Soldier Show set to light up JB MDL stage

  • Published
  • By Senior Airmen David Carbajal
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST --  The U.S. Army Soldier Show is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. June 22 and 23 at the Timmermann Theater here.

The 90-minute show is free and open to the first 600 Department of Defense ID cardholders per performance. Tickets are not required for admission; doors will open one hour prior to the show.

All performers, both enlisted and officer, are active-duty Soldiers from different Army units all over the world. They perform an integrated, high-energy ensemble production, offering a wide range of popular music and stage spectacle for servicemembers and their families worldwide.

The troops will deliver several genres of music and dance, complete with musicians on guitar, bass, keyboard and drums.

"I highly recommend this show," said Sgt. Nicole Dykstra, 72nd Field Artillery Brigade. "Combining the stage, the lights, the dancers and the singers makes for a great performance."

The 2010 U.S. Army Soldier Show is the 27th iteration of the annual tour, which began in April.

The 30-member team will perform 101 shows at more than 50 U.S. and overseas locations throughout the tour season.

The modern version of the U.S. Army Soldier Show originated in 1983 as an outgrowth of several shows existing in various Army commands, with Soldier talent selected from worldwide competition, according to the Soldier Show's website.

The motto, mission and philosophy of the show - "Entertainment for the Soldier, by the Soldier" - were established during World War I by Sgt. Israel Beilin, a Russian immigrant better known as Irving Berlin. He conceived and directed the first Army Soldier Show, "Yip Yip Yaphank," which appeared on Broadway in 1918.

The U.S. Army Soldier Show was reinvented during World War II on Broadway under the title "This is the Army," which was written, directed and produced by Berlin. The cast and crew were members of U.S. Army Special Services Company No. 1. The 1943 film version featured a military cast starring Ronald Reagan, Gene Kelly and Joe Lewis.
Visit http://www.armymwr.com/recleisure/entertainment/soldiershow/default.aspx for more information.