Show Strong Vocals Carry Porgy and Bess Alicia Sotuyo Staff Writer CATFISH Row is a small Black poverty stricken community in the located in Charleston SC The residents throughout the three- three hour Broadway musical sing of t their woes and delights in Porgy and Bess The two feature roles were of Porgy and Bess who came together together together to to- gether out of convenience and hardship Soon they learn to love and appreciate each other as they try to put other problems aside While an ex-boyfriend ex Crown tries to retrieve Bess Porgy must deal with his disability and find another another another an an- other strength His legs are crippled and he must use a cart to move around which makes protecting Bess difficult Bess a lover of the night life cant can't deal with the problems of Catfish Catfish Catfish Cat Cat- fish Row in the end Insensitively she leaves Porgy and runs nuns off with an old wild friend mend to New York The musical ends with a determined determined determined deter deter- mined Porgy leaving the slum to togo togo togo go find Bess in the Big Apple This was a soul-filled soul performance performance performance mance full of color and strong voices Because this is a long musical musical musical musi musi- cal it could have easily become boring The strong voices and music kept the entire performance exciting and stimulating The costumes were accurate of how one would imagine early southern lifestyles of these people but they also were the weak point in this production Bess wore a flashy low-cut low dress in the beginning and end of the play which was appropriate ate for her part But it wasn't necessary for her cleavage to be present and hanging out to add to her character It was distracting distracting distracting distract distract- ing not only to the audience but butI I noticed a few male actors frequently frequently frequently fre fre- fre- fre took notice Something else that didn't fit fitin fitin fitin in and was diverting was that one of the characters had on a huge gold and diamond ring It could be seen flashing and glimmering from the seats I dont don't understand how this was possible in this poverty poverty poverty pov pov- erty setting Maybe the actress should have considered taking her jewelry off Overall this a sad story which climaxes and climaxes anti-climaxes many times without a happy ending The cast and scenery helped portrayed this well The songs were exciting and sorrow filled The music pulled listeners into Catfish Row Rowand and helped them feel the residents af of fictions The role of Porgy was played by Brian Gibson Andre Solomon- Solomon Glover and William Marshall The Therole Therole Therole role of Bess was played by Elizabeth Graham Roberta Laws Claudette McCamo and Vanessa Stewart Directing was Will Roberson and musical directing was by David Stahl Only playing two performances at the Capital Theater Porgy and Bess was a special treat and a good opportunity to an original American Ameri Ameri- can folk-filled folk musical |