Nice Work If You Can Get It Lyrics – All Songs from the Musical

"Nice Work If You Can Get It" (2012) – The Musical Guide & Song Meanings

Review

“Nice Work If You Can Get It” is a songbook musical that doesn’t pretend it discovered Gershwin. It hires Gershwin as the world’s most charming accomplice. Joe DiPietro’s book sets a Prohibition farce on rails: bootleggers need a hiding place, a wealthy playboy needs a respectable bride, and everyone else needs an alibi. The score then does the slyer work. Ira Gershwin’s lyrics turn romance into negotiation, and social respectability into a gag with sharp teeth.

The lyrical through-line is surveillance. “Someone to Watch Over Me” lands early as a sincere confession, then keeps echoing as the plot stacks lies on top of lies. Meanwhile, the title song is not just flirtation. It’s a value proposition. Jimmy argues for love like a man selling a merger, while Billie keeps insisting she is immune. The fun is watching the lyrics trap her. When she sings “But Not for Me,” it reads as self-defense, not philosophy. By Act II, the show’s froth has a hangover, and the language gets more private, more bruised.

Musically, it’s 1920s swing and Broadway gloss with a modern punch line. The productions that work best make “Fascinating Rhythm” feel like a panic attack in formalwear, and “Treat Me Rough” like a comedy number that still understands the stakes of being cornered in a bedroom at night. It is silly. It is also a little bit mean about class and morality, which is why it lasts beyond its set-ups.

Listener tip: to follow the plot cleanly on album, run “Sweet and Lowdown,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Treat Me Rough,” “‘S Wonderful,” “Fascinating Rhythm,” then jump to “But Not for Me,” “Looking for a Boy,” “Will You Remember Me?,” and “They All Laughed.” You will hear the full arc from dealmaking to devotion.

How It Was Made

The Broadway “new” musical in 2012 had a prior life, and that matters for how tightly the lyrics click into story. Early versions played under the title “They All Laughed!” at Goodspeed, then the project kept evolving through workshops before the Kathleen Marshall production brought it to Broadway as a cleanly branded Gershwin romp. DiPietro has described how the show’s moving parts were shaped in collaboration with Marshall, and that collaboration shows in the way the book keeps feeding her dance vocabulary: entrances that are punch lines, ensemble traffic that becomes story.

Conceptually, the show borrows outline DNA from an earlier Prohibition-era property and filters it through modern screwball timing. The practical problem was always the same: Gershwin songs come with their own expectations, so the book has to earn why these lyrics appear here, now, in this person’s mouth. The best numbers are the ones that solve that problem by letting the lyric do double duty. “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” is a duet, yes, but it’s also a legal fiction being improvised at gunpoint.

Key Tracks & Scenes

"Sweet and Lowdown" (Jimmy, Chorus Girls, Society Guys)

The Scene:

Night. A riotous bachelor party. Champagne energy, jazzy lighting, and a room that treats scandal like oxygen.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric defines Jimmy’s charm as habit, not depth. “Sweet and lowdown” is the character in two adjectives: pleasant enough to trust, slippery enough to regret.

"Nice Work If You Can Get It" (Jimmy; then reprise for Billie)

The Scene:

Outside the party, Jimmy stumbles into Billie. Streetlight, fog of booze, quick sparks. He pitches love. She sizes up the real estate.

Lyrical Meaning:

Jimmy sells romance like a job with benefits. Billie’s reprise turns the same words into a private dare: if love is “nice work,” she is about to get promoted.

"Someone to Watch Over Me" (Billie)

The Scene:

Morning at Jimmy’s Long Island beach house. Billie has just been kissed “for educational purposes.” The space is too elegant for her, which is the point.

Lyrical Meaning:

This lyric is vulnerability in a borrowed room. The classic yearning is sharpened by context: Billie wants safety, but she does not yet trust the idea of it.

"Treat Me Rough" (Billie, Jimmy)

The Scene:

Night in the ritzy bedroom. Billie tries to seduce Jimmy and nearly talks herself out of it in real time. Door slams, close calls, escalating farce.

Lyrical Meaning:

It plays like comedy, but the lyric is Billie negotiating control. “Rough” becomes a mask for fear of tenderness, and fear of being known.

"'S Wonderful" (Jimmy, Billie)

The Scene:

After the forced overnight, the lie has turned into intimacy. Bright daytime light, a terrace that suddenly feels like a movie set.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric is famously uncomplicated, which is exactly why it works here. They are not smart enough to explain what happened, so Gershwin gives them the simplest possible truth.

"Fascinating Rhythm" (Company)

The Scene:

Act I finale energy. A wedding party threatens to discover 400 cases of gin in the cellar. Movement becomes misdirection. The room spins faster as the risk rises.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric is about a rhythm you cannot resist. In this show, it becomes the rhythm of panic. Everyone is dancing because nobody can admit what is underneath the floorboards.

"But Not for Me" (Billie)

The Scene:

Act II opens on the terrace with revelers celebrating. Billie watches like an outsider again. Cooler lighting, a quieter pocket in a loud party.

Lyrical Meaning:

This is denial as self-protection. Billie sings the lyric as if it could keep love from happening, which is also how you know it already has.

"Looking for a Boy" (Duchess, Cookie)

The Scene:

Luncheon chaos. The Duchess gets spiked, climbs higher than decorum allows, and turns into the show’s most dangerous truth-teller. Spotlight follows her bad decisions.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric is ridiculous and oddly frank. Desire breaks through propriety, and the comedy lands because the hunger is real.

