Who Cares? (ballet)

Who Cares? is a ballet made by New York City Ballet's co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine to the songs of George Gershwin in an orchestration by Hershy Kay. The premiere took place on Saturday, February 7, 1970, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center with costumes by Barbara Karinska and lighting by Ronald Bates; it was at first performed without décor but from November 1970 with scenery by Jo Mielziner.

The conductor was Robert Irving and the pianist on opening night Gordon Boelzner; the orchestration had only been completed for two songs, Strike Up the Band and I Got Rhythm. Clap Yo' Hands was performed to a recording made by George Gershwin; this sequence was, however, eliminated by Balanchine in 1976; new costumes were commissioned from Ben Benson by Balanchine before his death and have been used since 1983.

Balanchine and Gershwin's plans to collaborate were frustrated by the composer's untimely death in 1937. Thirty-three years later, Balanchine chose seventeen of Gershwin's from Broadway musical songs for this ballet; Mayor John V. Lindsay presented Balanchine with the Handel Medallion, New York City's highest cultural award, on opening night.

The songs

Casts

original

• Strike Up The Band

• Sweet And Low Down

• Somebody Loves Me

• Bidin' My Time

• 'S Wonderful

• That Certain Feeling

• Do Do Do

• Lady Be Good

• The Man I Love

• I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise

• Embraceable You

• Fascinatin' Rhythm

• Who Cares?

• My One And Only

• Liza

• Clap Yo' Hands

• I Got Rhythm

NYCB revivals

2009 Winter gala

2010 Winter

Videography and DVD

Television

See also

Reviews

External links

George Gershwin
Albums	Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls
Ballets	An American in Paris Gershwin Piano Concerto Three Preludes Who Cares? List of stagings
Operas	Blue Monday (1922) Porgy and Bess (1935)
Orchestral works	Rhapsody in Blue (1924) Concerto in F (1925) An American in Paris (1928) Second Rhapsody (1931) Cuban Overture (1932) Strike Up the Band (1934) Hoctor's Ballet (1937)
Piano compositions	Three Preludes (1926) French Ballet Class (1937)
Songs	"Aren't You Kind Of Glad We Did?" "(I've Got) Beginner's Luck" "Bidin' My Time" "Blah Blah Blah" "Boy Wanted" "Boy! What Love Has Done To Me!" "But Not for Me" "By Strauss" "Clap Yo' Hands" "Do It Again" "Doin' Time" "Embraceable You" "Fascinating Rhythm" "A Foggy Day" "For You, For Me, For Evermore" "Funny Face" "'The Half of It, Dearie' Blues" "He Loves and She Loves" "How Long Has This Been Going On?" "I Can't Be Bothered Now" "I Got Rhythm" "I Was Doing All Right" "I've Got a Crush on You" "Isn't It a Pity?" "Just Another Rhumba" "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" "Let's Kiss and Make Up" "Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)" "Looking for a Boy" "Lorelei" "Love Is Here to Stay" "Love is Sweeping the Country" "Love Walked In" "The Man I Love" "My Cousin in Milwaukee" "My One and Only" "Nice Work If You Can Get It" "Of Thee I Sing" "Oh, Lady Be Good!" "Oh, So Nice!" "The Real American Folk Song (is a Rag)" "'S Wonderful" "Sam and Delilah" "Slap That Bass" "Somebody from Somewhere" "Somebody Loves Me" "Someone to Watch Over Me" "Soon" "Stairway to Paradise" "Stiff Upper Lip" "Strike Up the Band" "Summertime" "Swanee" "That Certain Feeling" "They All Laughed" "They Can't Take That Away from Me" "Things Are Looking Up" "Tra-la-la" "Treat Me Rough" "Walking the Dog" "Who Cares?" "You've Got What Gets Me"
Tribute albums	Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin By George Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book Ella Sings Gershwin Gershwin Live! Gershwin's World The Glory of Gershwin Ira, George and Joe Nice Work If You Can Get It Oscar Peterson Plays the George Gershwin Songbook Red Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove Rosemary Clooney Sings the Lyrics of Ira Gershwin
Related articles	Gershwin Prize Arthur Gershwin Frances Gershwin Ira Gershwin Gershwin Theatre
List of compositions by George Gershwin Category:George Gershwin