Alicia Hall Moran and Nathaniel Stampley to Headline Porgy and Bess National Tour

Alicia Hall Moran and Nathaniel Stampley are headed to Catfish Row as the title stars of the national tour of Porgy and Bess. Scheduled to kick off this fall, the tour will play cities including Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, Charlotte, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Des Moines, Tampa, Las Vegas, Cleveland, West Palm Beach, Tempe and St. Paul, with additional stops to be announced. 

Set in Charleston’s fabled Catfish Row, Porgy and Bess follows beautiful Bess (Hall Moran) as she struggles to break free from her scandalous past, and the crippled but courageous Porgy (Stampley). The revised production of the classic Gershwin opera features the famous songs "Summertime," "Bess, You Is My Woman Now," "I Got Plenty o' Nothin" and "It Ain't Necessarily So."

The Diane Paulus-helmed revival opened at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre on January 12, 2012 and ran for 293 performances. The production picked up the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical as well as a trophy for leading lady Audra McDonald.

Moran served as the alternate Bess during Porgy and Bess' Broadway run. She has also toured the country with her cabaret act The Motown Project. Stampley appeared as Robbins in Porgy and Bess' Broadway mounting. His other Broadway credits include The Color Purple and The Lion King, and he toured with Ragtime.