Ms. Cabell's Bess has some raw attraction to Crown, but also an addiction to the "happy dust" only he can supply.
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"Happy dust," the powdery white drug at the center of George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess," is rendered in Spanish as "perico," and in German as "Schnee" — both maintaining the slanginess of the original.
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Standout performers were many: Lester Lynch as Porgy, the sturdy cripple, and Alyson Cambridge as Bess, the warmhearted (and here, warm-voiced) prostitute he loves; Courtney Johnson as Clara (who sang an ethereal "Summertime"); Victor Ryan Robertson, as Sportin' Life, the "happy dust" dealer; and Eric Greene as Crown, Bess's current lover, in a menacing portrayal.
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He tells her that Porgy will be locked up for a long time, and points out that he is the only one still here. He offers her happy dust, and though she refuses, he forces it on her. After she takes a whiff, he paints a seductive picture of her life with him in New York ("There's a boat dat's leavin' soon for New York"). She regains her strength and rushes inside, slamming the door on his face, but he leaves a packet of happy dust on her doorstep, and settles down to wait.
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This single also features the song Happy Dust, an instrumental piece that was never released on any of the band's album or compilation to date. It was however used as the intro and outro for the Sphinctour DVD.
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Sportin' Life waltzes around selling "happy dust", but soon incurs the wrath of Maria, who threatens him. ("I hates yo' struttin' style"). A fraudulent lawyer, Frazier, arrives and farcically divorces Bess from Crown. When he discovers Bess and Crown were not married, he raises his price from a dollar to a dollar and a half.
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The one-time "Girl of the Nile," says Karsner, liked heavy drinking and "Happy Dust." Going by the name of Ruth Norman, among many other aliases, after the men who supported her, she died at the age of thirty-five in 1925 by spilling a large kettle of boiling water on herself while she was extremely intoxicated.
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During boarding, Clark is asked by a customs official "Anything to declare?" and facetiously answers "Two kilos of happy dust!" As he anticipated, his seemingly flippant remark gets him taken away and searched. This ploy serves to divert attention away from Podkayne's luggage, where he has hidden a package he was paid to smuggle aboard. Podkayne suspects the reason behind her brother's behavior, but cannot prove it.
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Crown, a strong and brutal stevedore, storms in with his woman, Bess, and buys cheap whiskey and some "Happy Dust" off the local dope peddler, Sportin' Life. Bess is shunned by the women of the community, especially the pious Serena and the matriarchal cookshop owner Maria, but Porgy softly defends her. The game begins. One by one, the players get crapped out, leaving only Robbins and Crown, who has become extremely drunk.
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When Robbins wins, Crown attempts to prevent him from taking his winnings. A brawl ensues, which ends when Crown stabs Robbins with Jim's cotton hook, killing him. Crown runs, telling Bess to fend for herself but that he will be back for her when the heat dies down. Sportin' Life gives her a dose of happy dust and offers to take her with him when he goes to New York, but she rejects him.
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The original objective of Sphinctour was as a home video release, though a CD version was also made. There are no discernible differences audio-wise from the DVD, although, like their In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up release, two tracks were omitted from the CD release. In addition, the DVD features the song Happy Dust as the intro and outro. The live video is edited as jump cut, which is a combination of all the concerts that took place in America and Europe.
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The score makes use of a series of leitmotifs. Many of these represent individual characters: some of these are fragments of the opera's set numbers (Sportin' Life, for example, is frequently represented by the melody which sets the title words of "It Ain't Necessarily So"). Other motifs represent objects (such as the sleazy chromatic "Happy Dust" motif) or places, notably Catfish Row. Many of the through-composed passages of the score combine or develop these leitmotifs in order to reflect the on-stage action.
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Clark was told it was a present for the captain, but is far too cynical to be taken in. He later carefully opens the package and finds a nuclear bomb, which he disarms and keeps. Much of the description of the voyage is based on Heinlein's own experiences as a naval officer and world traveler. Clark's ploy is taken from a real-life incident, related in Heinlein's Tramp Royale, in which his wife answers the same question with "heroin" substituted for the fictitious, but equally illegal, happy dust.
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Archdale, a white lawyer, enters and informs Porgy that Peter will soon be released. The bad omen of a buzzard flies over Catfish Row and Porgy demands that it leave now that he finally has found happiness. ("Buzzard keep on flyin' over".) As the rest of Catfish Row prepares for the church picnic on nearby Kittiwah Island, Sportin' Life again offers to take Bess to New York with him; she refuses. He attempts to give her some "happy dust" despite her claims that she's given up drugs, but Porgy grabs his arm and scares him off.
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