A soldier's show or blueprint special was a theatrical presentation designed by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

's Special Services Division for the purpose of team building and improving morale for soldiers during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. According to

Arthur Loesser Arthur Adolph Loesser (August 26, 1894 – January 5, 1969) was an American classical pianist, musicologist, and writer. Early life Born into a musical family in New York City, Loesser received early piano training from his German-born father until ...

, brother to songwriter

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...

, blueprint specials were the brainchild of

Harry Salter Harry Salter (1899 – March 5, 1984) was an American music director and an orchestra conductor for radio and television programs. One of Salter's radio orchestras in the late 1920s had as members Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Gene Krupa and ...

, orchestra conductor for 1920s and 1930s radio programs and the inventor of ''

Name That Tune ''Name That Tune'' is an American television music game show. Originally created and produced by orchestra conductor Harry Salter and his wife Roberta Semple Salter, the series features contestants competing to correctly identify songs being p ...

''. Often written by

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

songwriters and radio comedy writers, the soldier's shows were pre-packaged musical reviews distributed to local army camps, complete with orchestral arrangements, scripts for skits and jokes, stage directions, costume designs, scenery diagrams "all pre-cooked and provided with directions for serving." As opposed to USO Camp shows, often presented by professionals and special services entertainment units, the blueprint special was designed so that the local soldiers themselves built the scenery, cobbled together costumes, played the instruments and performed for each other. ''Hi, Yank!'' by Frank Loesser and Pvt.

Arnold M. Auerbach Arnold M. Auerbach (23 May 1912, in New York City, New York – 19 October 1998, in New York City, New York) was an American comedy writer, especially for radio, television and newspapers. Auerbach wrote radio and television scripts for Eddie Cant ...

with dances by Pvt.

Jose Limon Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean ...

is an example of a popular 1944 blueprint special. Loesser and Auerbach assisted Captain Ruby Jane Douglas mount an all-

Women's Army Corps The Women's Army Corps (WAC) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an Auxiliaries, auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) on 15 May 1942 and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the U ...

show entitled P.F.C. Mary Brown, based on Loesser's previous wartime hit ''First Class Private Mary Brown'' from the review "About Face". While visiting North Africa,

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

went backstage and praised the performers: "You are entertaining soldiers. You are not fighting with guns - but your job is just as important. As long as you are doing your job well . . . you will be rendering a service, and a great one, to your fellow soldiers and your country" In 2017, director Tom Ridgely adapted works from four soldier's shows into a limited run showing of "Blueprint Specials", performed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

at the ''Intrepid'' Sea, Air & Space Museum.

References

{{Reflist Musical theatre American propaganda during World War II