something dirty about being unqualified for a moment.
Because it could just be the next moment where
you get that qualification.
So it's been a real journey for me.
But Porgy's has been also physical.
And I think it would be amazing if he talked about that role.
It's really difficult.
NATHANIEL STAMPLEY: I think at the core of Porgy,
in playing this role, I mean, it's
one of the greatest roles ever written.
And so it's just humbling, and honored to be on the stage
and play this role that William Warfield and Todd Duncan, Simon
Estes, I mean, these are incredible artists
that have played this role, Norm Lewis.
And so it's exciting to be in this role,
and to present it in a way that is
very accessible to American audiences.
And it's an honor.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Great, thank you.
And what has it been like to be part
of the ART production at Harvard and the Broadway
production, and now the tour?
NATHANIEL STAMPLEY: It's incredible.
I mean, we've been, both Alicia and I,
we've been there since Day One at the workshop, and then
the production at the ART, which was truly amazing.
Those first audiences, they taught us a lot about the show.
And I think we learned a lot.
And then we came to New York, had an incredible run.
And we've got a Tony to prove it.
And now, we get a chance to travel the country,
just sharing this incredible masterpiece
that Diane was talking about.
I think the most exciting part about this production
is that we're going to bring younger audiences.
And we're going to introduce this piece to them.
Whereas people that are a little bit older than us,
"Porgy and Bess" means a lot to them.
But for a lot of younger audiences,
they don't understand what "Porgy and Bess" is.
Is it Por-gee?
Is it this, that?
And so we're here to sort of spread the gospel of Gershwin.
So it's wonderful.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Thank you, thank you.
And now, I'd like to invite a few more people up on stage.
We want to welcome back Sumayya Ali, who
plays Clara, David Hughey, who plays Jake.
I'd also like to introduce Kingsley Leggs.
He plays Sporting Life, and Alvin Crawford,
who plays Crown, up to join Alicia and Nathaniel.
[APPLAUSE]
So Sumayya and David, what is it like starting off
the show with such an iconic number as "Summertime"?
SUMAYYA ALI: Well, no pressure.
It's only been recorded over 30,000 times,
more than any other Broadway song ever.
But at the root, it's a beautiful lullaby
that parents are singing to their child.
And I think it represents all the promise
and hope to come for Catfish Row.
So it's mostly my taking myself out of it
and being true to the story, and just using myself
as an instrument to give a message.
DAVID HUGHEY: I would agree with that.
And also, what's really interesting
about this version is that in the reworking of the piece,
they really wanted to establish the love
that Jake and Clara have for each other and for their child
right at the beginning of the show.
And so in this version, Jake gets
to sing along for that reason.
Traditionally in the opera, it's only Clara who gets to sing it.
And so it's a really wonderful moment
that we get to share, and establish that, and sort
of speak that sort of blessing over our child, if you will.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Great, thank you.
And what does it mean in the context
of the whole story of "Porgy and Bess"?
SUMAYYA ALI: Oh, wow.
It means a couple of things.
First of all, I think it's establishing
the setting of Catfish Row.
I'm talking about, everyone knows it's summertime
automatically.
[LAUGHTER]
They know the cotton's high, living's easy.
So I think it's a great way to not only show
the love and magic of this community,
but also just set everything up, to just reel them
in for the adventure to come, I think.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Thank you, thank you.
Alvin, hello.
In "Porgy and Bess," Crown is the antagonist.
But his relationship with Bess isn't fully straightforward.
What do you think draws Bess to Crown?
And does Crown have any redeeming qualities?
ALVIN CRAWFORD: Yes, Crown does have redeeming qualities.
But I think Crown is misunderstood, I think.
He loves Bess in his own way.
But one thing I would love to say
is that we all know that person in the community who
is that guy.
And we also know that couple that shouldn't be together.
And that is Crown and Bess.
Because they have that toxic relationship,
that they don't feed each other well.
As Nate was saying earlier, they are good together.
But Crown and Bess are not.
But for whatever reason, that toxic, drug induced haze
and love is why they're together.
But I would also say one of the redeeming qualities about Crown
is that he's the guy that goes to rescue Clara in the storm.
So he also has a place in Catfish Row.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Thank you.
Kingsley, hi.
Tell us, who is Sporting Life?
KINGLSEY LEGGS: Sporting Life is a snake and a scoundrel.
I always joke backstage, because I have so many props,
that I have like pockets full of good times.
I've got playing cards and money and dice
and *** and happy dust.
So he brings the party to Catfish Row.
But he's also directly responsible for Bess's
downfall.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Yeah, and can you tell a little bit more
about how he influences that narrative?
