Irving Berlin "THIS IS THE ARMY" Gala Performance 1944 Cairo, Egypt Program

Description

This is a rare August 17th, 1944 program (playbill) from a Gala Benefit Performance of the IRVING BERLIN Soldier Show "THIS IS THE ARMY" at the Royal Opera House in Cairo, Egypt. (The production opened July 4th, 1942 at the Broadway Theatre in New York City and ran for 113 performances before mounting an ambitious international tour. The final performance was given October 22nd, 1945 on the Hawaiian island of Maui.) ..... The Gala Performance with His Majesty King Farouk I in attendance, benefited the Mohamed Aly El-Kabir Society and the Red Crescent Society. The musical starred an all-soldier cast including past and future Broadway actors Sgt. ALAN MANSON, Cpl. LARRY WEEKS, Pfc. CARL NICHOLAS, Pfc. WILLIAM "Bill" McCUTCHEON, Cpl. RALPH MAGELSSEN, Sgt. JULIE OSHINS and Pfc. MAX SHOWALTER ..... Historical Background: In May 1941, ex-Sergeant IRVING BERLIN was on tour
at
Camp Upton
, his old Army base in
Yaphank
,
New York
during
World War I
. There
he spoke with the commanding officers, including
Capt. A. H. Rankin
of Special Services, about restaging his original 1917 Army play,
Yip! Yip! Yaphank
. Gen.
George Marshall
approved a Broadway production of a wartime musical for the army, allowing Berlin to conduct the arrangements and rehearsals at Camp Upton and Sgt. EZRA STONE was selected as director for the new contemporary play. At the insistence of Berlin, the all-soldier revue became a racially-integrated detachment of the Army’s Special Services Division. Originally intended to be a four-week fundraiser, it was so successful that the Broadway run was extended until September 26th, 1942, followed by a national tour and a motion picture. The tour, which raised over two million dollars, was followed by a long stint at camps and bases overseas. Berlin, a member of the Original Cast and the Post-Broadway tour, would often accompany the revue on its overseas tours and be called on to perform for the troops. In the end, the musical would outlast the war; the last performance given on October 22nd, 1945 on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Berlin donated all of the proceeds from the shows, the sale of sheet music and the film rights to the Army Emergency Relief Fund. (Source: Wikipedia and the National WWII Museum website)
..... In addition to Sgt. ALAN MANSON, Cpl. LARRY WEEKS, Pfc. CARL NICHOLAS, Pfc. WILLIAM "Bill" McCUTCHEON and Pfc. MAX SHOWALTER, the cast included Pvt. RALPH MAGELSSEN, Pvt. EDWARD O'CONNOR, Pvt. JULES OSHINS, Pvt. ALAN MANSON, Cpl. JOHN DRAPER, Pfc. HAMPTON THOMAS, Cpl. WILLIAM ROERICH, Sgt. HANK HENRY, Pfc. HENRY JONES, Pfc. ARTHUR GILMORE, Pfc. JOHN HEDERMAN, Pfc. DANIEL LONGO, Sgt. JAMES BURRELL, Sgt. ZINN ARTHUR, Pfc. JAMES FARRELL, Pfc. DONALD McCRAY, Pfc. EARL LIPPY, Pfc. PAUL WALTI, Cpl. PINKIE MITCHELL, Sgt. SIDNEY SALZER, Sgt. NELSON BARCLIFT, Sgt. MAURICE KELLY, Sgt. RICHARD IRVING, Pfc. FRED KELLY, Cpl. JACK LENNY, Pfc. EUGENE JARVIS, Pfc. WILLIAM PILLICH, Cpl. CHARLES TATE, Pfc. CHARLES DICKSON, Pfc. ALFRED DANIELI, Pfc. HARVEY PRAEL, Sgt. JOSEPH JOHNSON, Sgt. CARMINE CAPUOZZO, Cpl. CASSE JAEGER, Cpl. PHIL KING, Pfc. JOSEPH WOCJIKOWSKI, Pfc. STEPHEN LaMARR, Cpl. LARRY WEEKS, Pfc. KENNETH BATES, Pfc. RICHARD REEVES, Pfc. RICHARD BROWNING, Sgt. GENE BERG, Cpl. ORLANDO JOHNSON, Pfc. GEORGE ANDERSON, Pfc. CHARLES JOHNSON, Cpl. MARION "SPOONS" BROWN, Sgt. DICK BERNIE, Sgt. EARL OXFORD, Sgt. JOHN PRINCE MENDES, Pfc. ROBERT SUMERLIN and many others
..... CREDITS: Music and Lyrics by IRVING BERLIN ("Music Box Revues", the Marx Brothers' "The Cocoanuts", "Louisiana Purchase", "This is the Army", "Miss Liberty", "Annie Get Your Gun", "Call Me Madam", "Mr. President"); Sets designed by Pvt. JOHN KOENIG; Costumes designed by Sgt. JOSEPH FRETWELL, III; Choreographed by Pvt. ROBERT SIDNEY; Entire Production Staged Under the Personal Supervision of IRVING BERLIN; Produced by UNCLE SAM ..... DETAILS: The 24 page playbill measures 6 1/4" X 8 3/8" inches and includes full production credits, promotional text, program notes, scenes and musical numbers (in both English and Egyptian), but no cast list, photos or bios ..... CONDITION: With the exception of light surface rubbing to the cover, this rare program is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.