The Bernard Herrmann Society

While attending the Juilliard School of Music, Bernard Herrmann befriended dancer/choreographer Charles Weidman. When Weidman was working on the third edition of the Broadway revue Americana, he suggested Herrmann could write a ballet. 

Herrmann called his work Marche Militaire, though Weidman named the choreographed ballet Amour a la Militaire. Along with the popular song Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?, it was one of the standouts of the show.

The flagship of Shubert company, the Shubert Theatre has been continuously in use and currently is home to the hit show Chicago.

Herrmann is not listed on this page.

During its first week, the ballet Amour a la Militaire was placed in the second act as the fifth number. Though Herrmann is mentioned as composer, no mention is made of his being the conductor. Reviews of the entire show were mixed, but the hit song Brother, Can You Spare A Dime? and the ballet were cited as being particularly memorable. In succeeding weeks, Amour a la Militaire was moved closer to the beginning of the revue. 

It is interesting to note that The Shakers lists “Bernard Herman” [sic] as an accompanist. Succeding weeks removed his name from this work and it is doubtful that he participated in the accompaniment.

 

 

By the fifth week of its run, Amour a la Militaire was placed third on the program, attesting to its favorable reception. 

In the tenth week, dancer Sylvia Manning was replaced by Dorothy Lathrop.

In costume for Herrmann’s ballet (from left to right): Cleo Atheneos, Sylvia Manning, Jose Limon, and choreographer Charles Weidman. Photograph by the White Studio. 

Billy Rose Theatre Collection, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations. [WWW.NYPL.ORG]

This theatre was home to The Body Beautiful, the Broadway drama for which Herrmann composed his second ballet.

The Body Beautiful by Robert Rossen was about a burlerske dancer who tried to gain success in classical dance. The show was a satire on the differences between low and high art. 

Opening on October 31, 1935, the show played only four performances.

Within the small type of this paragraph can be Herrmann’s credit for the ballet The Sun Dance. The music is austere and quasi-atonal, probably intended to poke fun at the high aspirations of the protagonist.