G.I. Carmen

G. I. Carmen was an all-GI 1945 musical stage show produced by the 253rd Infantry Regiment, 63rd Division of the U.S. Army as morale booster for allied troops occupying post-WWII Europe.

Initially intended as a three-show run for the regiment, it was extended to reach the entire division and then picked up by the 7th Army and sent on an eight-month tour of the ETO seen by over 250,000 military personnel and countless civilians.

Shortly after V-E Day Lt. Robert T. Bogan, 253rd Special Services officer, directed his assistant, T/5 Frederick Wiener (aka Fredd Wayne), to organize an entertainment for the regiment.

Marty Faloon coordinated with choreographer T/Sgt Hal Edwards, who had worked for Arthur Murray and danced in 20th Century Fox Studios musicals, on adaptations of popular contemporary numbers as well as original tunes composed by saxophonist Cpl.

Carmen had its beginnings during stateside training when jazz violinist, Ralph Cerasuolo, once known in New York City as "Leonardo of the Stork Club", coaxed and inspired G.I.

volunteers of the 63rd into a swing unit that was in high demand, opening the new USO Club in New Orleans and playing multiple shows weekly around the south during breaks from combat drills.

The show’s immediate success with military personnel – eager to return home but held in Europe in order to help stabilize the war-torn continent – prompted the 7th Army Special Services to commandeer the production.

[3] The performance in Lauda on Monday, June 18, was seen by Lt. Mortimer Yolken of CONAD (Continental Advance Section) Special Service who had the show released from the division to the 7th Army.

Carmen played in Geissen and Erbach before opening in Berlin on the 17th and setting attendance records in Titania Palace,[7] Europe’s largest playhouse, extending there through the 30th.

Carmen changed through its run as it was taken over by the 7th Army and TSFET Special Service, entr'actes and musical numbers were added, and high point men were sent home.

Act 1 Before the curtain opens opera commentator "Dr. Quilton Foss" introduces the audience to the high art they are soon to witness and sums it up in two words, "It stinks!".

After performing a pas de deux to "Accentuate le Positif" (by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, 1944) Stinko carries Carmen offstage.

The show ends with the cast performing their own rendition of "Me and My Gal" with lyrics recounting the 63rd Division's war record and anticipating "a push into China and then to Japan".

crowd secondary plotlines follow soldier shenanigans including a successful scheme to trade off a pack of Luckies for twelve additional demobilization points.

Carmen continued its tour of Europe for five months beyond the official end of World War II, entertaining the remaining allied troops as well as local citizens in theaters and hospitals across the ETO.

Participating veterans included Fredd Wayne, Joseph Pollock, George Goldberg, Gordon Meyers, Nick Bonardi, Danny Canestraro, Harry Butensky, Herb Behrens and Al LaVecchia.

The cast and band of G.I. Carmen on stage at the Theatre Marigny, Paris, France, November 1945
G.I. Carmen principal performers in original costumes. Pvt Al LaVecchia, Cpl Ray Richardson, Cpl Bill "Tex" Thomas, T/5 Fredd Wayne and Sgt Joe Pollock
Mezzo-soprano Rosa Christians of the Antwerp opera company and Cpl. Fredd Wayne of the U.S. Army
Chorus of G.I. Carmen in original costumes. Fourth from the right in the back row is S/Sgt Charlie Byrd.
Cover of program for G.I. Carmen produced and performed by the U.S. Army June 1945 – January 1946