Review: US Army's BLUEPRINT SPECIALS Enlists Laura Osnes and Will Swenson

When Americans think of the shows that entertained soldiers during World War II, visions of Bob Hope on a temporary outdoor stage wisecracking for thousands of servicemen, courtesy of the USO, are what usually come to mind.

But there was another, more do-it-yourself method, devised by the Special Services Division of the Army Service Forces to help boost the morale of the men and women stationed overseas. Known as BLUEPRINT SPECIALS, a series of musical revues commissioned in 1944-45 were written especially for troops to put together themselves in areas where it would be impractical or dangerous to send a Hollywood star package.

The name comes from the fact that enlisted entertainers would receive a full production blueprint, not only containing the scripts and sheet music, but detailing staging and choreography and providing instructions on how to build sets and construct costumes.

No less than Pvt. Frank Loesser, who had yet to achieve Broadway success, was one of the contributing songwriters. Future Emmy-winning comedy writer, Pvt. Arnold M. Auerbach, penned sketches and future dance legend, Pvt. José Limón, created choreography.

The historic repertory has been left unperformed and largely forgotten in the annals of showbiz until a recently concluded engagement by the theatre company known as Waterwell, as part of The Public Theater's 2017 Under the Radar Festival.

With complete scripts hard to come by, director/adapter Tom Ridgely created a rip-roaring 90-minute cavalcade using material from four separate shows. The cast was made up of a mix of enlisted and civilian performers, including members of the Limón Dance Company, and two Broadway favorites, Laura Osnes and Will Swenson. Adding extra authenticity, the production was staged inside the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum off of the Hudson River's Pier 86.

After an opening march that combined the men's ensemble singing Jerry Livingston and Hy Zaret's "Gee, But It's Great To Be In The Army" with a chorus of WACs introducing Ruby Jane Douglass' "Something New Has Been Added To The Army," the plot that loosely connects the sketches and songs was introduced.

It seems that the goddess Pallas Athena (Osnes), whose image appears on the WAC insignia, is tired of her exalted existence and wants to do some good by enlisting to help the war effort. The god Jupiter (Swenson), thinks it's all silly nonsense as she takes on the challenge of basic training, bonds with her fellow WACs and even finds a bit of romance with a shy serviceman, but eventually he sees the importance of America's fight for freedom and enlists himself. The two Tony-nominees were both in top form and seemed to be having a swell time with the classic-style musical comedy material.

In between were scenes and gags involving subjects such as military bureaucracy, those crazy army slang abbreviations and carefully worded army sex lectures. Loesser's contributions include "Classification Blues," a funny number where soldiers find their special talents not exactly used to the fullest, "Why Do They Call A Private a Private?" (lyric by Peter Lind Hayes), about army life's lack of alone time, and "Poor Lonely MP," a bluesy number belted with show stopping power by Emily McAleesjergins.

Also making a terrific impression was song and dance comic character man Quinn Mattfeld, as the Sad Sack who keeps trying until he becomes a tip-top soldier.

Music director Sonny Paladino reconstructed the music with assistant Isaac Alter and led a thirteen-piece orchestra that really swung.

BLUEPRINT SPECIALS is not only an interesting artifact, but solid musical comedy entertainment.

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