Let 'Em Eat Cake

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Let 'Em Eat Cake is a musical with music by George Gershwin , lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George Simon Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind . It is the continuation of the musical Of Thee I Sing by the same team of authors from 1931. The world premiere took place on October 21, 1933 at the Imperial Theater in New York .

The play, intended as a satirical commentary on the form of rule of dictatorship, met with little success and was canceled after 90 performances on Broadway . His action, based on the time and American conditions, prevented the material from being appropriated outside the United States . The best-known title from the musical is the song Mine .

action

Act I:

The President of the United States John P. Wintergreen will not be re-elected after his triumphant entry into the White House four years ago through a spectacular election campaign (see: Of thee i Sing). He, his wife Mary and the entire party are at a loss and see no future for themselves in America, which is plagued by social unrest and general discontent. In their distress, they decide to open a shirt shop specializing in blue shirts in Union Square in New York. Due to the devastating economic situation, however, nobody is willing to spend their money on shirts, which forces them to team up with the radical revolutionary Krüger and start a revolution with him, whose flagship is the "Maryblue" shirt. The coup ultimately succeeds as it brings the army on its side with the promise to collect the war debts. The newly elected President and adversary Tweedledee is overthrown and Wintergreen takes power over America again, but this time as a dictator. With renewed vigor, he promises the people happiness, prosperity and cake. This ends the first act.

Act II:

The mood among the people and the now blue house is euphoric. But one thing remains for Wintergreen and his committee to do: collect the war debts promised to the Army. And that turns out to be more difficult than expected, because the nations are by no means willing to pay. This puts Wintergreen in a mess, as his old friend Krüger, who has since joined the army to get his profit from the campaign, is now sitting on his neck. Thanks to the ingenious idea of ​​Wintergreens, a baseball game is now being played between the American blue shirts and the rest of the world in order to renegotiate the war debts. Vice-President Throttlebottom is chosen as referee, but only to keep him away from internal party discussions and that is precisely what is his undoing. Due to an alleged wrong decision on his part, the United States loses which the nations are forced to cancel their war debts, and Throttlebottom is charged with high treason and sentenced to death. Krüger unexpectedly seizes power and now also condemns Wintergreen and his ministers to death by beheading! As death by the guillotine approaches, they are saved by Mary, who wins the women over with a fashion show and disempowers the tyrant Krüger. Wintergreen refuses to become president again and magnanimously offers the office to his predecessor Tweedledee, who, however, also declines in favor of an offer as president of Cuba. This lucky coincidence ultimately makes Throttlebottom president.

literature

Web links