KINGLSEY LEGGS: Well, he instigates
a lot of the tragedy that happens.
He's right at the centerpiece of it, making it happen.
Because he has his own goal and his own objective.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Thank you.
OK, and now we're going to have another big hit
from the incredible score.
Kingsley Leggs and cast will perform
"It Ain't Necessarily So."
[APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC - "IT AIN'T NECESSARILY SO"]
[APPLAUSE]
FEMALE SPEAKER: Thank you guys.
That song is so much fun.
And the way you guys perform it, it's just amazing.
Thank you.
And now, we'd like to take a few questions from the audience.
AUDIENCE: Just wondering how you go
through the cycle of emotion.
I imagine it's got to be really draining.
The story is so deep and powerful,
how that cycle plays out on a night to night basis,
how those emotions get renewed, and how you really
deliver the message with such heart every time.
KINGLSEY LEGGS: I love being in shows that are really dramatic
and have this kind of content.
But I was just talking with Suzan-Lori earlier,
before we started this, that this, I don't know.
There's just something very special about this show.
Even watching them sing that number today,
waiting over there, I started crying.
I was like, you've got to get yourself together.
There's such humanity in this piece
that it's just such a joy to tell this story every night.
I have to remove myself sometimes
from the rest of the piece because of what
I have to do in the piece, to keep it
all in perspective and compartmentalized.
But I think part of it is just the joy of telling the story,
and because these people have been such incredible stewards
of this piece and the story and what we're doing.
You just want to give it truth.
You want to give it all that you have.
And you want it to reach the person in the top, in the back.
So it's just wonderful to play every night.
NATHANIEL STAMPLEY: I'll chime in, also.
With this particular production, we
don't have the trappings of really huge sets and a really
large cast.
So the story is in the forefront.
And so that demands a certain level of commitment
every single second you're on the stage.
So there's nowhere to hide, first of all.
And secondly, as you can sort of sense today,
we are truly a community on and off stage.
And so that helps.
And also, for me personally in this role as Porgy,
I try to keep it as light as I can offstage.
I like to laugh and smile and save my voice, as well.
So that you're not living in those really dark and heavy
moments 24/7.
Because that's tough to carry around with you all the time.
SUMAYYA ALI: I totally have to decompress and watch
"Everybody Loves Raymond" or something when I go home.
I do.
You do.
You have to shake it off.
ALICIA HALL MORAN: And also, I have to say, those of us
coming from the previous productions,
and also, now this cast are veterans,
because they had a rehearsal process in New York
together, shared.
Really knowing the inner tracks of the ensemble as well as we
do, we understand the real strength
that Porgy gains is from the community.
The real strength that Bess will find
when she's redeemed-- oh, she messes it up by the end.
But they come for her, to heal her,
and to give your body weight to the women in the cast.
Or Sporting Life slithering all over you, only Mariah
could prevent that.
And he gets rid of her.
So we really understand that you're
going to get through the day with the actual actors.
But the characters are going to make it
through because of the actual community.
And we represent a new era of that.
Because we know what they're pulling.
And it's crazy good.
I love your question.
Thank you so much.
AUDIENCE: I'd like to hear a little more about the process
of adapting the production to what you call a Broadway
musical version as opposed to the opera version?
There's the staging, there's the music, there's the story.
I'd like to hear more about that.
DIANE PAULUS: I think if the opera is done uncut, which
sometimes it's done, it clocks in at well over four hours.
So I think we knew we wanted to make a version that really
retained the incredible score, that told the story as
specifically and as truthfully as we could.
But we wanted to just like close up on it.
We wanted to make it intimate and focused and theatrical.
So of course, our production is like 2 and 1/2 hours.
So you're looking at cuts.
And George and Ira made cuts.
The first night after it premiered in Boston,
they cut out 45 minutes.
So you're going from guides from the original authors of options
of things to cut.
And Suzan-Lori and Diedre Murray and myself and our music team,
our conductor and our associate, we spent,
I'd say, at least one year going bar
by bar through that entire score,
laboriously figuring out how to make the cut,
how to continue the musical line.
What is necessary?
What maybe could we take out to strengthen something,
to make it even more kind of immediate?
So it was an incredible process, a careful, careful process.
SUZAN-LORI PARKS: Yeah, maybe a chunk might have been cut.
And then add a few words here to make the character arc
stronger, a lot of basic dramaturgical,
architectural work to track each of these characters.
Each and every one of these main characters
has a very, very strong and definite character arc.
