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Porgy and Bess

Why do we keep returning to an opera with so much that makes us cringe? The happy Negroes singing in the boiling South Carolina sun for the promised land in the afterlife. The flat portrayals of Black people that lack complexity or sufficient exploration of their inner lives. The inaccurate translation of Black Southern dialect. A whole town of men sitting in safety, shelter and silence as Clara charges out in a hurricane to find her husband. The paucity of imagery that affirms the viewer’s identity. The lack of critique over their circumstances.

The answer is love. Simple, powerful, unabashed, beautiful – LOVE!

“Porgy and Bess” succeeds because it is a romantic fantasy. The fanciful love story of crippled Porgy and bad girl Bess compels us with its passion, intensity and directness. We watch and long to be loved with the devotion with which Porgy and Bess love each other. Much of the story is fantastic – love is complicated and love doesn’t make everything right (shucks!). But the romantic orgy that is “Porgy and Bess” with its optimistic lyrics and sweeping music makes you believe love can be as simple and conquering as Porgy and Bess insist it is. On Catfish Row, love triumphs over all. It wins over racial discrimination, poverty and physical disability.

“Porgy and Bess” feeds our hunger for a love that is pure and undiluted. It feeds our desire for passion as deep as theirs. When Porgy and Bess first touch, it is dramatic and affecting. The audience quietly cheers when crippled, womanless Porgy finally gets his girl and embraces and kisses Bess. Whenever they touch, you feel their chemistry. In a complicated world, “Porgy and Bess” represents romantic escapism. The allure of this simple message continues to resonate with audiences.

Porgy and Bess’s clear proclamations of love are welcome in a world of qualified rhetoric. No gender communication gap here. Porgy and Bess, with neither hesitation nor qualification, regularly and directly declare their love. When Bess proclaims to Porgy, “I’’s your woman now/I’s yours forever” she boldly affirms their coupledom and her eternal commitment to her man. Less that was not sufficiently direct, Bess continues, “What I’m sayin’ is with you I’s stayin.” Not to be outdone, Porgy’s love is just as strong. “Mornin’ time/Evenin’ time/Summertime/Wintertime/Bess, you got your man.” He continues, “[w]e is one now.” Who wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of such unqualified statements of love and commitment?

Love seems to conquer all. Bess’s former man, Crown, who is strong, virile and murderous, stands between Porgy and Bess. Miraculously, disabled Porgy manages to get this distraction out of the way –permanently. Love is starting to look like it wears a cape and leaps tall buildings in a single bound. When limping Porgy embarks on his trek from South Carolina to New York City to find Bess after she leaves with Sporting Life, we suspend reality and dare to believe that Porgy will not only reach New York City, but he will reunite with his true love, Bess. Of course, this is absurd! But who doesn’t want someone to walk 1,000 miles for their love? We root for love and a happy ending.

Porgy and Bess aren’t the only ones reminding us how wonderful love can be. The young, hopeful, optimistic love of Jake and Clara reaffirms the theme. Serena Robbins poignantly sings of the depth of her love at her husband’s funeral.

Yes, we squirm but ultimately, love transcends.

- Lauren
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