P.F.C. Mary Brown is available online in the UNT Digital Library Soldier Shows Collection
P.F.C. Mary Brown was developed over a couple of months and was ready to be sent out to the troops by the end of August 1944. It doesn't appear to have been given a formal tryout like the first two blueprint specials, and it's not clear whether the Special Services even considered it in the category of the Blueprint Specials. The running title "Blueprint Special" does not appear anywhere on the cover or in the text, nor was this show ever given a number in the series. (No. 3 was assigned to the last published blueprint special, OK, USA!)
Table of Contents
Questionnaire
Conductor:
Overture | Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue | Finale (Song of the WAC / First Class Private Mary Brown (reprise) / WAC Hymn)| Optional Play-Off
Vocal [Lead Sheet]:
Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue
Piano:
Overture | Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue | Finale (Song of the WAC / First Class Private Mary Brown (reprise) / WAC Hymn)
1st Alto Saxophone:
Overture | Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue | Finale (Song of the WAC / First Class Private Mary Brown (reprise) / WAC Hymn)
2nd Alto Saxophone:
Overture | Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue | Finale (Song of the WAC / First Class Private Mary Brown (reprise) / WAC Hymn)
1st Tenor Saxophone:
Overture | Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue | Finale (Song of the WAC / First Class Private Mary Brown (reprise) / WAC Hymn)
2nd Tenor Saxophone:
Overture | Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue | Finale (Song of the WAC / First Class Private Mary Brown (reprise) / WAC Hymn)
1st Trumpet:
Overture | Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue | Finale (Song of the WAC / First Class Private Mary Brown (reprise) / WAC Hymn)
2nd Trumpet:
Overture | Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue | Finale (Song of the WAC / First Class Private Mary Brown (reprise) / WAC Hymn)
3rd Trumpet:
Overture | Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue | Finale (Song of the WAC / First Class Private Mary Brown (reprise) / WAC Hymn)
1st Trombone:
Overture | Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue | Finale (Song of the WAC / First Class Private Mary Brown (reprise) / WAC Hymn)
2nd Trombone:
Overture | Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue | Finale (Song of the WAC / First Class Private Mary Brown (reprise) / WAC Hymn)
Guitar:
Overture | Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue | Finale (Song of the WAC / First Class Private Mary Brown (reprise) / WAC Hymn)
Bass:
Overture | Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue | Finale (Song of the WAC / First Class Private Mary Brown (reprise) / WAC Hymn)
Drums:
Overture | Something New Has Been Added | In Twenty-Five Words or Less | New Style Bonnet | Come On, Honey | First Class Private Mary Brown | Poor Lonely MP | Lost in a Cloud of Blue | Finale (Song of the WAC / First Class Private Mary Brown (reprise) / WAC Hymn)
Capt. Ruby Jane Douglass:
Pvt. Frank Loesser
Pvt. Hy Zaret and Arthur Altman
Hy Zaret is perhaps best known today for writing the lyrics to Alex North's music in the 1954 song "Unchained Melody." Zaret and classically-trained composer Arthur Altman collaborated on the "Song of the WAC," featured in the finale to P.F.C. Mary Brown.
Pvt. Arnold Auerbach
Lt. Bob Eastright
Lt. Jack Hill
T/5 Edward E. Wolf
Edward E. Wolf also created blueprints, drawings, and set designs for several USO-Camp shows.
Mary Schenck
During the 1940s, Mary Percy Schenck designed costumes for several Broadway plays, as well as for the Metropolitan Opera.
Pvt. Herbert Bourne
T/5 Bernard Landes
T/5 George Leeman
Overture
SCENE 1: SOMETHING NEW HAS BEEN ADDED
Song: "Something New Has Been Added" (12 WACS)
In a rousing opening number, twelve WACS perform a routine that blends precision marching and jive dancing, expressing the overall theme of the show: "Right along with khaki shirts / Comes the sight of khaki skirts / Something new has been added to the Army."
Here the main plot is introduced. The goddess PALLAS ATHENE, bored with her life on Olympus and fed up with the philandering ways of her husband JUPITER, decides to disguise herself as a mortal and join up with the WACS, who have chosen her face as their official insignia.
The new recruits learn that life in the Army is not as romantic and glamorous as they had thought. PALLAS arrives late and announces herself as new recruit MARY BROWN.
Song: "In Twenty-Five Words or Less" (SUE AND FOUR GIRLS)
In a series of short vignettes four women express trivial reasons why they join the WACs — one disliked doing dishes; two are let down by their boyfriends; a fourth heard the PX has nylons. At the conclusion of the number they express in song another reason for joining up — "For the Red, White, and Blue / To make this world a better place for you."
This scene is reproduced almost word-for-word from a scene that appeared in Hi, Yank! New recruit JOAN (pronounced Joe-Ann) complains to her supply sergeant that the uniform issued to her is a man's uniform and way too big. The punchline arrives when the supply sergeant steps out from behind his desk and is revealed to be wearing a woman's skirt — the uniform he was issued.
The other WACS leave for a night on the town, but PALLAS has to stay behind in the barracks. JUPITER appears, makes fun of her, and urges her to return to Olympus, all while he flirts with a nymph and leers at one of the WACS.
Song: "New Style Bonnet" (PALLAS AND SERVICE WOMEN)
PALLAS refuses to come home and is proud to be exchanging her crown for a fatigue hat. Women from all branches of the Armed Forces come out and model their respective military headgear.