And sometimes, we might cut a character out,
a minor character, and replaced him or her
with one of the main characters to carry that story
line through.
AUDIENCE: "Summertime" got rearranged a little bit,
to have an extra singer in it.
So was there much of that kind of change, as well?
DIANE PAULUS: Definitely, thinking
about how to tell the story.
And I think the point that Sumayya and David were making,
that this idea-- you know, people hear "Summertime."
And you kind of go, oh, that hit.
Or, oh, Fantasia sang that.
So our production's like, no, no, look at the story.
Look at what the song means, with Daddy and Mama
standing by.
And there you can see that daddy and mama
looking over their baby.
So every choice was driven by the story,
to really intensify the story.
SUZAN-LORI PARKS: I just want to say an exciting thing.
You see Jake and Clara singing this wonderful song
to their child at the top.
And then if you know the show already, or if you've seen it,
or if you might see it, watch for when it gets reprised.
And that's in the original.
But watch how that songs gets reprised.
And remember the first time you heard it in the show,
and the meaning that it takes on as we travel through the show,
and the other things going on on stage, especially when we
hear it the last time.
What is going on?
DIANE PAULUS: It's sung three times.
And the tragic thing is, those two characters die.
So you start the show.
And if you know the story, it's almost
like you almost can't watch it.
It's just like, all the hope in that moment.
But again, as Alicia was saying, you
see how the community rises up through it.
It's that uplifting growth admits terrible adversity
and tragedy.
MICHAEL STRUNSKY: One thing that's
true about this is that the emphasis here
has been on story, just as any good theatrical piece has
to respect story.
And we've taken, Diane and Suzan-Lori
have taken that as a charge.
And I believe they've solved it really, really magnificently.
SUZAN-LORI PARKS: I always like hearing you say that.
[LAUGHTER]
I never get tired of that.
AUDIENCE: Hi.
I am completely in awe that I'm in the same room as Suzan-Lori
Parks and Diane Paulus.
Actually, I'm a graduate of the ART in 2006.
Sadly, I missed you, because you have
been doing amazing work there, amazing.
It's so impressive.
And my question is actually two things.
How is it that you, A, came upon this play or musical,
that you wanted to revive it.
And two, how is it that you have created, in many of your works,
somehow found the balance of artistry and audience appeal
in such a way that you make-- obviously, audience
keep coming back and loving everything that you've done.
Where do you find that?
Because it doesn't seem to me like
you've sacrificed any artistry in any of the work
that you've done.
DIANE PAULUS: Well, I'll answer your second question first.
I believe in the audience.
I believe audiences are smart.
They want to be challenged.
They want to feel.
I think it's a very generous act, an audience, in this day
and age, when we're all so busy, to come out of our lives
and be live in a room together.
So we have an obligation to meet that audience.
And that's where I start as a director.
It's really not about like, my art, what I want to do.
No, I think, why tell the story now?
What's the event?
What can we communicate?
Why should an audience bother to come see "Porgy and Bess"?
That's where I start.
And rather that being distracting or pandering,
it's actually the catalyst for me as a director.
And that's the theater.
I mean, when you work in the theater now,
you really have to think, what is the theater as a medium?
It is about live transmission.
It can only happen in the presence of an audience.
Not a lot of other artistic mediums
are that dependent on the living, breathing moment.
And I think in our day and age, to feel present and alive--
I mean, it was a question of you,
all saying about being in the moment, that's a gift.
I mean, that's why I love doing the theater.
It's like, rehearsal, you're in the moment,
to come into a room.
And that's, I think, what an audience craves.
You forget the past.
You stop thinking about the future.
And you are in the present, emotionally,
psychically with these characters.
And this is a piece that allows you
to go deep, as Kingsley said.
So when I was approached by the Gershwin estates and the DuBose
Heyward estates, would you be interested in this charge
that Mike said?
We know it exists as an opera.
And it will always exist as an opera.
But what about creating a version that
really celebrates it as a musical?
Would you want to do that?
And what writer would you like to work with?
That really came from the estates.
That was a huge sign to me of the willingness
to really make this feel relevant to our lives today.
And working with Suzan-Lori, I was
dying to work with this lady.
Are you kidding?
She's a genius.
And her dramaturgical mind is so strong.
[APPLAUSE]
This experience of creating this,
and then, it's about them.
The art of a director is, I know something about it.
Suzan-Lori, we know something about it.
But then it transfers to the cast.
And that's how they get through every night, I think.
Because they are telling the story.
They are the keepers of the torch and the flame.
And they are holding that much more than us now.
We've given it.
We've raised the baby.
