Of Thee I Sing is a musical with a score by
GeorgeGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are universally familiar....
and
Ira GershwinIra Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
and a book by
George S. KaufmanGeorge Simon Kaufman was an American playwright, theatre director and producer, humorist, and drama critic.-Early years:...
and
Morrie RyskindMorrie Ryskind was an American dramatist, lyricist and director on theatrical productions and motion pictures.-Biography:...
. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for President of the United States on the "love" platform. However, when he falls in love with sensible Mary Turner instead of Diana Deveraux, the beautiful pageant winner selected for him, he finds himself in political hot water.
The original
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
production, directed by Kaufman, opened in 1931 and ran for 441 performances, receiving critical and box office success. It has been revived several times in the U.S. and in London.
Of Thee I Sing was the first musical to win the
Pulitzer Prize for DramaThe Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than being the calendar...
, in 1932.
Background
The Gershwins and
George S. KaufmanGeorge Simon Kaufman was an American playwright, theatre director and producer, humorist, and drama critic.-Early years:...
had collaborated on a satirical musical in 1927 entitled
Strike up the Band that played in Philadelphia. The show concerned a cheese manufacturer who sponsors a war against Switzerland because it will be named after him. A version of
Strike Up the Band with the book altered by
Morrie RyskindMorrie Ryskind was an American dramatist, lyricist and director on theatrical productions and motion pictures.-Biography:...
played on
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
in early 1930. Much of the satire was replaced in the new version by silliness, leading Ryskind to recall, "What I had to do, in a sense, was to rewrite
War and PeaceWar and Peace , a Russian novel by Leo Tolstoy, is considered one of the world's greatest works of fiction. It is regarded, along with Anna Karenina , as his finest literary achievement....
for the
Three StoogesThe Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce.- Overview :...
."
Later that year, Kaufman and Ryskind conceived a new musical focusing on satire about rival political parties battling over a new national anthem. The Gershwin brothers agreed to write the score, though they would be in Hollywood writing songs for the film
Delicious. Kaufman and Ryskind soon realized that their concept did not provide sufficient plot for a musical and instead crafted a libretto inspired by
New DealThe New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to his complex package of economic programs 1933-36 with the goals of what historians call the 3 Rs, of giving Relief to the unemployed and badly hurt farmers, Reform of business and financial practices, and promoting...
idealism and political corruption and incompetency, creating the first American musical with a consistently satiric tone. The writers and the cast were unsure of what the public's reception would be, prompting Kaufman's now-famous statement, "Satire is what closes on Saturday night."
Act I
In the U.S. in the 1930s, a campaign parade is taking place to support "Wintergreen for President". John P. Wintergreen has been nominated for President and Alexander Throttlebottom has been nominated for Vice President, but he is of such little importance no one can remember who he is. Politicians meet in a hotel room to devise a campaign platform, and when they ask the chambermaid what she cares about, she says "love". The men decide that Wintergreen's platform will be love; they'll have a pageant to select the most beautiful girl in the United States, and Wintergreen will fall in love and marry her.
The pageant begins in
Atlantic City, New JerseyAtlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. Famous for its boardwalk, casino gambling, sandy beaches, shopping centers, view of the Atlantic Ocean, and as the inspiration for the board game Monopoly, Atlantic City is a resort community located on Absecon Island on the...
, and the contestants wonder, "Who is the Lucky Girl to Be?" The photographers assure them that even if they do not win, they will surely be loved ("The Dimple on My Knee"). Wintergreen is getting nervous about marrying a girl he doesn't even know. While the girls are at the final judging, he confides in Mary Turner, the sensible young woman running the pageant. He does not want to marry a girl just because she's beautiful; he wants a wife who will make a good home for him and his future children. Mary shares her corn muffin with him. Wintergreen tells Mary that he'd rather marry her than any of the girls in the contest. He kisses her, and she agrees to marry him. The judges of the pageant announce that Diana Deveraux, a beautiful southern girl, has won the contest, but Wintergreen declares that he loves Mary Turner. When he gives some of Mary's extraordinary corn muffins to the judges, they agree that John and Mary are meant to wed ("Because, Because").
Outside
Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City. It is also the name of the entity which owns the arena and several of the professional sports franchises which play there. There have been four incarnations of...
in New York City, at a rally for Wintergreen, the campaigners declare that "Love is Sweeping the Country." Inside, where politicians are speaking in favor of Wintergreen, a wrestling match is going on just below the speakers' platform as Alexander Throttlebottom tries to explain to the organizers that he's the candidate for Vice-President. Wintergreen proposes to Mary onstage, as he has in forty-seven states before. She accepts again, and Wintergreen sings the campaign song to her, "Of Thee I Sing".
