''This Is The Army'' is an American musical

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

in two acts, designed to boost morale in the U.S. 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 opposing ...

, with a book by James McColl and music and lyrics by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russ ...

. It was produced by the U.S. Army on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 1942, with a cast of U.S. soldiers, for the benefit of the Army Emergency Relief Fund.

Production

The revue ran on

, at the

Broadway Theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

, from July 4, 1942, to September 26, 1942, for 113 performances. The Internet Broadway Database names the production team: “Music by Irving Berlin; Book by James McColl and Irving Berlin; Lyrics by Irving Berlin; Musical Director:

Milton Rosenstock Milton Rosenstock (June 9, 1917, New Haven, Connecticut - April 24, 1992, New York City) was an American conductor, composer, and arranger. Career Trained at the Juilliard School, he was highly active as a musical director for Broadway music ...

; Dialogue for Minstrel Show by Pvt. Jack Mendelsohn, Pfc. Richard Burdick and Pvt. Tom McDonnell; Music arrangements for dances by Pvt. Melvin Pahl. Directed by Sgt. Ezra Stone; Choreographed by Cpl. Nelson Barclift and Sgt. Robert Sidney; Additional direction by

Joshua Logan Joshua Lockwood Logan III (October 5, 1908 – July 12, 1988) was an American director, writer, and actor. He shared a Pulitzer Prize for co-writing the musical '' South Pacific'' and was involved in writing other musicals. Early years Logan ...

; Military Formations by

Chester O'Brien Chester Lee "Chet" O'Brien (June 28, 1909 – July 14, 1996) was an American chorus dancer in the 1930s who became a stage manager. He worked on ''Oh! Calcutta!'' and on ''Sesame Street'', where he also performed as "Mr. Macintosh". Biography As ...

. Scenic Design by Pvt. John Koenig; Costume Design by Pvt. John Koenig.” The opening night program gives Rosenstock, who was directing the orchestra, the rank of Corporal.

Background

In May 1941, 7 months before the U.S. joined the fighting in World War II, former Sergeant

was on a tour that took him to his old Army base,

Camp Upton Camp Upton was a port of embarkation of the United States Army during World War I. During World War II it was used to intern enemy aliens. It was located in Yaphank, New York in Suffolk County on Long Island, on the present-day location of Brook ...

Yaphank, New York Yaphank () is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 5,945 at the time of the 2010 census. Yaphank is located in the south part of the Town of Brookhaven. It is served by the Lo ...

. He spoke with the commanding officers, including Capt.

Doc Rankin Ainsworth H. "Doc" Rankin (November 27, 1896 – January 1954) was an American army officer and freelance cartoonist. He was an editorial page cartoonist for the ''Brooklyn Eagle'' for a number of years and is best known for producing the touri ...

of Special Services, about restaging Berlin's 1917 Army play ''

Yip Yip Yaphank ''Yip Yip Yaphank'' is a 1918 musical revue by Irving Berlin. He wrote and produced the show during World War I, after he was drafted into the United States Army and was serving in 152nd Depot Brigade at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York. The milita ...

''. Gen.

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry ...

approved a Broadway production of a wartime musical for the Army, allowing Berlin to make the arrangements and hold rehearsals at Camp Upton, much as he had done during World War I. Sgt. Ezra Stone was selected as director of the new version of the play. They put together the story and crew on weekdays.Bergreen, Laurence
"Irving Berlin: This Is the Army"
''Prologue'' magazine, Summer 1996, Vol. 28, No. 2 Berlin insisted on racial integration and was permitted to add

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

s into this play, which he was not allowed to do in ''Yip Yip Yaphank''. This was unconventional for the United States Army at the time. However, whites and African Americans still did not appear on stage together. According to the opening night program, the show was supposed to open with a military

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spe ...

. ''Prologue Magazine'' reports that "initially,

erlin Erlin may refer to: Places *Erlin, Changhua, a township in Taiwan *Erlin, Ohio, an unincorporated community in the United States People

*Robbie Erlin (born 1990), American baseball pitcher *Erlin Geffrard (born 1987), artist and musician ...

expected the first half hour of ''This Is the Army'' to recreate a minstrel show, which was the way he had kicked off ''Yip Yip Yaphank'' – 110 men sitting on bleachers, and everyone in blackface. Ezra Stone, the director, was indignant. 'Mr. Berlin,' he said, 'I know the heritage of the minstrel show. Those days are gone. People don't do that anymore.' 'No, no, that's nonsense,' the songwriter replied. After considerable discussion, Stone adopted another approach to convince Berlin to skip the minstrel segment: 'How can we have 110 guys in blackface and then get them out of blackface for the rest of the show?' So Berlin devised a song for the Black soldiers, based on " Puttin' on the Ritz", calling it "What the Well-Dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear" (various U.S. Army uniforms).

