Love is sweeping the country! Waves are hugging the shore!

[quislibet]

(I first got wind of this on some left-leaning blog or other; they're all syndicated to my Friends page and I can hardly keep them apart.)

Presidential candidate and bachelor Dennis Kucinich has agreed to a dinner date with the future winner of an online "Who Wants to Be a First Lady?" contest. (Single liberal women: Enter now!)

This, as well as the power of reality television and the conflation of celebrity with political competence as seen in the California recall, suggests a campaign strategy based on a Gershwin musical. (Not "An American in Paris.")

With the title song of that show already being sung by the current First Lady in a tourism commercial, along with Roberta Flack and various Washington luminaries, this may well be an idea whose time has come.

Comments

[rojagato.livejournal.com]

I know all of the songs from Of Thee I Sing (and some from its sequel, Let 'Em Eat Cake). I am not especially proud of this, but it does help to pass the time on long drives and in the shower.

More important than a photograph of Parliament,
Or a shipwreck on the sea,
What'll raise the circulation
Of our paper through the nation
Is the dimple on your knee.

[quislibet.livejournal.com]

I played Alexander Throttlebottom (and other assorted minor characters) in a high-school production in 1988.

It astounds me now to think that my fellow cast-members and I didn't react with juvenile delight to:

"The thrills you're sending through me
All prove that you will do me..."

(Heh heh. I said, "members.")

Guiltah! -- Check!

[rojagato.livejournal.com]

Yay! You got to do the Impeachment Proceedings!

I ran the sound board for a regional theater's production, back in the day. They redid the libretto somewhat to sneak some of the better songs from Let 'Em Eat Cake into Of Thee I Sing and pitch out some of the more dated material from Of Thee I Sing.

A lot more fun than the Rodgers and Hammerstein psychodrama that the theater usually undertook.

Re: Guiltah! -- Check!

[quislibet.livejournal.com]

Our production stayed "true" to the original libretto, although I understand that a lot of people (as much as anyone actually ever does the show at all) try to fit the song "Mine" in somewhere.

As for the Impeachment, I always thought the "Senator who's from Alaska" line was rather prophetic for 1932.

This fabulous musical theatre thread has been brought to you by what is practically a whole 'nother former life. (Which, in a Kucinich context, is only fitting.)

[phaidros.livejournal.com]

See, this is actually the first song to jump into MY head (and I'm a Gershwin fan, so I have no excuse):

"Come on, people, now,
smile on your brother,
everybody get together,
try to love an obscure nigh-unelectable democratic candidate
right now!"