Featuring a cast of African Americans at the insistence of its authors—a decision unusual for its time—the original production starred Frank Wilson, Evelyn Ellis, Jack Carter, and Rose McClendon.

The play tells the story of Porgy, a disabled black beggar who lives in the slums of Charleston, South Carolina.

It relates his efforts to rescue Bess, the woman he loves, from Crown, her violent and possessive lover, and a drug dealer called Sporting Life.

[3] Porgy was one of a number of works portraying black life written by white authors, but it was infused with human understanding at a time that such an approach was new.

[9] After a total of 55 weeks in New York, all of the original principal cast members of Porgy toured the nation once again, performing from October 14, 1929,[8] into January 1930.