I can see why people were offended by the story (and I had no idea that drug use was central to the plot), but considering a lot of stuff produced during that era. Was it too operatic (especially the 1935 production) for theater-going audiences of the 1930s? Was the all-black cast a turn-off? It doesn't appear that the 1935 Broadway production was very successful, nor was the 1942 revival, but if I am wrong please set me straight. (I also plan to watch some staged versions of the opera, and maybe the 1959 film version.)
I'm a big fan of jazz and so know several of the songs from Porgy and Bess, but knew very little about the plot, so I decided to read DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy.
