Contact:
Elizabeth Blevins, Director, Office of Communications
Office: (740) 351-3810; FAX: (740) 351-3179; Cell: (740) 464-4854
940 Second Street – Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
E-mail: eblevins@shawnee.edu 
Web site: www.shawnee.edu

            “Porgy and Bess” was first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Heyward.
            It was based on Heyward's novel “Porgy” and the play of the same name which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward. All three works deal with African American life in the fictitious Catfish Row based on the real-life Cabbage Row in Charleston, South Carolina, in the early 1920s.
            Originally conceived by Gershwin as an American folk opera, “Porgy and Bess” premiered in New York in the fall of 1935 and featured an entire cast of classically trained African-American singers – a daring choice at the time.
            The Gershwins’ “Porgy and Bess” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at Shawnee State University’s Vern Riffe Center for the Arts on its 75th Anniversary Tour.
            The Michael Capasso production, directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, has brought this American classic to audiences in cities big and small in the United States and around the world.
            It has been performed live in more than 1,000 shows in 17 different countries on six continents, including 49 of the fifty United States, reaching a total audience of more than 1.5 million people. Gershwin considered it his finest work.
            As a cultural icon, the original cast recording was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress, National Recording Registry in 2003. The board makes selections on an annual basis that are "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."
            “Porgy and Bess” tells the story of Porgy, a handicapped black man living in the slums of Charleston, South Carolina and his attempts to rescue Bess from the clutches of her violent and possessive lover. It is a drama and a love story of true operatic proportions.
            The musical is part of the Southern Ohio Performing Arts Association Broadway Series sponsored by Southern Ohio Medical Center.
            Tickets may be purchased at the McKinley Box Office at the Vern Riffe Center or at www.sopaa.org or any Ticketmaster outlet. Group, family and student discounts are available. For more information, e-mail boxoffice@vrcfa.org or call (740) 351-3600.
            A free “Annie” coin purse is available at the box office when showing a ticket to “Annie” and purchasing a ticket to the Moscow Festival Ballet’s “Swan Lake” scheduled for Thursday, April 8 at the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts. Supplies are limited.