Of Thee I Sing (Musical)
Of Thee I Sing (German: " I sing about you") is a musical by George Gershwin (music), Ira Gershwin (lyrics), George Simon Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind ( book ). The political satire was the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize .
It premiered on December 26, 1931 at the Music Box Theater in New York . The show was directed by George S. Kaufman; it starred William Gaxton and Victor Moore .
content
The play describes the presidential election campaign of John P. Wintergreens, who ultimately wins triumphantly with the slogan "Bring love to the White House ". As the chairman of the campaign committee explains, "You need a topic that interests everyone, but that does not play the slightest role if possible." It is decided that the candidate should marry the winner of a beauty contest, in which he is in each state for Hand of the country's beauties. Wintergreen falls in love with the pretty but homely Mary Turner. Especially the use of a lady distantly related to Napoleon leads to international complications. Plus, the entertaining adventures are narrated by Vice President- nominated Alexander Throttlebottom (the name suggests his role) as he struggles for some attention.
background
The piece is more related to the operettas by Gilbert and Sullivan than to the typical Broadway musical. The satirical approach of Strike Up the Band (1927 and in the revised version 1930) is expanded here, the music numbers strictly relate to the plot and continue it, and the writing team made hardly any compromises with regard to mass taste. Nevertheless, Of Thee I Sing had the third longest Broadway running time during the 1930s with 473 performances on Broadway, making it the most successful musical by the Gershwin brothers. In 1933, Let 'Em Eat Cake was followed by a sequel by the same authors, which was intended as a satirical commentary on the form of dictatorship, but was not as focused and witty as its predecessor and quickly disappeared from the program. In 1952 Of Thee I Sing was re-performed on Broadway.
The scenic European premiere under the title Wintergreen for President took place in 2006 at the Landestheater Linz in German (translation: Roman Hinze, director: Matthias Davids ).
Well-known music numbers
- Who Could Ask For Anything More? (I'm About to Be a Mother)
- Who Cares?
- Love is sweeping the country
- Of Thee I Sing
Recordings
- Of Thee I Sing (Original Recording Reissued), 1952
- Of Thee I Sing / Let 'Em Eat Cake (Concert Version), 1987
Web links
- Of Thee I Sing on the Internet Broadway Database
- George & Ira Gershwin Web Site (English)
- Information about the piece (German)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Matthias Davids. In: matthias-davids.de. Retrieved August 27, 2016 .