Production and reception

The opening night cast consisted of 300 actors, including Berlin, Burl Ives, and Stone (the director). The show was a great success, with an opening night gross of $45,000, which, according to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', "probably is a world's record for an opening night." It was supposed to run for four weeks (to August 4, 1942) and instead ran for 12 weeks (to September 26, 1942). ''The New York Times'' article went on to say "it became evident to all concerned that there was the best show of a generation."

Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his ...

, writing in ''The New York Times'' a month later, said, "No wonder ''This Is the Army'' leaves the audience in a glow of enjoyment and loyalty. For Mr. Berlin's taste is perfect ... he has contributed another memorable show to the genius of America."

Touring company

This Is the Army backstage 111-SC-279543

Because the show was such a success, it went on the road. The first national tour of the revue went to

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, and Philadelphia before continuing to

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Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, ending in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

on February 13, 1943. By that time, it had earned $2 million (equal to $ today) for the Army Emergency Relief Fund.Bergreen, Laurence
"Irving Berlin: This Is the Army"
''Prologue'' magazine, Summer 1996, Vol. 28, No. 2 (Part 2) The company of men that staged the play were the only fully integrated U.S. Army outfit—except on stage. The show toured the UK in 1943, appearing at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...

from November 10 to 27 before playing at the Glasgow Empire for a week beginning November 30.

appeared, but some numbers were changed for the UK production.

was the musical director. In the "What the Well-dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear” number,

James Cross James Richard Cross (29 September 1921 – 6 January 2021) was an Irish-born British diplomat who served in India, Malaysia and Canada. While posted in Canada, Cross was kidnapped by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) durin ...

danced with Billy Yates. A note in the Glasgow programme, written by Jacob L Devers, said: "following their tour of Great Britain...(the cast of 150 American soldiers)… will be sent to Africa to play before Allied soldiers, then will join America's fighting forces". Proceeds of the British tour were given to British service charities, and it was also stipulated that "the soldiers of our Allies, as well as all American enlisted men, should see this Army show free of cost."Theatre programme "This is the Army". Glasgow Empire. 30 November 1943. The end of the war saw the end of the roadshow. The last performance took place on the island of

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

, Hawaii, on October 22, 1945, with Irving Berlin once again singing his "

Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning "Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 that gives a comic perspective on military life. Berlin composed the song as an expression of protest against the indignities of Army routine shortly after being ...

". The Army Emergency Relief Fund collected millions of dollars, but the total amount was never accounted for, nor released to the public.

Musical numbers

According to the opening night program: ;Act I 1. A Military Minstrel Show *"Opening Chorus" *"This Is the Army" *"I'm Getting Tired So I Can Sleep" *"My Sergeant and I" *"I Left My Heart at the

Stage Door Canteen The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers we ...

" *"The Army’s Made a Man Out of Me" *"

Mandy Mandy or Mandie may refer to: People * Mandy (name), a female given name and nickname * Iván Mándy (1918-1995), Hungarian writer * Mark Mandy (born 1972), Irish retired high jumper * Philip Mandie (born 1942), a former judge on the Supreme Cou ...

" 2. A Military Vaudeville Show * "Ladies of the Chorus" * "That Russian Winter" * "What the Well Dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear" * "Finale Act I" ;Act II * "American Eagles" * "Head in the Clouds" * "Reprise - "I'm Getting Tired" * "

" * "Aryans Under the Skin" * "A Soldier’s Dream" * "

" * "This Time"

References

Sources

* Mantle, Burns (ed.) ''The Best Plays of 1942–1943'', Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1943. *Ewen, David. ''Complete Book of the American Musical Theater,'' (2nd Ed.) Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1959, pp. 27–29.

External links

''This Is The Army''
at ''Playbill'' {{Irving Berlin Musicals by Irving Berlin Broadway musicals 1942 musicals Revues