Dan Cirucci: Gershwins' 'Porgy' Coming To A City Near You

Friday, October 11, 2013

Gershwins' 'Porgy' Coming To A City Near You

The National Tour of THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS, winner of the 2012 Tony Award® for Best Musical Revival, announces the complete cast for the tour launch at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theatre this November with rehearsals starting Monday, Oct 14 in New York City. The tour, accompanied by a 23-piece orchestra, will begin performances Sunday, Nov. 10 with an official opening on Wednesday, Nov. 13.

Joining previously announced ALICIA HALL MORAN as Bess and NATHANIEL STAMPLEY as Porgy will be ALVIN CRAWFORD as Crown, KINGSLEY LEGGS as Sporting Life, SUMAYYA ALI as Clara, DENISHA BALLEW as Serena, DANIELLE LEE GREAVES as Mariah, and DAVID HUGHEY as Jake.

“Every so often a project comes along that is so astonishing that one has to drop everything and just say I’m going to do it. That’s what I felt when I was asked to do The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” said Tony Award®-winning director DIANE PAULUS. “The epic sweep of the story, the immense history of the musical itself and the unforgettable Gershwin score, highlighted by ‘Summertime,’ ‘I Got Plenty of Nothing’ and ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’ make this unquestionably one of the greatest American masterpieces.”

The tour will travel to over 20 cities in its first season, including:

THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS 2013-2014 Touring Route

San Francisco, CA 11/10/13 - 12/8/13 The Golden Gate Theatre

Dallas, TX 12/10/13 - 12/22/13 Winspear Opera House

Washington, DC 12/25/13-12/29/13 The National Theatre

West Palm Beach, FL 1/7/14 - 1/12/14 Kravis Center for the Perf. Arts

Tampa, FL 1/14/14 - 1/19/14 Straz Center for the Perf. Arts

Naples, FL 1/21/14-1/26/14 Artis—Naples

Greenville, SC 1/28/14 - 2/2/14 The Peace Center

Cleveland, OH 2/4/14 - 2/16/14 PlayhouseSquare

Philadelphia, PA 2/18/14 - 2/23/14 Academy of Music

Pittsburgh, PA 2/25/14 - 3/2/14 Benedum Center

Detroit, MI 3/4/14 - 3/9/14 The Opera House

Buffalo, NY 3/11/14 - 3/16/14 Shea’s Performing Arts Center

East Lansing, MI 3/18/14 - 3/23/14 Wharton Center

St. Paul, MN 3/25/14 - 3/30/14 Ordway Center

Des Moines, IA 4/1/14 - 4/6/14 Des Moines Civic Center

Las Vegas, NV 4/15/14 - 4/20/14 The Smith Center

Los Angeles, CA 4/22/14 - 6/1/14 Ahmanson Theatre

Tempe, AZ 6/3/14 - 6/8/14 ASU Gammage

Seattle, WA 6/11/14 - 6/29/14 The 5th Avenue Theatre

Charlotte, NC 7/15/14 - 7/20/14 The Belk Theatre

THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS by GEORGE GERSHWIN, DUBOSE and DOROTHY HEYWARD, and IRA GERSHWIN, features one of Broadway’s most accomplished creative teams, led by Tony Award®-winning director DIANE PAULUS (Pippin, Hair), Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright SUZAN-LORI PARKS (Topdog/Underdog), and two-time Obie Award-winning composer DIEDRE L. MURRAY(Running Man). The creative team also includes choreographer RONALD K. BROWN, set designer RICCARDO HERNANDEZ, costume designer ESOSA, lighting designer CHRISTOPHER AKERLIND, sound designer ACME SOUND PARTNERS, music supervisor CONSTANTINE KITSOPOULOUS, and music director/conductor DALE RIELING.

