The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) has announced that Audra McDonald has been cast to play Bess in the A.R.T.'s new production of Porgy and Bess. Also in the cast are Norm Lewis, who performed in last year's Sondheim on Sondheim, as Porgy and David Alan Grier as Sportin' Life. Performances will begin August 17 at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Further casting will be announced at a later date.

The Gershwins' seminal American opera Porgy and Bess is being re-imagined by A.R.T.'s Artistic Director Diane Paulus, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Suzan-Lori Parks, and two-time Obie winner Diedre Murray. The creative team was charged by the Gershwin Trusts and the Heyward Trust to create a version with a unique identity as a musical. The team also includes choreographer Ronald K. Brown, set designer Riccardo Hernandez, costume designer Emilio Sosa, Tony Award-winning lighting designer Christopher Akerlind, sound by Acme Sound Partners, and casting by Telsey + Company.  This production of the Gershwins' Porgy and Bess will be presented in association with Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel.

For more information, visit americanrepertorytheater.org.

In other news, Audra McDonald will join Liev Schreiber to announce the nominations for the 56th Annual Drama Desk Awards on the morning of May 2 at the New York Friars Club in Manhattan. For more information, visit dramadesk.com.