Of Thee I Sing

George Gershwin's music and Ira Gershwin's lyrics took center stage at the Allerton Music Barn Festival in a concert version of the 1931 Pulitzer Prize Winning musical, Of Thee I Sing.  I would not rank it among the most memorable music Gershwin composed.  The story is a political satire that could as easily apply today as when it was written more than eight decades ago.

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.