George Gershwin

The characters of GERSHWIN, by GEORGE: The 1936 Radio show were contemporaries of the great man and who made his tunes their signature songs:


CHARCTERS

GEORGE GERSHWIN – Major requirement is the ability to play well. Polished hair and personality. Loves all his guests. Tuxedo.

ETHEL MERMAN – Booming voice and presence. Takes no guff from anyone. Belt voice, of course. Reflective side comes out in “But Not For Me”. Glamorous period attire

AL JOLSON – Self centered. Egotistic. Does not comprehend or chooses to ignore sarcasm of colleagues. Pin striped double breasted suit.

PAUL "POPS" WHITEMAN – Larger-than-life sophisticate. Large man with slick hair and pencil thin moustache. Natty dresser. In BoB’s two productions, teamed with Anne Brown for "Bess You Is". Generally carried baton as prop. Tux.

ADELE ASTAIRE – Ditzy blonde Gracie Allen- Lucille Ball type. Must be played with that characterization or dialogue makes no sense. High pitched speaking voice would be appropriate.

FRED ASTAIRE – Suave. Debonair. Slick hair. Tails?

JIMMY DURANTE – Comedic icon. The King of Malapropisms. Speaks in ‘dems’ and ‘dose’. Highly energetic. Double breasted suit in bright colors with brown/white or black/white shoes.

NNE WIGGINS BROWN – The first Bess in "Porgy & Bess". Major requirement is operatic voice. Should be African-American. A little out of her element but trying to stay composed. Revered by Gershwin. Cocktail dress.

DON WILSON – Must have professional speaking voice. Tux.

A BIT MORE TALK OF CHARACTERS

Paul Whiteman, Adele Astaire and announcer Don Wilson have faded from memory.

Whiteman was called "The King of Jazz" and conducted a world-renowned orchestra. (In reality, he did little to further jazz. Look to Harlem’s Eubie Blake and his colleague at the Cotton Club for that.) Whiteman was a major influence on Gershwin, provoking him to write "Rhapsody in Blue"

Adele Astaire was Fred’s sister and first dancing partner. I had no idea of her personality. However, to add some ‘30’s zaniness, I made her a real ditz – and a gullible one at that. I assure you her character and the dialogue worked in both of our productions – even the Marconi sequence.

Don Wilson was omnipresent on radio in the ’30’s and ‘40’s. I recall him on tv in the ‘50’s.