On election night, Wintergreen wins by a landslide. Inauguration day arrives, which is also Wintergreen's wedding day. As his Inaugural address, Wintergreen bids goodbye to the girls he used to know ("Here's a Kiss for Cinderella"). The
Chief JusticeThe Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States...
presides over the wedding ceremony, and just after he has pronounced John and Mary man and wife, Diana Deveraux interrupts the proceedings. She is serving Wintergreen with a summons for
breach of promiseBreach of promise is a former common law tort.From at least medieval times until the early 20th century, a man's promise of engagement to marry a woman was considered, in many jurisdictions, a legally binding contract...
. She insists she is the one he should have married ("I Was the Most Beautiful Blossom"). The Supreme Court rules that Mary's corn muffins are more important than justice in this matter, and Diana angrily leaves to tell her story across the nation. Wintergreen leads the Supreme Court and spectators in a chorus of "Of Thee I Sing".
Act II
John and Mary settle down to business in the
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the residence of every...
. Her "desk," back-to-back with his, is a fully-loaded tea-table. Their secretaries greet each other "Hello, Good Morning." Alexander Throttlebottom, now Vice-President, sneaks into the White House with a tour group. When a guide tells him that the Vice-President's job is to preside over the U. S. Senate, Throttlebottom eagerly dashes off to the
CapitolThe United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the Federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall. Though not in the geographic center of the District of...
. Wintergreen's fellow party members inform him that Diana Deveraux is gaining support across the nation. Wintergreen holds a press conference and tells the reporters that his love for Mary is the only thing that matters ("Who Cares?"). The French ambassador unexpectedly arrives ("Garçon, S'il Vous Plaît"). He has a surprise for Mr. Wintergreen: Diana is "'The Illegitimate Daughter' of the illegitimate son of the illegitimate nephew of Napoleon." He insists that Wintergreen annul his marriage and marry Diana to right his grievous offense against France. Everyone agrees that Wintergreen should be impeached for breach of promise ("We'll Impeach Him"), but John and Mary do not care, since they have each other ("Who Cares?" (Reprise)).
Throttlebottom has found the Senate, and the party members inform him that he will soon be President. He is very excited and goes into the Senate Chamber to preside, beginning by taking "The Roll Call." The resolution on the impeachment of the President is brought up, and the French Ambassador and Diana mournfully insist that she was "Jilted." Mary saves the day when she announces that she is pregnant ("Who Could Ask For Anything More?"). The senators refuse to impeach an expectant father, and Wintergreen declares that "Posterity" is just around the corner. The French Ambassador informs Wintergreen that by not marrying Diana, he has contributed to France's declining birth rate. He demands the Wintergreens' baby as a replacement for the one they have "taken" from France. John refuses, and the ambassador walks out.
In the Yellow Room of the White House, guests are arriving bearing gifts for the baby ("Trumpeter, Blow Your Horn"). Wintergreen is nervously awaiting the baby's birth when the French Ambassador arrives with a final message from France: surrender the baby or France will sever diplomatic relations with the U.S. The Supreme Court justices, who have the duty to determine the sex of the baby, announce that twins have been born, a boy and a girl. The French ambassador is even more wounded by this proclamation: France has lost two babies instead of one! Diana mournfully joins him, and Alexander Throttlebottom arrives bearing sweaters for the babies. The French Ambassador is about to declare war when Wintergreen has a brilliant idea: according to Article Twelve of the Constitution, when the President of the United States is unable to fulfill his duties, his obligations are assumed by the Vice-President! The ambassador calls Wintergreen a genius, and Throttlebottom is ecstatic as they pass Diana over to him. Servants wheel a large bed into the room, where Mary sits with the babies. Wintergreen leads everyone in proclaiming, "Of Thee I Sing."
