Peruse Early Draft of PORGY & BESS Showstopper 'Summertime'

One of the most classic American musical pieces of all time can be viewed in an early draft thanks to a social media post from the current tour of THE GERSHWINS' PORGY & BESS byway of a script sample containing "Summertime".

Hand-written notes accompany the type-written text of the scripted scene, highlighted by the lilting lullaby with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Hayward.

"Yo'" becomes "Oh", "open" turns to "spread" and other seemingly minor alterations are visible in the pencil markings present.

Plus, a somewhat more important switch in the guise of the ordering of "mammy and daddy" - or, in this instance, the reverse!

The official description of the new national tour of THE GERSHWINS' PORGY & BESS is as follows: "See what Time Magazine exclaims is, "A don't miss theatre event! The #1 Broadway musical of the year." Winner of the 2012 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess is hitting the road in a stunning and stirring new staging, including such legendary songs as "Summertime," "It Ain't Necessarily So," and "I Got Plenty of Nothing." The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess features one of Broadway's most accomplished creative teams, led by Tony-winning director Diane Paulus (Hair), Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog), and two-time Obie Award-winning composer DIEDRE L. Murray (Running Man), bringing George and Ira Gershwin's legendary masterwork to the Broadway stage for the first time in more than 35 years. Praised by the New Yorker as, "A great achievement!" and hailed by the Associated Press as, "a Gorgeous version of the Gershwin masterpiece," the classic story of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess is set in Charleston's fabled Catfish Row, where the beautiful Bess struggles to break free from her scandalous past, and the only one who can rescue her is the courageous Porgy. Threatened by her formidable former lover Crown, and the seductive enticements of the colorful troublemaker Sporting Life, Porgy and Bess' relationship evolves into a deep romance that triumphs as one of theater's most exhilarating love stories."

More information on the national tour of THE GERSHWINS' PORGY & BESS is available at the official site here.

View the image of the "Summertime" script page from the Library of Congress below.

Photo Credit: Facebook