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| - Perhaps I just shouldn't have gone. Perhaps I'm not an opera/musical fan at all. But, I remember studying Porgy & Bess back in the day, and, quite frankly, "Summertime" is one of my favorite classic songs of all time. So, needless to say, I was excited to go on a free ticket! Many thanks to Yelp and Rachel for organizing this.
The actors seemed to know what they were doing. Some of the vocalists were amazing.
The story and composition, however, bored me so much that I couldn't make it past intermission. I wasn't captivated. I wasn't engaged. Outside of a few songs, the vocals hardly followed any sort of melody. The music was all over the map. This wasn't the fault of the performers - but of the composer. I'm no expert, I probably am not one to judge Gershwin, but at the end of the day I wasn't entertained and was outright not enjoying the show.
Sprinkle the performance with some 30's racism and sexism, you have yourself a wonderfully uncomfortable show to watch. Historic? Yes. Educational? A bit. Enjoyable and entertaining? Hardly. I felt the same way I did when reading The Jungle. It was very important and relevant at the time and got a very important message across to the public that needed to be said. However, experiencing it now, outside of pop context of its time, isn't so enjoyable when watching it as a stand-alone piece.
Leaving before the second act, I felt like a brute for giving up early, but I know my taste and value my time too much to force myself through something just because I feel like I should.
Regarding the venue - the Benedum was absolutely beautiful and classic. Grandiose and impressive! The staff was courteous and professional, and attended to everybody very well.
However, I wasn't happy with the sound amplification, though, as one of the speakers sounded like it was clipping or slightly blown - particularly when the symphony's horns hit certain notes. It ended up sounding like they were playing a recording rather than a live performance. Not exactly what I came to see.
So, in short, I'm afraid I'd be the last one to recommend this musical to a friend.
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