Skip to content
Emerson Colonial Theatre

Emerson Colonial Theatre Official Blog

Porgy and Bess

The World Premiere of the seminal opera Porgy and Bess opened at the Colonial this week in 1935. Written by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, and DuBose Heyward, the unshakeable love story between a crippled beggar and a beautiful yet haunted woman introduced classics into the great American Songbook including “Summertime,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” and “I Loves You, Porgy”. 

Pictured: Todd Duncan and Anne Wiggins Brown as the titular roles.