“PORGY AND BESS” COMING TO
MARY McLEOD BETHUNE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

  DAYTONA BEACH , FLA – The American masterpiece, Porgy and Bess, kicks-off the Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center’s inaugural 2003-2004 season on Friday, November 14 at 8 p.m. as the facility hosts its first outside production.  Backed by a 34-piece orchestra, this national touring production includes a cast drawn from some of the nation’s leading opera companies.

The center’s first season also includes B.B. King on January 4, Spirit of the Dance on January 10, the Boy’s Choir of Harlem on February 22, Lincoln Center’s Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra on March 21 and the Concord Jazz Festival, featuring Diane Schuur, Karrin Allyson, Curtis Stigers, on April 29.

Created in 1935 as a “Folk Opera,”  “Porgy and Bess is recognized as a masterpiece, entwining pride, prejudice, pathos, and passion through a jazz and blues influenced score by George and Ira Gershwin. Based on the DuBose Hayward novel set in Charleston's famed Catfish Row, the boundary-breaking musical drama features Gershwin classics such as Summertime, I Got Plenty O' Nuttin', and It Ain't Necessarily So.

Since 1992, the Peter Klein/Living Arts, Inc. production has performed over 700 shows on five continents to standing ovations and worldwide acclaim. Samuel Clark Stevenson stars as Porgy and soprano Jerri Cates portrays Bess.

Tickets are $19, $29, and $39 and can purchased beginning October 28 at: The Ocean Center Box Office, 101 N. Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays (386-254-4545) or the B-CC Cashier's Office, 640 Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Blvd from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays (386 481-2228). Tickets can also purchased through Ticketmaster by calling (407) 839-3900 or visiting http://www.ticketmaster.com