Songs
Act I
- Wintergreen for President* – Ensemble
- Who is the Lucky Girl to Be? – Diana Devereaux and Ensemble
- The Dimple on My Knee – Diana, Sam Jenkins and Ensemble
- Because, Because – Diana, Sam and Ensemble
- As the Chairman of the Committee – Matthew Arnold Fulton and Company
- How Beautiful – Company
- Never Was There a Girl So Fair – Company
- Some Girls Can Bake a Pie – John P. Wintergreen, Mary Turner and Company
- Love is Sweeping the Country – Sam, Emily Benson and Ensemble
- Of Thee I Sing – Wintergreen, Mary and Company
- Here's a Kiss for Cinderella – Wintergreen and Ensemble
- I Was the Most Beautiful Blossom – Diana
- Some Girls Can Bake a Pie (Reprise) – Wintergreen, Diana, Judges and Ensemble
Act II
- Hello, Good Morning – Sam, Emily and Secretaries
- Who Cares? – Wintergreen, Mary and Reporters
- Garçon, S'il Vous Plaît** – French Soldiers
- The Illegitimate Daughter – The French Ambassador and Ensemble
- We'll Impeach Him – Senator Robert E. Lyons, Francis X. Gilhooley and Ensemble
- Who Cares? (Reprise) – Wintergreen and Mary
- The (Senatorial) Roll Call – Alexander Throttlebottom and Ensemble
- Jilted – Diana and Company
- Who Could Ask for Anything More? – Mary and Company
- Posterity – Wintergreen and Company
- Trumpeter, Blow Your Horn – Ensemble
- Finale – Company
- *The campaign song "Wintergreen for President" includes parts of folk and patriotic songs such as Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever", and "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here
"Hail, hail, the gang's all here" is the popular refrain from the 1915 American song, "Alabama Jubilee" made famous by Fred Astaire.The lyrics were written by D. A. Esrom to a tune originally written by Arthur Sullivan for the comic opera The Pirates of Penzance...
." The song has been adopted by the Harvard University BandThe Harvard University Band is the official student marching band of Harvard University. The Harvard Wind Ensemble, the Harvard Summer Pops Band, and the Harvard Jazz Bands also fall under the umbrella organization of HUB....
as a pep song, and is traditionally played at Harvard football games.
- **The music introducing the French and their ambassador includes the opening bars of Gershwin's own "An American in Paris
An American in Paris is a symphonic composition by American composer George Gershwin, composed in 1928. Inspired by time Gershwin had spent in Paris, it is in the form of an extended tone poem evoking the sights and energy of the French capital in the 1920s. It is one of Gershwin's best-known...
".
Musical and dramatic analysis
Of Thee I Sing was the most musically sophisticated of the Gershwin shows up to then, inspired by the works of
Gilbert and SullivanGilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
and boasting a varied score including extensive recitative, choral commentary, marches,
pasticheA pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre that is a "hodge-podge" or an imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
s, elaborate contrapuntal passages, and ballads. Most songs were lengthy and included a large ensemble. In addition, as an integrated song-and-story production it produced fewer hit songs than many of the Gershwins' musicals. Ira Gershwin explained, "In the show there are no verse-and-chorus songs; there is a sort of recitative running along, and lots of finales and finalettos." Its songs advanced the storyline in a way not even tried by
Jerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of popular music. He wrote around 700 songs, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight", and "Who?", a 6-week number 1 hit for...
and
Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American writer, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song", and much of his work is part of the unofficial Great...
in
Show BoatShow Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. One notable exception is the song Bill, which was originally written by Kern and author-lyricist P. G. Wodehouse in 1917 but reworked by Hammerstein for Show Boat...
and in a way that would not be seen again until the days of
Rodgers and HammersteinRichard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
.
Ira Gershwin recalled that the title song, inspired by the final phrase of "
My Country, 'Tis of Thee"My Country, 'Tis of Thee", also known as "America", is an American patriotic song, whose lyrics were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The melody is that of the British national anthem, God Save the King or Queen, although Smith encountered it by way of a German adaptation...
", was somewhat controversial among the production staff. "When we first played this sentimental political campaign song... there were objectors who thought that juxtaposing the dignified 'of thee I sing' with a slangy 'baby' was going a bit too far. Our response was that, naturally, we'd replace it with something else if the paying audience didn't take to it. Opening night, and even weeks later, one could hear a continuous 'Of thee I sing, baby!' in the lobby at intermission time."
Of Thee I Sing was the first American musical with a consistently satirical tone. Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Presidency, and the democratic process itself were all targets of this satire, prompting original stars William Gaxton and Victor Moore to wonder if they would face government repercussions for their portrayals of President Wintergreen and Vice President Throttlebottom. Specific political parties are not identified in the musical, as Kaufman and Ryskind believed that absurdity was bipartisan in Depression-era politics.
