By Virginia Fritzsch, Local Government Records Archivist

This year as I was watching the "Tony Awards", the award for Best Revival of a Musical made me wonder if the Wisconsin Historical Society had any collections relating to any of the plays or musicals nominated. I searched the Archives catalog and found two collections related to the musical “Porgy and Bess,” which is often referred to as the first American opera.

I headed into the stacks to look at the collections and see what information they might hold about the musical. What I found was even more interesting than I expected. Within the first collection, the N. Richard Nash Papers, I found the complete script of the original 1935 "Porgy and Bess" musical play (a play interspersed with song). Richard Nash was a writer for stage, screen and television. He wrote the screenplay for the 1959 movie version of "Porgy and Bess" starring Sidney Poitier. Nash’s papers included annotations of the original 1935 script and various drafts that culminated into the final version used in the 1959 movie. It was really neat to follow the progression of his drafts beginning with the original 1935 play and to gain insight into the creative process.

In the Charles and Theodora Codman collection of George Gershwin materials, I found an autographed copy of the original vocal score. Now I could compare that vocal score to the recent Broadway revival. This begged the question — how did Charles Codman get the autographed copy of the original vocal score? Codman was born in Boston as part of an old, notable, and wealthy New England family. Charles had many friends and contacts in the New York celebrity world during the 1930s and 1940s. I suspect that’s how he collected the Gershwin materials. Charles and Theodora donated them to the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR) in 1963.

It was so cool to think that George Gershwin touched the same papers I was now holding in my hands. More than that, when he handled those papers, he had no idea whether "Porgy and Bess" would be a success or a failure. He certainly couldn't have anticipated it would become a classic American musical, be revived some 75 years later, and then be nominated for a Tony Award for best revival.

It was really exciting for me to touch these papers and you can touch these American treasures, too. You can easily access the collections related to "Porgy and Bess" at the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Image 1

Caption: Cover of the original 1935 script of 'Porgy and Bess.' Part of the N. Richard Nash Papers 1915-2000, call number: U.S. Mss 41AN, Box 34.

 

Image 2

Caption: Letter from the office of Samuel Goldwyn regarding suggested changes to the script for 'Porgy and Bess.' The letter mentions Langston Hughes and the possibility of him contributing editing suggestions to the script. The letter is available in the Archives under call number: U.S. Mss 41AN, box 34.

Image 3

Caption: Cover of the complete 'Porgy and Bess' score. Available in the Archives, call number: SC 1300.

 

 Image 4

 

Caption: Complete 'Porgy and Bess' score autographed by George Gershwin. Available in the Archives, call number SC 1300.