Going To Porgy and Bess

Dear folks;

I do not usually blog about shows I see at the Flynn Center, here  in Burlington (flynncenter.org).  However, I have seen two shows recently that I have been thinking about, and trying to frame in terms of the work I do, not only my work in Bangladesh and India, but also here in the U.S. At the outset, I am impressed with the Flynn for bringing these shows. They are doing a great service.

The first show was amazing. The program was an evening of dance by GIMP, a group of disabled dancers from Europe and the States who travel great distances to rehearse and perform. GIMP created dance that looked at issues surrounding being disabled in an able-bodied world.  Using text and dance, they wove an evocative and stunning piece that explored visible disability. Following the performance, at a Q and A, members of the company described how hard it was for the company to find places to present the piece, and to get funding to develop it further. They spoke to the fact that many other dancers, and others in the dance world, don’t consider the dancers in GIMP to be serious dancers.

Most recently (last Wednesday) my husband and I went to see  the National tour of Porgy and Bess.  The current production honors the 75th anniversary of the original.  Porgy and Bess is based on a book written in 1934. The novel, which reflects the lives of black people  in South Carolina, was transformed into an opera in 1935 by the Gershwins. But the piece was much more than a folksy opera! The Gershwins were making a statement for their time!

With great intention, and courage, George and Ira Gershwin created an opera that had the first all Black cast (save for the one white role which was stereotyped as the police officer that overlooked the town), that looked deeply at issues of poverty (noting that poor whites don’t fair much better in some ways than poor blacks), as well as race, drugs and disability.

In this performance the music was wonderful. The singing was marvelous (although there seemed to be some sound technicalities which the Flynn needs to work on). The set was beautiful.

The actor who played Porgy was a wonderful singer, coupling a strong voice with a great stage presence. But wait!  He didn’t appear (to me anyway) to have a physical disability, even though the character of Porgy is visibly disabled.  In this production he seemed to remember Porgy’s disability intermittently. At times , the actor got it, at other times it seemed Porgy’s disability was somewhat secondary to the plot (rather than essential); a few times Porgy’s disability disappeared altogether.

I left the performance struck by the show and the music, and also wondering “aren’t there any good black disabled singers out there?” There must be! Why didn’t the casting director (and mind you this is 2010, NOT 1935) LOOK for a black singer with a disability? Maybe I am living in the clouds when I say this, but I feel that at this point, in 2010, in the United States, we  should be able to approach each other and look at each other as people with different abilities. I truly believe that there is a good black singer who happens to need a wheelchair or crutches. I do believe that those who are differently abled can create beautiful art and be recognized for this.

The casting choices made for this show serve to distract from the opera’s  unconcern with disability. By refusing to stay in character, the actor playing Porgy encouraged the audience to forget that people with disabilities often have to do a lot just to exist –  just to be. Many of us have disabilities that might not be so obvious.  For others, (like Porgy who uses a hand made cart for mobility) people who use crutches or wheelchairs for example, the disability is evident. This visual display of disability often causes avoidance from those not disabled. (We can imagine their internal thoughts and questions. “How do I approach this person?” “What do I say?” ” What happened to this person?”) Often, the net result of visible disability is that persons with such disabilities are and feel isolated, and often misunderstood.

When I travel to Third World countries, disability surrounds me. Lack of physical access is everywhere a challenge for the disabled, for those who care for them, and often, for those who are able bodied as well. There, just as in Porgy and Bess, people sit on handmade carts in order to have the option of some mobility. Others utilize handmade crutches. Most have very little social support. In India and Bangladesh, where the struggle for civil and disability rights is only beginning, I am called on to aid in whatever ways I can.

After seeing Porgy and Bess this week, I realize that the show’s themes (as are those of GIMP) are still relevant to life in the U.S., even AFTER the Civil Rights era, AFTER Desegregation, and AFTER laws to support and protect those with disabilities. It seems that even though the States has made many strides in the past 75 years, there is still much work to be done. Underneath the facade of wealth and openness, there is still  the de facto racial segregation, there is still overwhelming poverty , and  there is still discrimination against people with disabilities. Porgy and Bess remains not only relevant, but current.

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