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George & Ira Gershwin ~ From ″Lady, Be Good″ to ″Let ′Em Eat Cake″ (1924-33) ~ Selected highlights

3,888 views · Published 21 June 2013 · 28:31 · Indexed 8 November 2026

Channel: LindoroRossini · 2013 · Music

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≈ History ≈
{adapted from the Grove Dictionary &
″George Gershwin″ by Howard Pollack}
George Gershwin {1898-1937} began his extraordinary career by working as a song plugger in New York′s Tin Pan Alley. In early 1918 Max Dreyfus, the head of Harms Publishing Company, offered him $35 per week for any songs he might compose in the future. Gershwin's first Broadway show ″La, La, Lucille″ ran for 100 performances in 1919. In just the early 1920s Gershwin composed the music for five annual Broadway reviews, three Broadway shows and two London ones, before ultimately establishing a long-running partnership with his brother Ira {1896-1983} by producing the successful 1924 ″Lady, Be Good″. Their collaboration resulted in a succession of musical comedies and film scores - the 1926 ″Oh, Kay!″, 1930 ″Girl Crazy″ and 1937 ″Shall We Dance?″ - culminating in the 1931 ″Of Thee I Sing″ which obtained a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

≈ Narratives & Music ≈
The Gershwin brothers did not make grand statements about their musicals, George confessing to a popular style of composition, as "true music... must reflect the aspirations of the time", while Ira insisted that ″the resemblance [of his lyrics] to actual poetry... is highly improbable″. I would suggest that at their best the shows are good-natured entertainments combining a humorous representation of contemporary morals with an accessible musical language driven by melody.

a. Screwball comedies.
″Lady, Be Good″ {down-on-their-luck brother/sister team find themselves unwittingly entangled in a plot to rob the heir of a large fortune (1)} and ″Oh, Kay″ {English bootleggers store illegal booze in the house of a handsome fop who is loved by the sister of the criminals′ leader (2)} are the most consistent scores, presenting series of perfectly charming vignettes, ranging from the elegant ″Someone to watch over me″ {7:57} to the energetic ″Fascinating Rhythm″ {10:41}.
(1: 1992 Nonesuch Records)
Dick ~ Lara Teeter
Susie ~ Ann Morrison
Jack ~ Michael Maguire
Jeff ~ John Pizzarelli
(2: 1994 Nonesuch Records)
Jimmy ~ Kurt Ollmann
Kay ~ Dawn Upshaw
Duke ~ Robert Westenberg
Larry ~ Patrick Cassidy
Shorty ~ Adam Arkin
″Girl Crazy″ {a young man turns his family′s estate into a dude ranch, falls in love with postmistress who without motivation escapes with his rival before returning to her true love} reverts to the basic tone of the earlier pieces, yet its abundance of local color and a strong trio of numbers for the Ethel Merman role of Kate, including the infectious ″I got rhythm″ {26:09}, cannot sustain the libretto.
(1990 Nonesuch Records)
Molly ~ Judy Blazer
Kate ~ Lorna Luft
Vocal Quartet ~
Stan Chandler, Guy Stroman,
Larry Raben & David Engel

b. Operetta.
The 1927 ″Strike Up the Band″ {an American manufacturer of cheese finances a war against Switzerland over a tariff dispute with the help of a government executive who later is discovered to be a Swiss spy by a journalist who loves the manufacturer′s daughter} is an ambitious but problematic work. Extended parodies are given prominence, leading to a certain underlying heartlessness of the entire affair. The greatest impact of the work actually comes in a completely out-of-place scene, as a nameless soldier sings a hushed rendition of the standard ″The Man/Girl I Love″ {23:33}.
(1990 Nonesuch Records)
Jim ~ Brent Barrett
Joan ~ Rebecca Luker
Timothy ~ Jason Graae
Fletcher ~ Don Chastain
Soldier ~ Dale Sandish

c. The Black Sheep.
The 1933 ″Pardon My English″ is the weakest of the present works both as a drama {German bootlegger tries to take vengeance on the local police chief, is struck by a car, awakens believing himself to be a British gentleman and falls in love with the latter′s daughter marrying her after a series of identity crises}, its only inspiration lying in a bubbling love duet for the romantic leads {9:31}.
(1994 Nonesuch Records)
Michael ~ William Katt

d. Political satire.
″Of Thee I Sing″/the 1933 ″Let ′Em Eat Cake″ feature the same universe {the first tells of a politician successfully running of a ″Love″ platform for the president′s office; the sequel finds the same politician seizing power from his successor and building a totalitarian state before going into business with his former rivals}. The music of both the pieces, somewhat foreshadowing ″Porgy & Bess″, is clearly operatic in design, as each of them is thorough-composed, thus, one must hear the music in its proper context to appreciate it. A highlight is the sophisticated elegance of "Mine" {25:06}.
(1987 CBS Records)
John ~ Larry Kert
Mary ~ Maureen McGovern
Diane ~ Paige O'Hara
French Ambassador ~ Jack Gilford

≈ Recordings ≈ 
The present series of releases from the Nonesuch Records and the congenial CBS rendition of the double satire are exemplary examples of inspired scholarship and masterful performance.

Hope you'll enjoy =).

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