Entertainment

Race to see if ‘Porgy’ is a Gershwinner

The creators of the upcoming Broadway revival of “Porgy and Bess” — still raw from the bucket of acid Stephen Sondheim doused them with the other week — are bracing for more potential troublemakers: critics.

Sondheim’s letter to the Times, in which he mocked director Diane Paulus and playwright Suzan-Lori Parks‘ scheme to revamp George and Ira Gershwin’s great opera, has turned the production into a news event some critics can’t ignore.

Disregarding the longstanding tradition of not reviewing out-of-town tryouts, several critics from New York and other cities are heading to Boston next week to weigh in.

Among those taking seats — aisle seats, of course — on the Acela will be Ben Brantley of the Times, Richard Zoglin of Time, Peter Marks of the Washington Post, Jeremy Gerard of Bloomberg.com and Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune.

This may well be the first time major critics will review the tryout of a show bound for Broadway.

Now titled “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” it begins previews Dec. 17 at the Richard Rodgers.

“I guess there are no longstanding traditions anymore,” says Jeffrey Richards, the show’s lead producer. “This is one way to keep ‘Spider-Man’ off the entertainment pages.”

Production sources say Paulus and the cast, which includes Tony winner Audra McDonald, knew that once Sondheim stirred the pot, critics would follow.

“This is an ambitious project, and they’d rather not be interrupted,” says a source. “But they recognize that the Sondheim letter sparked a controversy. There’s nothing they can do.”

Sondheim took issue with the addition of “The Gershwins” in the title, pointing out that some of the best lyrics were written by DuBose Heyward. He also ridiculed Paulus’ and Parks’ assertion that the characters were underwritten.

Paulus and Parks were “shocked” by Sondheim’s attack, sources say, but decided not to take him on in a public way.

Gerard, of Bloomberg, says the Sondheim controversy isn’t the only reason he’s reviewing the show.

“I think that when a show is being put together by talent such as the talent involved in ‘Porgy and Bess’ — a very high-profile director, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, several of the most acclaimed performers on the Broadway stage — critics should worry about serving their readers and not the producers.”

Gerard was the first critic to crash “Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark,” which was in previews for about decade.

He says he’ll be reviewing other high-profile shows out of town, even if they’ve announced Broadway runs.

“In the 1930s and ’40s and ’50s, you didn’t have the kind of instant communication that you have today. I understand that shows are being worked on, but I think major critics should be involved in the conversation.”

Not every major critic is going.

Says The Post’s Elisabeth Vincentelli: “Much as I’d like a trip to Cambridge, I will wait to see Diane Paulus’ take on ‘Porgy and Bess’ — sorry, ‘The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess’ — when it comes to Broadway at the end of the year.

“I wish I could criss-cross the country every time a director opens his or her big mouth — especially now that news and controversies come up at the speed of light — but it’s just not possible.”

A veteran publicist says those critics rushing to Boston are grandstanding.

“They’re increasingly irrelevant, so they’re looking for ways to be noticed,” he says.

“I think you can pull a David Merrick and mess with them,” he adds, referring to the legendary producer who enjoyed baiting critics.

“You can take your leading lady out the night they’re there, or refuse to give them photographs. But the old rules are gone. If they’re going to go, there’s not a lot you can do.”

michael.riedel@nypost.com