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Title: 'On My Way'
Subtitle: The Untold Story of Rouben Mamoulian, George Gershwin, and Porgy and Bess
Author: Joseph Horowitz
Narrator: Stephen Bel Davies
Format: Unabridged
Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
Language: English
Release date: 10-08-13
Publisher: Audible Studios
Ratings: 2 of 5 out of 1 votes
Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music
Publisher's Summary:
A revelatory history of the operatic masterpiece that both made and destroyed Rouben Mamoulian, its director and unsung hero. "Bring my goat!" Porgy exclaims in the final scene of Gershwins opera Porgy and Bess. Bess, whom he loves, has left for New York City, and hes determined to find her. When his request is met with astonishment - New York is a great distance from South Carolinas Catfish Row - Porgy remains undaunted. He mounts his goat-cart and leads the community in an ecstatic finale, "Oh Lawd, Im on my way."
Stephen Sondheim has called "Bring my goat!" "one of the most moving moments in musical theater history." For years it was assumed that DuBose Heyward - the author of the seminal novella and subsequent play, Porgy, and later the librettist for the opera Porgy and Bess - penned this historic line. In fact, both it and "Oh Lawd, I'm on my way" were added to the play eight years earlier by that productions unheralded architect: Rouben Mamoulian.
Porgy and Bess as we know it would not exist without the contributions of this master director. Culling new information from the recently opened Mamoulian Archives at the Library of Congress, award-winning author Joseph Horowitz shows that, more than anyone else, Mamoulian took Heyward's vignette of a regional African-American subculture and transformed it into an epic theater work, a universal parable of suffering and redemption. Part biography, part revelatory history, On My Way re-creates Mamoulian's visionary style on stage and screen, his collaboration with George Gershwin, and the genesis of the opera that changed the face of American musical life.
Members Reviews:
Rouben Mamoulin Gets Credit!!!
This is great story of the history of Porgy and Bess and all who were part of that
original production.
The author gives much credit to the director Rouben Mamoulin and his part in the growth of the production from its early stages as a play to its rise as a full operatic production.
This is a good history on the history of African-American performers and their
struggles as serious performers of opera
and theater performers.
The author continues with the later troubled film version of the work.
The director is the star of this book.
Heartbreaker
Sounded like it would be thrilling but it was really very few facts and points of view that are repeated endlessly.
The only truly worthwhile aspect was to have the entire "sound" opening of Act 3 transcribed.
Needed more Mamoulian and less Gershwin. Anyone who would buy this book
is likely to know EVERYTHING that he writes about Gershwin. wait until the price is very low and only if you are really interested.
Fascinating
Wonderful book about Mamoulian, Broadway, Hollywood, many notable characters and, of course, Gershwin. It may need some careful editing in that it becomes quite redundant at times, but I recommend it for fans of Gershwin and "Porgy" in particular.
A New Perspactive
Somewhat academic but fascinatingly detailed slant on the Mamoulian/Gershwin connection and collaboration as well as insights into their separate careers and impacts on American theatre and music.
A bit too academic for my taste
âOn My Wayâ: the Untold Story of Rouben Mamoulian, George Gershwin, and Porgy and Bessâ is a curious book.
