Norm Lewis has already had quite the Broadway career, and it just got bigger this month with the well-received opening of Porgy & Bess on Broadway, in which he stars as the iconic Porgy opposite the radient Audra McDonald as Bess. It's a dream role for Lewis and another in a long line of Broadway appearances.

He's our Character Approved pick of the week, because he has infused his character, who is disabled, with heart, dignity, passion, and of course his glorious voice.

The classic story of Porgy & Bess by DuBose and Dorothy Heyward is set in Charleston's fabled Catfish Row, where the beautiful Bess struggles to break free from her scandalous past, and the only one who can rescue her is the courageous Porgy. The show was first performed as an opera in 1935 and in this new Broadway production, directed by Hair's Diane Paulus, the show has been shortened and reimagined. Lewis creates a Porgy like none other before him, and his performance, along with McDonald's--who is surely heading towards a possible fifth(!) Tony Award--make the show more than worth seeing.

[Image: Porgy & Bess Opening Night by Walter McBride / BroadwayWorld.com]