Productions
The original
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
production, directed by Kaufman, opened at the
Music Box TheatreThe Music Box Theater is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 239 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.The once most aptly named theater on Broadway, the intimate Music Box was designed by architect C. Howard Crane and constructed by composer Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris...
on December 26, 1931 and ran for 441 performances. The cast included
William GaxtonWilliam Gaxton , born Arturo Antonio Gaxiola in San Francisco, California, was a star of vaudeville, film, and theatre. He appeared in some ten films and eleven shows...
as John P. Wintergreen,
Lois MoranLois Moran was an American film actress.She was born Lois Darlington Dowlin in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and died in Sedona, Arizona.- Short career :...
as Mary Turner, Grace Brinkley as Diana Devereaux,
Victor MooreVictor Frederick Moore was a star of stage and screen, as well as being a comedian, writer and director.-Personal life:...
as Alexander Throttlebottom and
George MurphyGeorge Lloyd Murphy was an American dancer, actor, and politician.-Biography:He was born in New Haven, Connecticut of Irish Catholic extraction, and attended Yale University...
as Sam Jenkins. It was produced by Sam H. Harris. Sets were designed by Jo Mielziner, costumes by Carles LeMaire, and dances staged by Georgie Hale. It was Gaxton and Moore's first comedic pairing; they would collaborate on six more Broadway musicals, including
Anything GoesAnything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, revised by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London. Billy Crocker is a stowaway in...
.
Of Thee I Sing was the longest-running Gershwin show during George Gershwin's lifetime.
There were Broadway revivals in 1933 at the
Imperial TheatreThe Imperial Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 249 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan. The theatre seats up to 1417 people....
and in 1952 at the
Ziegfeld TheatreThe Ziegfeld Theatre was a Broadway theater formerly located at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 54th Street in Manhattan. It was built in 1927, and despite public protests, it was razed in 1966....
, both directed by Kaufman. A concert production of
Of Thee I Sing was mounted by Ian Marshall Fisher's
Lost Musicals series at the
Barbican CentreBarbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the north of the City of London, England, in the heart of the Barbican Estate, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library,...
in London in August 1996. Fisher's series examines the Gershwins' lesser known works and has been based at London's
Royal Opera HouseThe Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in the London district of Covent Garden. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal...
and Sadler's Wells. The musical was revived in May 2006 as part of the
New York City CenterNew York City Center, originally known as City Center of Music and Drama, and also known as New York City Center 55th Street Theater, is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival concert hall located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of...
Encores!Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert is a program that has been presented by New York City Center since 1994. Encores! is dedicated to performing the full score of musicals that rarely are heard in New York City...
series.
Adaptations
Of Thee I Sing has never been filmed, although a television version was produced in 1972 and a radio version aired in 1985. In the 1930s, the
Marx BrothersThe Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
had intended to produce a film adaptation of the musical, but they decided to make
Duck Soup instead. Many scholars draw parallels between
Of Thee I Sing and
Duck Soup, even going so far as to suggest that the musical helped provide inspiration for that Marx Brothers classic.
A musical sequel to
Of Thee I Sing was written by the same team, entitled
Let 'Em Eat CakeLet 'Em Eat Cake is a Broadway musical that opened October 21, 1933 at the Imperial Theatre, New York, USA and ran for 89 performances. It had music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind...
, and was produced on Broadway in 1933. It reused some of the music from
Of Thee I Sing. However, it was a critical and box office failure.
Let "Em Eat Cake was the last Broadway musical that the Gershwins wrote (if one counts
Porgy and BessPorgy and Bess an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and the play of the same name which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
as an opera rather than a musical).
Critical reception
Brooks AtkinsonJustin Brooks Atkinson was an American theatre critic. He worked for The New York Times from 1925 to 1960. In his obituary, the Times called him "the most important reviewer of his time."...
's review in the
New York Times called
Of Thee I Sing "a taut and lethal satire... funnier than the government, and not nearly so dangerous." In 1932,
Of Thee I Sing became the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama. The 1932 Pulitzer Prize Committee stated, "
Of Thee I Sing is not only coherent and well-knit enough to class as a play, but it is a biting and true satire on American politics and the public attitude towards them.... The play is genuine and it is felt the Pulitzer Prize could not serve a better purpose than to recognize such work. The prize was awarded only to Kaufman, Ryskind and Ira Gershwin; George Gershwin received no recognition, since the Pulitzer Prize was considered a literary award. In 1998, at the centennial of his birth, he was posthumously awarded an honorary Pulitzer.
In his
New York Times review of the 2006 revival, Charles Isherwood pronounced
Of Thee I Sing "a trenchent little musical satire... the laughter that greets the show today is tinged with surprise at how eerily some of its jokes seem to take precise aim, from decades back, at current affairs. A chorus of reporters sings to the new president of the '17 vacations you have had since you've been here.' A politician dismisses
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery...
's pronouncement about not being able to fool all of the people all the time by remarking: 'It's different nowadays. People are bigger suckers.' ...it serves as a sigh-inducing argument for the enduring follies of American politics."