"They All Laughed" (Full Company)

The Scene:

Finale. Lies collapse into confessions, couples pair off, the bootleg becomes celebration. Warm night lighting, starry-terrain optimism, a wink at the audience.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric reframes scandal as prophecy. They laughed at us, then we won. In a show built on performance, it is the perfect last line.

Live Updates

Information current as of January 29, 2026. “Nice Work If You Can Get It” is not running on Broadway, and there is no current large-scale touring company. Its 2025 to 2026 life is licensing, plus occasional international productions. In the U.S., a notable example is a Lone Tree Arts Center run in Colorado (October 9–26, 2025), which reflects how the show often appears now: as a regional-season crowd-pleaser with big dance demands.

In 2026, multiple schools and community theatres are keeping it visible with clearly advertised dates, including an April 9–12, 2026 engagement at an Edgerton Center season closer and a May 8–31, 2026 run in Burlington, Ontario. Internationally, a Russian-language production at a Musical Comedy Theatre lists a premiere date in July 2025 with performances continuing into 2026. The headline is simple: the title has settled into repertory life, where “current cast” means “this week’s local cast,” not one official banner company.

Notes & Trivia

• The Broadway production opened April 24, 2012 at the Imperial Theatre and ran 478 performances, closing June 15, 2013.
• It uses songs by George and Ira Gershwin with a new book by Joe DiPietro, inspired by material associated with Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse.
• Judy Kaye won the 2012 Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as the Duchess Estonia Dulworth.
• The cast recording was released digitally September 25, 2012 and on CD October 30, 2012, through Shout! Factory (with Sony distribution noted in announcements).
• IBDB credits David Chase as musical supervisor and Bill Elliott as orchestrator, with Elliott also nominated for the Tony for orchestrations.
• A U.S. national tour launched September 2, 2014 in Dallas and ran into 2015, a reminder that this “new” musical already has a second life.
• Concord Theatricals licenses both the full show and a Teen Edition, which helps explain why it keeps popping up in 2025 and 2026 seasons.

Reception

Critics largely agreed on the show’s central bargain: a creaky-cute book propped up by Gershwin gold and Kathleen Marshall’s choreography. Where they diverged was how much “manufactured” nostalgia they were willing to forgive. The best reviews sounded like people surprised to enjoy themselves. The harsher ones still tended to admit the cast was doing the heavy lifting with style.

“Cram[s] vintage Gershwin songs into a bubbly crowdpleaser.”

“An old-fashioned romp” with “a well-deployed prop” at its center.

“A rowdy, dopey-smart, dance-driven screwball comedy.”

Quick Facts

• Title: Nice Work If You Can Get It
• Year: 2012 (Broadway opening)
• Type: Musical comedy; Gershwin songbook musical
• Music: George Gershwin
• Lyrics: Ira Gershwin
• Book: Joe DiPietro
• Director & choreographer: Kathleen Marshall
• Musical supervision: David Chase
• Orchestrations: Bill Elliott
• Original Broadway run: March 29, 2012 (previews) to June 15, 2013; 478 performances
• Selected notable placements: “Sweet and Lowdown” at Jimmy’s bachelor party; “Someone to Watch Over Me” after the first kiss in the beach house; “Fascinating Rhythm” as Act I’s misdirection engine; “But Not for Me” as Act II’s comedown
• Cast album: Original Broadway Cast Recording; digital release Sept. 25, 2012; CD Oct. 30, 2012 (Shout! Factory)
• Licensing: Available via Concord Theatricals (full and Teen Edition)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this a jukebox musical?

Yes, in the classic “songbook” sense. The show builds a new plot around pre-existing Gershwin standards, then tries to motivate why those lyrics appear in specific scenes.

Who wrote the new story?

Joe DiPietro wrote the book, with the score drawn from George and Ira Gershwin.

Where does “Fascinating Rhythm” land in the story?

As the Act I pressure-cooker. It’s used as a distraction sequence to keep a wedding party from discovering the bootleg gin in the cellar.

What recording should I start with?

The Original Broadway Cast Recording is the cleanest narrative document, and it preserves the production’s dance-forward pacing in its track order.

Is the show still performed in 2025 and 2026?

Yes. It appears primarily through licensing and regional seasons, with clearly advertised runs in late 2025 and spring 2026, plus international productions.

What is the show really “about” under the farce?

Class performance. Who gets to look respectable, who gets policed, and how love starts as a con and becomes inconveniently sincere.

Key Contributors

Name	Role	Contribution
George Gershwin	Composer	Provided the musical language: swing, sparkle, and melodies that can sell romance or chaos on demand.
Ira Gershwin	Lyricist	Wrote lyrics built on wit and emotional precision, making farce feel personal at the exact right moments.
Joe DiPietro	Book writer	Constructed the Prohibition-era farce that motivates the songbook and keeps the engine turning.
Kathleen Marshall	Director & choreographer	Made the staging dance-driven and story-functional, turning ensemble traffic into plot mechanics.
David Chase	Musical supervisor	Oversaw musical cohesion across classic standards, maintaining a unified performance style.
Bill Elliott	Orchestrator	Orchestrated the score for Broadway scale while keeping Gershwin’s snap and clarity.
Shout! Factory	Cast album label	Released the Original Broadway Cast Recording (digital and CD), extending the show’s listening life.
Concord Theatricals	Licensing	Licenses the full show and Teen Edition, enabling the 2025–2026 repertory footprint.

Sources: Gershwin (official publications page); IBDB; Tony Awards (official site); Concord Theatricals; Playbill; Variety; Vulture (New York Magazine); Newsday; Broadway.com; TheaterMania; Lone Tree Arts Center; Edgerton Center; Drury Lane (Burlington); Musical Comedy Theatre (Russia).