Girl Crazy

This musical debuted in New York in October 1930, and its plot concerns an Eastern playboy who’s sent to his family’s ranch in Arizona to cure him of his habits of drinking and chasing women and train him in business. Instead, he falls for the local postmaster and turns the ranch into a tourist attraction for other East Coast elites. The show launched the careers of actors Ethel Merman and Ginger Rogers, and includes some of Gershwin’s most recognizable songs.