Lady, Be Good (musical) Lady, Be Good (musical) Lady, Be Good! (title sometimes presented with an exclamation point) is a musical written by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson with music by George and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was first presented on Broadway in 1924; the West End production followed in 1926. The story of the musical is about a brother and sister who are out of money; both are eager to sacrifice themselves to help the other. This was the first Broadway collaboration of the Gershwin brothers, and the Astaire siblings play a brother-sister dance team. "Lady, Be Good" premiered on Broadway at
Fred Astaire to find work in the brewing trade and moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where he landed a job with the Storz Brewing Company. Astaire's mother dreamed of escaping Omaha by virtue of her children's talents, after Astaire's sister, Adele Astaire, revealed herself to be an instinctive dancer and singer very early on in her childhood. Johanna planned a "brother and sister act," which was common in vaudeville at the time for her two children. Although Fred refused dance lessons at first, he easily mimicked his older sister's steps and took up piano, accordion, and clarinet. When their father suddenly lost his