Audra McDonald Leads ART's PORGY AND BESS in Aug.

The Hartford Courant has confirmed that Audra McDonald will lead a new production of Porgy and Bess at A.R.T.  A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus confirmed the news in a recent interview. According to the report, performances will begin in August at the Loeb Drama Center as the first show of the new season at the American Repertory Theater.

According to the report: "The formal announcement will be made this week, she says, with -- hopefully -- additional casting, but it all depends on where contract negotiations are at the time. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks ("Topdog/Underdog") and musician Diedre Murray are creating the new production with Paulus. Previews begin Aug. 17. Press night is slated for Aug. 31."

McDonald will no longer be participating in Broadway on the High Seas cruise by Regent Seven Seas Cruises, on which she had been scheduled to perform from September 13 through September 23.

McDonald currently stars in the ABC television drama Private Practice as Dr. Naomi Bennett. She has appeared on stage in Ragtime and A Raisin in the Sun. She maintains an active concert and recording career, performing song cycles and operas as well as performing in concert throughout the US. She has won the Tony Award four times and Grammy Award twice.