And then the baby has to go out in the world, in this case,
across America.
AUDIENCE: I know you mentioned briefly
Leontyne Price and that tour.
And I think you were referring to the 1955 tour
to the Eastern Bloc.
So I know that was a huge deal.
Because that was the first American musical
or American opera that came to USSR and all those countries.
And I know they had a different message to spread back then.
But I'm wondering, if you had the opportunity now,
maybe you will, where would you take
this production in the world?
And what kind of message would you
want to say now, as opposed to back then?
MICHAEL STRUNSKY: Well, I'm not sure
that the message is anything more than what you see.
The message is there.
It's truth, and what Suzan-Lori and the rest
of the creative cast believe that community was like.
And yes, we're open to taking-- a matter of fact,
we are doing a production in London
at the outdoor theater there this coming summer.
SUZAN-LORI PARKS: I think what's wonderful
about this production is that while our work on it
was, or my work on it was dramaturgical
and architectural, I think what happens
is, in this day and age, there is
a political component that we can't escape.
And that is as simple as people of African descent are people.
We are people.
And I think that is dovetailed exactly
hand in glove with the message, if you will,
of the very first production of "Porgy and Bess."
I think that's what Mr. Gershwin's and the Heywards
were saying.
I think that's what it said when we went to the Eastern Bloc.
And that's the beauty of this country,
that we can say that about all of us.
We are all in it together.
And when we take that and we go abroad,
or we go just to various cities around the United States,
we are all in it together.
Hello.
And when we go abroad and take that message,
we are all in this together, that is a very powerful message
for the world, to remember that it's all of us
together in here.
So it's good stuff.
[APPLAUSE]
FEMALE SPEAKER: One more question, one last question.
AUDIENCE: I have a question for Sporting Life, Porgy, and Bess.
Individually, do you think your characters would have liked
to have seen a sequel to Porgy and Bess?
And to Michael, do you know if your Uncle Ira and George, had
he lived, had planned a sequel?
MICHAEL STRUNSKY: Not that I know of.
And I guess emotionally, I would very much doubt it.
They had plenty of other things to do.
[LAUGHTER]
NATHANIEL STAMPLEY: I'll just say, in this day and age now
of prequels, I'm actually more interested in that, this
before story.
And the way that this production is put together,
it really is up to the audience to decide what happens.
And I think that's where, as actors and audience,
we're all in the same room, that's
one point where we all get together.
You decide.
Everyone walks out of the theater with different answers.
So at the stage door, I enjoy to hear
what happens with Porgy and Bess.
ALICIA HALL MORAN: I love this question.
Because you're going to hear our personalities in how
we answer it.
So his idea would make money with before
and a blockbuster after.
And my idea is kind of that it's being presented as a fable,
in a sense, in the original, and in the way it's
been recreated here.
So that just like Diane said, it's
heartbreaking when the young, beautiful couple comes out
for "Summertime" with their baby.
Because you know by the end, and the harlot is holding the baby.
Man, oh, man, that's the cycle-- the baby,
the birth, the birth of something else.
It's going to go well for you, or it's going to go badly.
You kind of get another shot at it the next day
in the next show.
So I think we are, each of us, are everyone.
Not an every man, so much, specifically in the narrative
structure, but like Aesop's Fables, there's no before.
There's no after.
It's its own universe.
You're going to be the dinosaur this time,
and the monkey next time, that kind of idea.
And I know there's no dinosaurs in Aesop's.
Don't get all technical with me.
[LAUGHTER]
KINGLSEY LEGGS: That was awesome.
I agree with Nate.
I think what's extraordinary about this piece is
that it's not wrapped up in a bow at the end.
And it allows everyone to have their own interpretation of,
how does the story end?
How do you think it ends?
How would you like it to end?
And I think that's wonderful for everyone.
I think probably the dying question for everyone is,
does he find her in New York?
Does he make it to New York?
Does he find her in New York?
But I really feel that it's best the way it is.
It's best that we don't know.
I think that goes along with the message and the spirit of what
the piece is.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
And now, the last song we're going to hear today
is Nathaniel and the cast singing,
"I Got Plenty of Nothing."
MICHAEL STRUNSKY: You should know that the next scene is
shortly after Porgy and Bess get together for the first time.
It's morning.
And I'll let the cast take it from there.
[MUSIC - "I GOT PLENTY OF NOTHING"]
[APPLAUSE]
FEMALE SPEAKER: Ladies and gentlemen,
the cast of "Porgy and Bess."
Another round of applause.
Thank you for joining us here at Google.
And thank you guys for joining us, as well.
And thank you for coming.