"Of Thee I Sing," the 1932 Gershwin musical currently showing at the Greenberg Theatre, might seem dated on the surface, but upon closer inspection, contains several messages still relevant in today's political climate.
The plot of this Pulitzer Prize-winning satire is simple: The somewhat clueless John Wintergreen (Ryan Nealy) is running for president shortly after World War One, and his advisers (Catherine Baggs, Laura Owen) have yet to hit upon a key issue to drive the campaign.
Then they have a breakthrough: Love is something everyone would gladly vote for, so why not find their bachelor candidate a wife? In a sequence of events that eerily foreshadows such reality TV fare as "The Bachelor," Wintergreen's entourage arranges a nationwide contest to find the future first lady. Diana Devereaux (Amelia Meyers), a sultry Southern belle, is chosen as the winner. However, it's too late: Wintergreen has already found his love in Mary Turner (Kelly Lynn Williams), a plucky young woman he admires for her cooking skills; (remember that this was written way before the women's liberation movement).
The couple travels across the United States, and John proposes to Mary in each state rather than discussing actual issues. All of America swoons over the enamored pair, and elects John in a landslide. However, things get complicated when Diana returns claiming breach of contract, involving the Supreme Court and a hilarious French ambassador (Benjamin Gibson). Rounding out the cast are two senators from Nebraska and Louisiana (Amanda Thickpenny and Jeremy Knobel, respectively) who are very funny caricatures of stereotypically fickle, untrustworthy politicians.
Some things, it seems, never change. Politicians skirt the issues and manipulate the public, presidents are threatened with impeachment at the whims of the Senate, the French are easy targets for mockery. Seventy-three years after the debut of "Of Thee I Sing," it still remains unclear where the vice president (played here by Michael J. Fulvio) spends most of his time. (Just think of all those days Dick Cheney spent hiding out in "undisclosed locations.")
Visually, the play is engaging. The costumes are colorful and meld the 1930s era with today; the Southern senator wears a white suit with coattails and a top hat, but Wintergreen's female advisers wear modern Washington business suits. The orchestra sometimes serves as a tertiary character in the play, intentionally interrupting speeches and heralding the arrival of Supreme Court justices.
There's plenty of dancing and bursting into catchy songs, but occasionally the actors' voices are difficult to hear over the orchestra. However, the enthusiastic comic performances compensate for occasionally underwhelming songs.
It's clear that the actors are having a great time, which makes being an audience member all the more enjoyable. Amusingly, there are a few choice self-aware remarks that play on the conventions of the musical genre. "How'd you like that F sharp I gave them?" Wintergreen says of his singing (or spinning) the latest news to a crowd of reporters.
"Of Thee I Sing" is witty escapism if you don't get too tied up in its dearth of political correctness. And on the eve of the presidential elections, you may find its themes hitting closer to home than expected.
