- Bloomer Girl
Infobox Musical
name= Bloomer Girl
caption=
music=Harold Arlen
lyrics=E.Y. Harburg
book=Sig Herzig andFred Saidy
basis=
productions=1944 Broadway
awards="Bloomer Girl" was a Broadway musical that premiered on
October 4 ,1944 .Sig Herzig andFred Saidy wrote the book,Harold Arlen the music, andE.Y. Harburg the lyrics.Agnes de Mille was the choreographer. The leads includedCeleste Holm andJoan McCracken .The plot concerned the daughter of a manufacturer of
hoop skirt s who was, herself, a convert to the cause ofAmelia Bloomer , and her conflicts with her father on the eve of theAmerican Civil War . The heroine was herself anabolitionist while her suitor was a slaveowner---one test she set him was tomanumit 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 had been available on LP in the 1950s, but had long been out of print. An abridged version of the musical--eliminating most ofAgnes de Mille 's choreography, except for the famous Civil War ballet at the end--aired onProducers' Showcase in1956 ; it starredBarbara Cook and featured many of the original dancers, including James Mitchell,Lidija Franklin ,Betty Low , andEmy 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 andArthur Partington , for "Billion Dollar Baby " (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.
External links
* [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=1583 Entry at the Internet Broadway Database]
* [http://www.nodanw.com/shows_b/bloomer_girl.htm The Guide to Muscial Theatre]
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