Nunn Brings Reworked Porgy and Bess to London's Savoy on November 9

Trevor Nunn is bringing a new version of Porgy and Bess to London. The director's reworked take on the 1935 opera is set to open at London's Savoy Theatre on November 9, following previews from October 25.

Porgy and Bess, which features music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward based on Porgy by Heyward and his wife Dorothy, 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.

Nunn has adapted the four-hour piece into a two-and-a-half-hour musical; the music was adapted by Gareth Valentine. Nunn, whose most recent work on the London stage was helming Tom Stoppard's Rock ‘n' Roll, previously directed the full-length Porgy and Bess for Glyndebourne Opera in 1993, with a cast led by Willard White and Cynthia Haymon. No casting has been announced for the London production yet, but a 60-strong company, featuring 40 in the cast and a 20-piece orchestra, is promised.

Budgeted at £3m, it is co-produced by a conglomerate of mostly American producers—Richard Frankel, Tom Viertel, Steven Baruch, Marc Routh and Tulbart productions—working with Howard Panter for Ambassador Theatre Group.

According to a report in The New York Times, Viertel has said that the producers are planning on taking Porgy and Bess to Broadway during the 2007-2008 season, though no dates have been set yet.