Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Playwright, songwriter, producer, and star performer George M. Cohan (1878–1942) looms large in musical theater legend. Remembered today for classic tunes like “You’re a Grand Old Flag” and “Give My Regards to Broadway,” he has been called “the father of musical comedy” and his statue stands in the heart of the New York theater district. Cohan's early twentieth-century songs and shows captured the spirit of an era when staggering social change gave new urgency to efforts to define Americanism. He was an Irish American who had the audacity to represent himself as the emblem of the nation, a vaudevillian who unapologetically climbed the ranks and packaged his lower-brow style as Broadway. This lecture-recital by Prof. Elizabeth T. Craft and a group of guest performers will feature some of Cohan’s most memorable songs as it illustrates how he navigated racial and class tensions, staged national identity on Broadway, and shaped the cultural landscape during a fraught time in U.S. history.
Presented by Elizabeth T. Craft, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Music, The University of Utah
Moderators: Cathy Chambless and Tim Chambless
Vocalists: Caitlin Corbett, Thomas Glenn, Sam Plumb, Ella Mei Williamson
Pianist: Dr. Carol Anderson
This lecture-recital is part of Sounding the Nation at 250, a nationwide outreach initiative marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The project celebrates the nation’s diverse musical and artistic legacies. sam250.org
Elizabeth T. Craft, PhD, is Associate Professor at the University of Utah and author of the book Yankee Doodle Dandy: George M. Cohan and the Broadway Stage (Oxford University Press, 2024), which examines how Cohan shaped the burgeoning genre of musical comedy, the institution of Broadway, and the American cultural landscape in the early twentieth century. Her scholarship on musical theater and music in the United States also appears in journals and volumes including Studies in Musical Theatre, American Music, The Routledge Companion to the Contemporary Musical, and the Oxford Handbooks of Arrangement Studies and Musical Theatre Screen Adaptations. Deeply committed to public scholarship, she has presented at in live and online venues in partnership with organizations including La Mirada Theatre, the Village Preservation Society, and the Broadway Nation podcast.
In partnership with
University of Utah School of Music
Sounding the Nation at 250
Sponsored by the Society for American Music (SAM), Sounding the Nation at 250 is an outreach initiative marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. From Morgantown to Montgomery, Los Angeles to Lawrence, and Tallahassee to Tuscaloosa, this project will celebrate the nation’s diverse musical and artistic legacies with public lectures, recitals, and exhibits, engaging broad audiences with research on American music.
The Society for American Music is dedicated to the study, teaching, creation, and dissemination of all musics in the Americas.
This lecture-recital was recorded on June 14, 2026, as part of the annual Summer Forum series at the First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City. Special thanks to Cathy Chambless and Tim Chambless for hosting and moderating this installment of Summer Forum.
00:00 Introduction
00:23 Welcome and Introduction – Tim Chambless
02:20 Chalice Lighting – Cathy Chambless
03:42 Introduction of Guest Speaker – Tim Chambless
04:10 Presentation – Elizabeth T. Craft, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Music, The University of Utah
44:43 End Credits
🌎 First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City
→ Website: slcuu.org
→ Facebook: facebook.com/firstuuslc
→ YouTube: youtube.com/FirstUUSLC
🙏 Summer Forum and the other programs at First Unitarian Church are made possible by the generous contributions of members and friends like you.
→ Donate here: slcuu.org/give
🎬 Related video topics from First Unitarian Church
→ More Summer Forum presentations: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLouELW-J6FZYtna6Mor0EyGIWIA2yn1Fu
→ Musical Performances: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLouELW-J6FZZf4elAd9Vg_vWkp8Dj1Drb
Playwright, songwriter, producer, and star performer George M. Cohan (1878–1942) looms large in musical theater legend. Remembered today for classic tunes like “You’re a Grand Old Flag” and “Give My Regards to Broadway,” he has been called “the father of musical comedy” and his statue stands in the heart of the New York theater district. Cohan's early twentieth-century songs and shows captured the spirit of an era when staggering social change gave new urgency to efforts to define Americanism. He was an Irish American who had the audacity to represent himself as the emblem of the nation, a vaudevillian who unapologetically climbed the ranks and packaged his lower-brow style as Broadway. This lecture-recital by Prof. Elizabeth T. Craft and a group of guest performers will feature some of Cohan’s most memorable songs as it illustrates how he navigated racial and class tensions, staged national identity on Broadway, and shaped the cultural landscape during a fraught time in U.S. history.
Presented by Elizabeth T. Craft, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Music, The University of Utah
Moderators: Cathy Chambless and Tim Chambless
Vocalists: Caitlin Corbett, Thomas Glenn, Sam Plumb, Ella Mei Williamson
Pianist: Dr. Carol Anderson
This lecture-recital is part of Sounding the Nation at 250, a nationwide outreach initiative marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The project celebrates the nation’s diverse musical and artistic legacies. sam250.org
Elizabeth T. Craft, PhD, is Associate Professor at the University of Utah and author of the book Yankee Doodle Dandy: George M. Cohan and the Broadway Stage (Oxford University Press, 2024), which examines how Cohan shaped the burgeoning genre of musical comedy, the institution of Broadway, and the American cultural landscape in the early twentieth century. Her scholarship on musical theater and music in the United States also appears in journals and volumes including Studies in Musical Theatre, American Music, The Routledge Companion to the Contemporary Musical, and the Oxford Handbooks of Arrangement Studies and Musical Theatre Screen Adaptations. Deeply committed to public scholarship, she has presented at in live and online venues in partnership with organizations including La Mirada Theatre, the Village Preservation Society, and the Broadway Nation podcast.
In partnership with
University of Utah School of Music
Sounding the Nation at 250
Sponsored by the Society for American Music (SAM), Sounding the Nation at 250 is an outreach initiative marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. From Morgantown to Montgomery, Los Angeles to Lawrence, and Tallahassee to Tuscaloosa, this project will celebrate the nation’s diverse musical and artistic legacies with public lectures, recitals, and exhibits, engaging broad audiences with research on American music.
The Society for American Music is dedicated to the study, teaching, creation, and dissemination of all musics in the Americas.
This lecture-recital was recorded on June 14, 2026, as part of the annual Summer Forum series at the First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City. Special thanks to Cathy Chambless and Tim Chambless for hosting and moderating this installment of Summer Forum.
00:00 Introduction
00:23 Welcome and Introduction – Tim Chambless
02:20 Chalice Lighting – Cathy Chambless
03:42 Introduction of Guest Speaker – Tim Chambless
04:10 Presentation – Elizabeth T. Craft, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Music, The University of Utah
44:43 End Credits
🌎 First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City
→ Website: slcuu.org
→ Facebook: facebook.com/firstuuslc
→ YouTube: youtube.com/FirstUUSLC
🙏 Summer Forum and the other programs at First Unitarian Church are made possible by the generous contributions of members and friends like you.
→ Donate here: slcuu.org/give
🎬 Related video topics from First Unitarian Church
→ More Summer Forum presentations: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLouELW-J6FZYtna6Mor0EyGIWIA2yn1Fu
→ Musical Performances: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLouELW-J6FZZf4elAd9Vg_vWkp8Dj1Drb
