The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for President of the United States on the "love" platform.
When he falls in love with the sensible Mary Turner instead of Diana Devereaux, the beautiful pageant winner selected for him, he gets into political hot water.
[1] The original Broadway production, directed by Kaufman, opened in 1931 and ran for 441 performances, gaining critical and box office success.
[2] Later that year, Kaufman and Ryskind conceived a new musical focusing on satire about rival political parties battling over a new national anthem.
They crafted a libretto inspired by the timeless battle of political idealism with corruption and incompetency, creating the first American musical with a consistently satiric tone.
[2][3] The writers and the cast were unsure of what the public's reception would be, prompting Kaufman's now-famous retort: "Satire is what closes on Saturday night.
The judges of the pageant announce that Diana Devereaux, a beautiful southern girl, has won the contest, but Wintergreen declares that he loves Mary Turner.
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.
The Chief Justice presides over the wedding ceremony, and just after he has pronounced John and Mary man and wife, Diana Devereaux interrupts the proceedings.
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.
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!
Of Thee I Sing was the most musically sophisticated of the Gershwin shows up to then, inspired by the works of Gilbert and Sullivan[10] and boasting a varied score including extensive recitative, choral commentary, marches, pastiches, elaborate contrapuntal passages, and ballads.
[11] 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.
"[3] Ira Gershwin recalled that the title song, inspired by the final phrase of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", 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.
[2] The original Broadway production, directed by Kaufman, opened at the Music Box Theatre on December 26, 1931, and ran for 441 performances.
[3] The cast included William Gaxton as John P. Wintergreen, Lois Moran as Mary Turner, Grace Brinkley as Diana Devereaux, Victor Moore as Alexander Throttlebottom, and George Murphy as Sam Jenkins.
A concert production of Of Thee I Sing was mounted by Ian Marshall Fisher's Lost Musicals series at the Barbican Centre in London in August 1996.
Directed by John Rando and choreographed by Randy Skinner, the cast starred Victor Garber as Wintergreen, Jefferson Mays as Throttlebottom, and Jennifer Laura Thompson as First Lady.
[15] It was revived in July 2015 at the Royal Festival Hall, London, by producer Ollie Rosenblatt as a full musical with orchestra.
[citation needed] In the 1930s, the Marx Brothers 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, suggesting that the musical helped provide inspiration for that Marx Brothers classic.
[2][19] 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....
[3] In his New York Times review of the 2006 concert revival, Charles Isherwood called Of Thee I Sing "a trenchant 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.