SOURCE: Harrison, A. Cleveland. “Of Thee I Sing, Baby!” Players: Magazine of American Theatre 47, no. 6 (August 1972): 275-79.

In the following essay, Harrison argues that there are many similarities between Of Thee I Sing and the comedies of Aristophanes.

Presidents come and Presidents go, but Of Thee I Sing goes on forever, baby! A musical satire about the making of the President, the product of two playmakers collaborating with two music-making brothers, Of Thee I Sing remains forty years after its opening the touchstone for musical satire on federal government and the national election process. The approaching Presidential election once again calls it to mind and once again questions arise about the sources of its resurgent power. I want to suggest that George S. Kaufman and his collaborators were artistic descendants of Aristophanes, that Of Thee I Sing was a re-emergence of Old Comedy in the New World, and...