 What, after all, is Porgy and Bess about? The role of Porgy and the ending of the opera were created not by the Gershwins, but by Ruben Mamoulian, the Armenian immigrant who directed both Porgy the Play in 1927 and Porgy and Bess eight years later. The original Porgy, in Dubose Hayward's novel Porgy, is never heroic. He sinks into obscurity when Bess deserts him for sport and life.