It’s hard to imagineWilliam Schermerhorn asa struggling actor sellingunderpants at Macy’s, but

that was his job when he first metJean McFaddin, the store’s for-mer parade director. “Jean wasmy mentor,” Schermerhorn says.“She hired me in 1983. I was sell-ing Calvin Klein underwear in thestore, and she convinced me Iwanted the job.” Her faith inSchermerhorn paid off: Twenty-two years later, he’s vice presidentand creative director of Macy’sAnnual Events, responsible forchoreographing the Fourth of Julyfireworks, Thanksgiving DayParade, Santaland, the holidayparade at Universal Studios inOrlando, and all other grand pag-eants organized by the world’slargest and most famous depart-ment store.

And this year, as always, he’sgiving America the birthday partyit deserves.

Schermerhorn was born for thejob. “My birthday’s on the Fourthof July,” he grins. “I had red, white,and blue all over my bedroom as akid.” Armed with this patrioticpedigree, not to mention a sunnydisposition, he starts planning thepyrotechnic feast six months inadvance. “In January, I start thinking, What willthe mood be in July?” he says. A daunting under-taking, but he’s up to the task. “I love the greatAmerican traditions,” he says.

Schermerhorn, who collaborates with PyroSpectaculars by Souza to make sure the fire-works explode in perfect heart-stopping, eye-popping rhythm with the score, is thrilled thatthe displays get better every year. “The fire-works keep changing,” he says. “The happyfaces, stars, and shapes are getting so much bet-

ter. The colors are brighter. It’s art on the river,only there for a moment.”

He admits that his first love is live theater.Schermerhorn even did summer stock shows as akid—an experience he likens to producingMacy’s events. “This is always a small summer-stock operation at heart,” he says.

The theme of this year’s celebration is“American Medley,” choreographed to a programof standards performed by Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops. “We’re doing a musical

play,” Schermerhorn says. “Westart with pure patriotism and endwith pure patriotism.” Along theway, the fireworks shoot andsparkle to a score of favorites like“Yankee Doodle Dandy” and“Somewhere Over the Rainbow,”plus new classics like “Song of aNation,” written by Schermerhornhimself, in collaboration withcomposer Doug Katsaros. “I thinkof the music as the glue that keepsthe show together,” he says. Inyears past, he collaborated withKatsaros to score the entire spec-tacle, treating the firework shells“like dancers in a show.”

As a writer and lyricist,Schermerhorn has also developedprojects and songs for everyonefrom Bob Hope to HarveyFierstein to Jon Secada, and nowhas two musicals in the works,Beyond the Dream and The MusicBoys, as well as a project with cele-brated performer MichaelFeinstein. “Macy’s enjoys being apart of the Broadway communi-ty.” he says. “Wherever I can cele-brate Broadway, I will.” This phi-losophy is especially evident inthe store’s Thanksgiving DayParade. Chock-full of talent fromthe Great White Way, it’s the main(and possibly only) exposure

many Americans have to New York’s latest andbest theater offerings.

But for now, Schermerhorn has only firecrack-ers and crashing cymbals on his mind. OnIndependence Day, “Everyone becomes a kid,”he says, “even the most jaded New Yorker.” So, asthe colors burst overhead and everyone on yourroof, in your penthouse, or hanging out your win-dows is transfixed, remember Bill Schermerhorn,sitting in a production truck somewhere, showingyou a great time, the biggest kid of all. [G]

246 GOTHAM

CULTURE SHOCK Sound Off

Patriot Games[by Andrew Stone]

And you thought you loved Fourth of July fireworks. It’s a wonder William Schermerhorn, the whiz who coordinates thatspectacle (and all the others) for Macy’s, doesn’t actually explode from excitement.

A real Independence streak: Nobody knows firecrackers like William Schermerhorn.

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