On the last night of basic training the WACS are having a party with the local SOLDIERS in a grove near the camp.
Song: "Come On, Honey" (JOAN)
JOAN is invited to sing her specialty number—a jitterbug—in which she urges her honey to go "right down to the USO." After this song an option is provided in the script for the insertion of any number of local specialty acts, somewhat in the manner of a talent show.
SCENE 7: FIRST CLASS PRIVATE MARY BROWN
The following evening, PALLAS thanks STEVE for taking her to the dance, and he congratulates her on being promoted to PFC. They are starting to have feelings for each other, but she is about to ship out and they will soon be parted. (Not to mention, this budding romance is making the philandering JUPITER jealous.)
Song: "First Class Private Mary Brown" (STEVE)
After she leaves, STEVE sings the title song as a solo, looking forward to reuniting with "FIRST CLASS PRIVATE MARY BROWN" after the war.
JOAN and supply sergeant MIKE, the pair who were in the WACS-Fifths Avenue scene earlier, are returning to camp after a night out. MIKE hints shyly that he doesn't want the night to end yet, but when JOAN politely but firmly tries to return to her barracks, MIKE grows more insistent. Just as the situation seems to be taking an alarming turn, PEGGY the MP shows up and abruptly sends everybody home.
Song: "Poor Lonely MP" (PEGGY)
PEGGY is now alone and sings a bluesy torch song about how she can't get a date because she seems too intimidating and is constantly misunderstood.
In another scene featuring a comic role-reversal, SUE meets her husband HENRY in a service club. HENRY sends his wife home-baked cookies, nags her about not advancing in the ranks quickly enough, and proudly informs her about two little ones on the way, which turn out to be tomatoes in his victory garden.
The WACs settle in for the night in their barracks.
Song: "Lost in a Cloud of Blue" (JUPITER)
Meanwhile, JUPITER pines away on Olympus, suddenly breaking out of his heretofore buffoonish character to sing a heartbreakingly beautiful romantic ballad.
The WACs receive their orders and prepare to ship out. JUPITER comes down to earth to make one last effort to bring his wife home, but she finds the WAC life much more fulfilling. A male MP assumes JUPITER is mentally ill and takes him away for psychiatric evaluation.
"Something New Has Been Added — Reprise" (12 WACS)
"Song of the WAC" (SUE AND WACS)
"First Class Private Mary Brown — Reprise" (PALLAS AND JUPITER)
"WAC Hymn" (WACS)
As several WACS are preparing to board the ship, JUPITER enters dressed in Grecian toga and jump boots, and announces to PALLAS that he has joined up with the paratroops. From now on he really will be known as "Jumpin' Jupiter." PALLAS and JUPITER make up, then she and her fellow WACS board the ship as JUPITER, SOLDIERS, and the other WACS wave goodbye. The WACS end with a stirring anthem:
To see the dawn of peace tomorrow
We face the long night of war
As in freedom's name we serve the colors
The Women's Army Corps
This medley-type overture opens with a rousing fanfare, continues with four tunes from the show, then closes with a brief coda before it segues into the opening number.
"SOMETHING NEW HAS BEEN ADDED"
Words and music by Ruby Jane Douglass (unpublished version © March 13, 1943 by Ruby Jane Douglass; published version © July 8, 1943 by Ruby Jane Douglass).
This song appears in the Catalog of Copyright Entries and other sources as "Something New Has Been Added to the Army."
According to a profile in the March 1944 issue of the Kappa Alpha Theta newsletter, this was one of 14 songs written by Ruby Jane Douglass for an all-WAC musical that was performed in June 1943.
The title of this song may have been inspired by a slogan for Old Gold cigarettes that was used in the early 1940s: "Something new has been added."
The lyrics to this song are reprinted in The Women's Army Corps Song Book, available at Sycamore Library.
The words and music to this song have been attributed to Ruby Jane Douglass.
Words and music by Ruby Jane Douglass.(unpublished version © March 13, 1943 by Leeds Music Corp.; published version © May 11, 1943 by Kaycee Music Co.)
According to a profile in the March 1944 issue of the Kappa Alpha Theta newsletter, this was one of 14 songs written by Ruby Jane Douglass for an all-WAC musical that was performed in June 1943.
(After the first chorus, there is an interpolated dance interlude performed to the "Pavanne" from Morton Gould's Second American Symphonette. The music for this interlude seems to have been literally cut and pasted into the P.F.C. Mary Brown score.)
There is no official record of who wrote this song.
"FIRST CLASS PRIVATE MARY BROWN"
Words and music by Frank Loesser; arr. George N. Terry (© June 16, 1944)
(This song originally appeared in the first Blueprint Special, About Face! It became a breakout hit and inspired this WAC musical revue.)
There is no official record of who wrote this song.
According to a profile in the March 1944 issue of the Kappa Alpha Theta newsletter, this was one of 14 songs written by Ruby Jane Douglass for an all-WAC musical that was performed in June 1943.
FINALE:
"SOMETHING NEW HAS BEEN ADDED"
Words and music by Ruby Jane Douglass
"SONG OF THE WAC"
Words by Hy Zaret, Music by Arthur Altman (© July 6, 1944)
"FIRST CLASS PRIVATE MARY BROWN" [reprise]
Words and music by Frank Loesser
"THE WAC HYMN"
Words and music by Frank Loesser (© May 19, 1944)
