Bloomer Girl
Encyclopedia
Bloomer Girl was a Broadway
musical
that premiered on October 4, 1944. Sig Herzig
and Fred Saidy
wrote the book, Harold Arlen
the music, and E.Y. Harburg the lyrics. Agnes de Mille
was the choreographer. The leads included David Brooks
, Celeste Holm
, Dooley Wilson
, and Joan McCracken
.
The plot concerned the daughter of a manufacturer of hoop skirts who was, herself, a convert to the cause of Amelia Bloomer
, and her conflicts with her father on the eve of the American Civil War
. The heroine was herself an abolitionist while her suitor was a slaveowner---one test she set him was to manumit his personal slave
, Pompey.
While successful (it ran for 657 performances on Broadway), it has seldom been revived. One possible reason for this is the fact that the costumes, particularly for females, are quite complicated and difficult to deal with in the rather confined areas backstage
of a typical theater. City Center Encores!
staged a concert version in 2001.
The musical became available on CD in the early 1990s. Before that, it had almost been forgotten. It was available on records in an original cast album on American Decca 78 RPM set DA 381 contemporary with its initial run and then on an LP
in the 1950s but had long been out of print. An abridged version of the musical—eliminating most of Agnes de Mille
's choreography, except for the famous Civil War ballet at the end—aired on Producers' Showcase
in 1956; it starred Barbara Cook
and Keith Andes
and featured many of the original dancers, including James Mitchell
, Lidija Franklin
, Betty Low, and Emy St. Just.
Bloomer Girl caused a temporary rift between de Mille and Jerome Robbins
when, about a year into the show's run, Robbins summarily appropriated several dancers then in the chorus, including Mitchell and Arthur Partington, for Billion Dollar Baby
(1945).
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
that premiered on October 4, 1944. Sig Herzig
Sig Herzig
Sig Herzig was an American screenwriter and playwright.Born Siegfried Maurice Herzig in New York City, Herzig began his career as the director of the comedy short Husband and Strife , but he switched gears to create plot lines for more than three dozen silent films...
and Fred Saidy
Fred Saidy
Fred Saidy was an American playwright and screenwriter.Born in Los Angeles, California, Saidy began his writing career in 1943 with the screenplay for the Red Skelton comedy I Dood It. The following year, he scripted both the Lucille Ball-Dick Powell feature film Meet the People and the book for...
wrote the book, Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
the music, and E.Y. Harburg the lyrics. Agnes de Mille
Agnes de Mille
Agnes George de Mille was an American dancer and choreographer.-Early years:Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMille and her uncle Cecil B. DeMille were both Hollywood directors...
was the choreographer. The leads included David Brooks
David Brooks (actor)
David Brooks was an American actor, singer, director, and producer. He first drew critical acclaimation for starring in several Broadway musicals during the 1940s, including portraying Tommy Albright in the original production of Brigadoon. In the early 1950s he was an important stage director in...
, Celeste Holm
Celeste Holm
Celeste Holm is an American stage, film, and television actress, known for her Academy Award-winning performance in Gentleman's Agreement , as well as for her Oscar-nominated performances in Come to the Stable and All About Eve...
, Dooley Wilson
Dooley Wilson
Arthur "Dooley" Wilson was an American actor and singer. He was born in Tyler, Texas, and is remembered as piano-player "Sam" who sings "As Time Goes By" at the request of Ilsa Lund in the 1942 film, Casablanca - the Sam in the famously misremembered line "Play it again, Sam" -- a phrase which...
, and Joan McCracken
Joan McCracken
Joan McCracken was an American dancer, actress, and comedian who became famous for her role as Silvie in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!. By age 11, she was studying dance with Catherine Littlefield. She dropped out of high school to join Littlefield's ballet company...
.
The plot concerned the daughter of a manufacturer of hoop skirts who was, herself, a convert to the cause of Amelia Bloomer
Amelia Bloomer
Amelia Jenks Bloomer was an American women's rights and temperance advocate. Even though she did not create the women's clothing reform style known as bloomers, her name became associated with it because of her early and strong advocacy.-Early life:Bloomer came from a family of modest means and...
, and her conflicts with her father on the eve of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The heroine was herself an abolitionist while her suitor was a slaveowner---one test she set him was to manumit his personal slave
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, Pompey.
While successful (it ran for 657 performances on Broadway), it has seldom been revived. One possible reason for this is the fact that the costumes, particularly for females, are quite complicated and difficult to deal with in the rather confined areas backstage
Backstage
Backstage may refer to:* Backstage , by Cher* Backstage , an Australian drama* Back Stage , a silent film starring Oliver Hardy* Back Stage , a silent film starring Buster Keaton...
of a typical theater. City Center Encores!
Encores!
Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert is a program that has been presented by New York City Center since 1994. Encores! is dedicated to performing the full score of musicals that rarely are heard in New York City...
staged a concert version in 2001.
The musical became available on CD in the early 1990s. Before that, it had almost been forgotten. It was available on records in an original cast album on American Decca 78 RPM set DA 381 contemporary with its initial run and then on an LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
in the 1950s but had long been out of print. An abridged version of the musical—eliminating most of Agnes de Mille
Agnes de Mille
Agnes George de Mille was an American dancer and choreographer.-Early years:Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMille and her uncle Cecil B. DeMille were both Hollywood directors...
's choreography, except for the famous Civil War ballet at the end—aired on Producers' Showcase
Producers' Showcase
Producers' Showcase is an American anthology television series that was telecast live during the 1950s in compatible color by NBC. With top talent, the 90-minute episodes, covering a wide variety of genres, aired under the title every fourth Monday at 8 p.m. ET for three seasons, beginning October...
in 1956; it starred Barbara Cook
Barbara Cook
Barbara Cook is an American singer and actress who first came to prominence in the 1950s after starring in the original Broadway musicals Candide and The Music Man among others, winning a Tony Award for the latter...
and Keith Andes
Keith Andes
Keith Andes was an American film, radio, musical theatre, stage and television actor.-Early life:John Charles Andes was born in Ocean City, New Jersey on July 12, 1920. By the age of 12, he was featured on the radio....
and featured many of the original dancers, including James Mitchell
James Mitchell (actor)
James Mitchell was an American actor and dancer. Although he is best known to television audiences as Palmer Cortlandt on the soap opera All My Children , theatre and dance historians remember him as one of Agnes de Mille's leading dancers...
, Lidija Franklin
Lidija Franklin
Lidija Franklin is a dancer and teacher of Latvian descent, originally from the Moscow area. In the United States, she is known primarily for her association with Agnes de Mille.-Performances:...
, Betty Low, and Emy St. Just.
Bloomer Girl caused a temporary rift between de Mille and Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
when, about a year into the show's run, Robbins summarily appropriated several dancers then in the chorus, including Mitchell and Arthur Partington, for Billion Dollar Baby
Billion Dollar Baby
Billion Dollar Baby is a musical set on Staten Island and in Atlantic City during the late 1920s. It follows the adventures of an ambitious young woman, Maribelle Jones, in her quest for wealth during the Prohibition era. Betty Comden and Adolph Green, fresh from their success with On the Town,...
(1945).
Further reading
- Easton, Carol. No Intermissions: The Life of Agnes de Mille. New York: Little, Brown, & Co., 1996. ISBN 978-0-316-19970-4.