The New Yorker, October 20, 1956 P. 38
ONWARD & UPWARD WITH THE ARTS about accompanying the cast of "Porgy and Bess" on its trip from West Berlin to Leningrad. It had been accepted as a fact that the Russians had invited "Porgy and Bess" to tour their country, but the truth of the matter is that the opera had invited itself. The producers had counted on the State Department to back the venture, an undertaking that would cost $150,000. The State Department had, over the past four years, backed the company on its round-the-world tour, and now refused further assistance. According to rumors, the International Exchange Program-a branch of the American National Theatre & Academy (ANTA) whose advise on theatrical matters carries great weight in Washington-had registered opposition on the ground that the State Department had already spent enough money on "Porgy and Bess" and should spread the funds at its disposal over a large number of cultural events in the exchange program.
