Norm Lewis and David Alan Grier to Join Audra McDonald in Boston Porgy and Bess

Broadway vets Norm Lewis and David Alan Grier will join previously announced star Audra McDonald in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA. Lewis and McDonald will play the show’s title characters, while Grier takes on the role of drug dealer Sportin’ Life. Performances will begin on August 17, directed by Tony nominee Diane Paulus (Hair); further casting will be announced at a later date.

A.R.T. Artistic Director Paulus, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Suzan-Lori Parks and two-time Obie winner Diedre Murray have joined together to create The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, described as a re-imaginating of the seminal opera, featuring music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward (based on Porgy by Heyward and his wife Dorothy). The show includes such classics as "Summertime," "Bess, You Is My Woman Now," "I Got Plenty o' Nothin" and "It Ain't Necessarily So." Originally conceived as an American folk opera, it tells the story of Porgy, who lives in the slums of Charleston, South Carolina, and his attempts to rescue Bess from the clutches of Crown, her pimp, and Sportin' Life, a drug dealer. The creative team of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess was charged by the Gershwin Trusts and the Heyward Trust to create a version with a unique identity as a musical.

Lewis recently played Javert in Les Miserables at London's West End, a role he also played on Broadway. Other Broadway roles include Sondheim on Sondheim The Little Mermaid, Chicago, Side Show and Miss Saigon, The Wild Party, Amour and the original cast of Tommy. Film and television credits include Sex and the City 2, Preaching to the Choir, Confidences, Mystery Woman and Cosby.

Grier, known for his stints on TV comedy shows like In Living Color and Comedy Central’s Chocolate News, was most recently seen on Broadway in David Mamet’s Race, for which he earned his second Tony nomination. He was previously nominated for his role in The First, and has also been seen in Broadway’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Dreamgirls.

The show’s creative team also includes choreographer Ronald K. Brown, set designer Riccardo Hernandez, costume designer Emilio Sosa, lighting designer Christopher Akerlind and sound by Acme Sound Partners.

There has been no official mention of a Broadway transfer for Porgy and Bess, though McDonald hinted to Broadway.com that a move to the Great White Way is a possibility.