The Strange Career of Porgy and Bess
Race, Culture, and America's Most Famous Opera
Ellen Noonan
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Published: 12/2012
Pages: 440
Subject: Performing Arts, Music, Social Science
| University of North Carolina
Print ISBN: 9.78E+12
eBook ISBN: 9780807837337
DESCRIPTION
For black performers and commentators, Porgy and Bess was a nexus for debates about cultural representation and racial uplift. White producers, critics, and even audiences spun revealing racial narratives around the show, initially in an attempt to demonstrate its authenticity and later to keep it from becoming discredited or irrelevant. Expertly weaving together the wide-ranging debates over the original novel, Porgy, and its adaptations on stage and film with a history of its intimate ties to Charleston, The Strange Career of "Porgy and Bess" uncovers the complexities behind one of our nation's most long-lived cultural touchstones.