Book Review
Jun. 26th, 2007 12:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I've been reading And She Danced for The King - memoirs of a Rockette and should finish within the week. Its a fascinating look at what life was like for a woman working during the golden age of Broadway.
I know a good deal about that time period, but its been fascinating reading a first-hand account of the issues of the time through Peggy Morrison's letters to her family. In particular, I hadn't thought of the backdrop of both the great depression and the stirrings of WWII and its impact on the industry.
A few interesting quotes related to these themes:
On working in the arts (pg 103):
"I've been summing up show business the past couple of days and trying to figure out why we work. And I've boiled it down to this - for the love of it! Naturally we work for money, but where is the money we've earned? Gone for debts (accumulated while waiting for a job), to live, to buy clothes because we must look nice and up-to-date, for chiropodists, for hairdressers and a good lot for make up, etc. So after 7 1/2 months of a steady job we end up with a hundred and some odd dollars in the bank and hope its going to last you until the next job comes. If it does, you're lucky enough to start from scratch, if it doesn't you start from debts - and so it goes. So we must do it because we love it and when we get too much of the same thing we don't love it, which proves I think, that we are just as human as any other working person who gets one day off a week"
She has the opportunity to work on a show in Paris with a few other hand-picked American women from NYC, but is worried about the political climate at the time (1938), pg. 108:
"You know, with Germany so close to war with Czechoslovakia and France being tied into it with a pact with the Czechs, I wonder if they'll still have us go over. I sure don't want to go where there is any war, but why the devil can't Hitler be satisfied with having Austria and let their be peace?"
She does end up in Paris with a 6 month+ contract. She performs for the King and Queen of England (in addition to her show) at Bagatelle in Bois de Boulogne. Pg. 113:
"The glow of the summer's royal visit must have faded quickly, as the political tension on the continent continued to mount. As oblivious as everyone seemed to be, issues in Europe were heating up and the talk of war escalated. On September 26 Peg received an official communique from the American Embassy in Paris advising her 'If your business in France is not critical you should prepare to return to the United States'. Peg and her American roommates informed the Embassy they were under a contact they could not break. Three days later, September 29th 1938, The Munich Agreement, signed by Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain, gave Germany the Sudentenland region of Czechoslovakia. It was an effort by the European powers to pacify Hitler. The American Embassy offered United States Citizens the chance to move to the embassy, so in the event war did break out, they would be on American soil. Again, Peg and her American colleagues declined. That autumn, dancers at Bal Tabarin learned of a new ballet theater forming for the Scala theater in Berlin. Some dancers were asked to submit a photo to the German government in order to be considered for this prestigious opportunity. Peg hopefully submitted the required documents, but was turned down. The German government erroneously suspected this blond, fair-skinned dancer was Jewish."
Politically, things decline from here. I haven't even gotten to the point where Ms. Morrison is a Rockette, and she's already 7.5 years into her 10+ year long career. She's starting to wonder if she should get out of it for a 'normal' life. I know from reading the back cover that she'll eventually (finally) divorce her deadbeat musician husband, marry a military guy, and live a traditional homemaker life. She performed at age 90 in 2001 with The Rockettes at their 75th anniversary performance in the street out in front of Radio City Music Hall. What a woman!
Such an amazing story of an amazing woman in an amazing time. It warms my heart in a time where much entertainment seems so uninspired. Whatever kind of art form you're into, if you're interested in the arts at all or the history of the arts in America, I think you'd appreciate this book.
I know a good deal about that time period, but its been fascinating reading a first-hand account of the issues of the time through Peggy Morrison's letters to her family. In particular, I hadn't thought of the backdrop of both the great depression and the stirrings of WWII and its impact on the industry.
A few interesting quotes related to these themes:
On working in the arts (pg 103):
"I've been summing up show business the past couple of days and trying to figure out why we work. And I've boiled it down to this - for the love of it! Naturally we work for money, but where is the money we've earned? Gone for debts (accumulated while waiting for a job), to live, to buy clothes because we must look nice and up-to-date, for chiropodists, for hairdressers and a good lot for make up, etc. So after 7 1/2 months of a steady job we end up with a hundred and some odd dollars in the bank and hope its going to last you until the next job comes. If it does, you're lucky enough to start from scratch, if it doesn't you start from debts - and so it goes. So we must do it because we love it and when we get too much of the same thing we don't love it, which proves I think, that we are just as human as any other working person who gets one day off a week"
She has the opportunity to work on a show in Paris with a few other hand-picked American women from NYC, but is worried about the political climate at the time (1938), pg. 108:
"You know, with Germany so close to war with Czechoslovakia and France being tied into it with a pact with the Czechs, I wonder if they'll still have us go over. I sure don't want to go where there is any war, but why the devil can't Hitler be satisfied with having Austria and let their be peace?"
She does end up in Paris with a 6 month+ contract. She performs for the King and Queen of England (in addition to her show) at Bagatelle in Bois de Boulogne. Pg. 113:
"The glow of the summer's royal visit must have faded quickly, as the political tension on the continent continued to mount. As oblivious as everyone seemed to be, issues in Europe were heating up and the talk of war escalated. On September 26 Peg received an official communique from the American Embassy in Paris advising her 'If your business in France is not critical you should prepare to return to the United States'. Peg and her American roommates informed the Embassy they were under a contact they could not break. Three days later, September 29th 1938, The Munich Agreement, signed by Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain, gave Germany the Sudentenland region of Czechoslovakia. It was an effort by the European powers to pacify Hitler. The American Embassy offered United States Citizens the chance to move to the embassy, so in the event war did break out, they would be on American soil. Again, Peg and her American colleagues declined. That autumn, dancers at Bal Tabarin learned of a new ballet theater forming for the Scala theater in Berlin. Some dancers were asked to submit a photo to the German government in order to be considered for this prestigious opportunity. Peg hopefully submitted the required documents, but was turned down. The German government erroneously suspected this blond, fair-skinned dancer was Jewish."
Politically, things decline from here. I haven't even gotten to the point where Ms. Morrison is a Rockette, and she's already 7.5 years into her 10+ year long career. She's starting to wonder if she should get out of it for a 'normal' life. I know from reading the back cover that she'll eventually (finally) divorce her deadbeat musician husband, marry a military guy, and live a traditional homemaker life. She performed at age 90 in 2001 with The Rockettes at their 75th anniversary performance in the street out in front of Radio City Music Hall. What a woman!
Such an amazing story of an amazing woman in an amazing time. It warms my heart in a time where much entertainment seems so uninspired. Whatever kind of art form you're into, if you're interested in the arts at all or the history of the arts in America, I think you'd appreciate this book.