Of Thee I Sing

Of Thee I Sing is a musical with a score by George and Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. 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 origin... more

Of Thee I Sing is a musical with a score by George and Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. 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 Broadway 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 Drama, in 1932. The Gershwins and George S. Kaufman 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... less