George Gershwin’s first musical rediscovered after nearly a century

First available recordings of previously lost songs from 'La, La, Lucille'. While poring over the Samuel French Collection at Amherst College last summer, University of Michigan researcher Jacob Kerzner discovered a box labeled "La la [sic] Lucille,- which immediately piqued his interest. He opened the box anticipating nothing more than what was already thought to exist from the show. But "as I sifted through almost 800 pages of music, many crumbling at the edges, I gradually confirmed that these materials were indeed from the supposedly 'lost' show,- said Kerzner, associate editor of U-M's George and Ira Gershwin Critical Edition. Kerzner uncovered the complete musical orchestration of "La, La, Lucille,- with parts for flute, cello, trumpet, trombone, percussion, violin, cello, bass and piano, making the musical possible to perform for the first time in nearly a century. "La, La, Lucille,- based on the book by Fred Jackson, was George Gershwin's first complete score, written when he was just 21 years old. The production opened on Broadway in May 1919 and toured the Northeast in 1920 and California in 1922.