Let's face the music and dance: Irving Berlin, the prolific composer and songwriter, was self-taught, penning almost 1,000 tunes for Hollywood and Broadway. And yet he could only play and compose songs in the key of F sharp.

"It's the best story in 20th-century popular culture," says David Leopold, curator of "Show Business: Irving Berlin's Hollywood," opening this week at the James A. Michener Art Museum.

"Berlin was an early adapter," Leopold says with infectious enthusiasm, explaining how the composer thought film was the new medium of entertainment. "He turned down [the Broadway musical] Showboat to make [the film] The Jazz Singer."

The exhibit focuses squarely on Berlin's Hollywood career, transporting visitors back in time to the halcyon days of Berlin's era. Leopold describes the showcase as "a story of the film musical. Berlin's there from the first film to make sound and song," providing a tune for Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer. One of the more notable items on display is a photograph of Berlin playing golf with Jolson.

But Leopold is most impressed by the exhibit's inclusion of a reproduction of the Top Hat set design. "What most surprised me was a call I got about Berlin's presentation script to the costume designer for Top Hat," the curator says, acknowledging that the Astaire film had a great "visual iconography" well suited to Berlin's music.

And seriously, where would folks like Jolson, Astaire (and Ginger Rogers), or even Bing Crosby be without Berlin's songs? He made some of the most important contributions to American music, theater and film. His Oscar-winning hit "White Christmas" from Holiday Inn matches "God Bless America" for his most popular tune.

This exhibit is not just for musical theater queens, but for anyone who appreciates Americana, and popular music and culture.