New Line Theatre continues its 35th season with the hilariously goofy, Pulitzer Prize–winning Jazz Age musical comedy OF THEE I SING. Because nothing says “timeless entertainment” like a musical about a completely absurd presidential election that feels weirdly current. Featuring songs by George and Ira Gershwin and a script by legendary comedy troublemakers George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, Of Thee I Sing gleefully dives into the kind of political chaos that makes you say, “Wait… this was written in 1931?”
Riffing on the topsy-turvy madness of Gilbert and Sullivan, the show delivers one of the most ridiculous presidential campaigns you’ve ever seen — complete with an Atlantic City beauty pageant, a sex scandal, an impeachment, and plenty of backroom deals. And somehow, nearly a century on, the jokes still land a little too well. As one critic noted, the show feels less like a period piece and more like a documentary with better music.
Responsible for much of the Great American Songbook, the Gershwin Brothers wrote fifteen musicals together, including Strike Up the Band, Funny Face, Girl Crazy, and Porgy and Bess, as well as several film musicals.
Their timeless song catalog includes classics like “I Got Rhythm,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “The Man I Love,” “A Foggy Day,” “They Can’t Take that Away from Me,” “Our Love is Here to Stay,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It, ” and “S’Wonderful,” among dozens of others. Meanwhile, Kaufman and Ryskind were busy redefining comedy with works like Animal Crackers and other projects with the Marx Brothers, plus Kaufman’s long list of classic stage collabroations, You Can’t Take It With You, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Merrily We Roll Along, The Royal Family, and Once in a Lifetime, among others.