Based on DuBose Heyward's novel “Porgy” and the play of the same name, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward, the Broadway revival of THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS is a stunning and stirring new staging with a magnificent 23-piece orchestra, including such legendary songs as “Summertime,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” and “I Got Plenty of Nothing.” The classic story is set in Charleston’s fabled Catfish Row, where the beautiful Bess struggles to break free from her scandalous past, and the only one who can rescue her is the courageous Porgy. Threatened by her formidable former lover Crown, and the seductive enticements of the colorful troublemaker Sporting Life, Porgy and Bess’ relationship evolves into a deep romance that triumphs as one of theater’s most exhilarating love stories.

Before presenting the world premiere production of THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS during its 2011/12 season the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University first produced the groundbreaking immersive theater event Sleep No More in an empty school in Brookline, MA and developed Once the Musical in its club theater venue OBERON. This past season the A.R.T. went on to mount the world premiere engagements of the 2013 Tony Award®-winning revival of Pippin and the critically acclaimed, upcoming Broadway revival of The Glass Menagerie starring Cherry Jones, Zachary Quinto, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Brian J. Smith. Following its sold-out engagement at A.R.T., THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS moved to the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway for a limited engagement with an official opening on January 12, 2012. After extending the show twice, THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS closed on September 23, 2012 after 322 performances, making it the longest running production of THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS to ever play Broadway. The 2012 Broadway Cast Recording of THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS is now available on PS Classics.

PORGY AND BESS first premiered at the Colonial Theatre in Boston on September 30, 1935. Broadway performances followed featuring a cast of classically trained African-American singers — a daring and visionary artistic choice at the time. This new adaptation of THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS was specifically created for Broadway and features a revised book in a musical theatre format and jazz-oriented musical arrangements.

For more information, please visit www.porgyandbessthemusical.com

For more information or to purchase the 2012 Broadway Cast Recording, visit http://www.psclassics.com/

Or Follow at:

http://facebook.com/TheGershwinsPorgyandBessNationalTour

http://youtube.com/PorgyandBessTour

http://twitter.com/PorgyBessTour

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About Dan Cirucci

He's been cited by the late Rush Limbaugh, quoted in the New York Times, featured at Real Clear Politics and Lucianne.com and interviewed across all media.

He's Dan Cirucci, the founder and editor-in chief of the Dan Cirucci Blog, a Save Jersey blog columnist, frequent guest on the Matt Rooney radio show and one of the most widely honored public relations professionals in his field. He's also been a public relations consultant to numerous organizations and individuals and hosted The Advocates on RVN-TV.

Inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Hall of Fame, for many years he served as a Lecturer in Corporate Communication at Penn State University. A former President of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) he has lectured at Rowan University, Temple University, The College of New Jersey and Arcadia University. He has conducted workshops on public relations for thousands of participants throughout the nation and has taught countless others the art of public speaking. He has also advised numerous lawyers, judges, public officials and political candidates.

Cirucci is a prolific writer and his op-ed pieces have appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Courier-Post, Broad and Liberty and other print and online platforms.

A native of Camden NJ, Cirucci is a former President of the Philadelphia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Cirucci served as Associate Executive Director of the Philadelphia Bar Association for nearly 30 years. He served as Chair of Penn State University's Professional Advisory Board for the Corporate Communication major at Penn State Abington and on the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Judicial Selection Commission.

He received his MA degree from Rowan University and his BA from Villanova University. He has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Rowan's public relations program and received the E. A. "Wally" Richter Leadership Award, the highest honor from the National Association of Bar Executives' Communications Section. He has also been honored by numerous other local, state and national groups.

In his hometown of Camden, Cirucci taught fifth grade at the Ulysses Wiggins Elementary School named for the founder of the Camden NAACP. There he was one of the first teachers in the country to teach African-American history to inner city students. He later served as editor of a local weekly newspaper, as Assistant to the Township Manager of Cherry Hill Township and as Associate Director of Communications at the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Cirucci's passions include all things Italian, politics, the popular culture, books and authors, art, communication, music, theatre, movies, dining and travel.

He and his wife Carole have two grown children and seven grandchildren.

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