Ronald K. Brown on the dance of "Porgy and Bess"

80 years ago, George Gershwin walked along the shore of an island near Charleston, S.C., to find inspiration for his next opera.

That coast is the setting for "Porgy and Bess," which opened in 1935, a year after that South Carolina walk. The story and music Gershwin created with his brother Ira and writer DuBose Hayward eventually became an enduring, if controversial, part of the American musical cannon.

The latest stage adaptation — called "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess" — opens tonight at the Ordway in St. Paul, Minn. The adaptation won a Tony Award for "best musical revival" in 2012. The show features modern-day updates to the story, the music and the dancing.

Renowned dancer Ronald K. Brown signed on as choreographer even though he'd never seen "Porgy and Bess" before. But, it so happened, he had walked those same Carolina beaches as George Gershwin.

Brown, an accomplished dancer, founder of Evidance Dance Company in New York, and choreographer spoke with MPR News' Tom Crann about the musical, which will be playing in St. Paul through March 30.

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