On June 9, 1945, in the town of Tauberbischofsheim, Germany, the troupe presented the first performance of "GI Carmen". The show’s immediate success with military personnel – eager to return home but held in Europe in order to help stabilize the war-torn continent – prompted the 7th Army Special Services to commandeer the production. The first three shows for the Regiment had been extended to entertain the entire 63rd Division. The performance in Lauda on Monday, June 18, was seen by Lt. Mortimer Yolken of CONAD (Continental Advance Section) Special Service who had the show released from the Division to the 7th Army. (It was eventually taken over by TSFET, Theater Service Forces, European Theater.) The show re-opened on June 23, 1945, at Heidelberg’s Stadt Theatre where it had acquired professional costumes, wigs and scenery. "G.I. Carmen" then began an extended tour of the ETO. Throughout its run "G.I. Carmen" played to packed venues and was repeatedly held over to accommodate demand. The Heidelberg run was extended one week through July 7; then Mannheim held the show an extra week before releasing it to Wiesbaden on July 18 for a two-week run. The troupe then got three days off before opening in Kassel where, after their 50th show, they were held over through their 56th performance. Then followed a full week of rest. It was late August 1945 and the war in the Pacific was ending. In September "G.I. Carmen" played in Geissen and Erbach before opening in Berlin on the 17th and setting attendance records in Titania Palace, Europe’s largest playhouse, extending there through the 30th. Marlene Dietrich, also performing in Berlin, visited during one intermission, walking onstage in an evening gown and playing her musical saw. October brought shows to Bremen, Bremerhaven and in Belgium to Brussels and Antwerp. While in Antwerp cast members posed in costume with their counterparts from the local opera company which was presenting Bizet's version. In November audiences in Paris included Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas who later invited some of the cast to their apartment for refreshments and conversation. The 100th performance closed the Paris run, then on to Calas and Marseilles. A break on the Riviera before Italy and December runs in Livorno, Rome, Tarvisio and Gorizia.