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Army Entertainment
 
Recreation & Leisure >
Entertainment History (ud.cr 06Feb 28)
A Brief History of Army Entertainment
Soldier entertainment had its earliest origins in the American Revolution and the Civil War. Army camp shows were often spontaneously organized in companies, battalions or other units with volunteer soldier entertainers.
In 1918, Irving Berlin’s “Yip, Yip, Yaphank” and George M. Cohan’s “Over There” provided rallying and rousing patriotic music for soldiers and civilians alike as troop entertainment became an essential morale booster during World War I.
During World War II, draftees provided the talent and inspiration for Berlin’s Broadway soldier show “This is the Army." By 1942, Special Services companies of soldiers were formed to sustain troop morale. The Entertainment Section prepared scripts for musical revues in booklets entitled “Soldier Shows Blueprint Specials-By the Men…for the Men in the Service.”
Celebrity draftees like Mickey Rooney entertained troops in stateside training camps, staging areas and overseas units. Soldier “Jeep Shows” and Special Service Company Shows took live entertainment to combat areas.
The need for organized soldier entertainment programs led to the hiring of Civilian Actress Technicians. In 1945, these women served in the Pacific and European Theaters to organize, direct, perform in and present musical, variety and theater productions by and for soldiers.
From the 1950s entertainment platoons of the 10th Special Services Company in Korea to the shows in Vietnam base camps to the addition of children’s programs in the 1970s, the Music and Theater program continued to expand and adapt to meet the needs of the changing Army. Entertainment has continued to play an essential role in the off duty lives of soldiers and families, providing outlets for creative expression and recreation.
Today, the Army Entertainment Division is the largest producer of live entertainment in the world. Army community theaters alone stage more than 900 productions annually worldwide for audiences totaling a quarter of a million. Since 1983, the annual U.S. Army Soldier Show, a high-energy 90-minute musical review is staged entirely by active duty soldiers who travel more than 25,000 miles performing for audiences totaling more than 100,000.
Soldiers carry on the tradition of "entertainment for the soldier, by the soldier" through the Army theater touring company BRAVO!, the Army Concert Tour, the USA Express top-40 show band, and the “Battle of Bands” and “Stars of Tomorrow” competitions as part of the Army’s Morale, Welfare, and Recreation program.
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