[2][1] The sequel to the Pulitzer prize-winning Of Thee I Sing, a light-hearted comedy about the election of President Wintergreen, Let 'Em Eat Cake fell flat with audiences and critics when it opened in October 1933 due to its much darker tone.

[2][1] A review in TIME magazine panned the libretto for "[wandering] dreamily away into demented unreality" with its focus on revolution and dictatorship.

[1] The original Broadway production of Let 'Em Eat Cake opened October 21, 1933 at the Imperial Theatre, New York City and ran for 89 performances.

[citation needed] In 1987, Let 'Em Eat Cake was recorded by Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the New York Choral Artists, the Orchestra of St. Luke's.

[3] A concert version of the show was performed on BBC Radio in 1994 (with a cast that included: Denis Quilley, Kim Criswell, Joss Ackland, Henry Goodman, and Louise Gold), and Opera North staged the show, along with a revival of Of Thee I Sing, during its 2008–9 season.

[4] In 2019, the Orchestra of St. Luke's and the MasterVoices chorus performed a concert staging of Let 'Em Eat Cake at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Ted Sperling and a cast starring Bryce Pinkham.

[2] President Wintergreen is up for reelection, but due to the continuing Great Depression, loses in a landslide to John P. Tweedledee.

After the end of his term, Wintergreen, Throttlebottom, and their associates start a business selling his wife Mary's blue shirts on "Union Square."

Having secured the Union League Club support, The Blue Shirts meet with Snookfield to plan the overthrow of the government ("On and On and On").

At nine o'clock on July 4, when the Blue Shirts arrive, Snookfield will give the signal for his soldiers to seize Tweedledee.

On the Fourth, at the White House grounds, Tweedledee is giving a speech, when Snookfield leaves with Trixie for a party.

Wintergreen promises the army the war debts owed by the League of Nations, which the soldiers accept.

On the date of the ballgame the Supreme Ball Players, the League, and Kruger's army try to influence Throttlebottom to bend the rules their way.

Execution day arrives, and in their jail cell Wintergreen, Throttlebotton, and the Committee discuss how they ended up in this situation.