Mask and Wig
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Mask and Wig Club of the University of Pennsylvania
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Mask & Wig Clubhouse, (remodeled by Wilson Eyre, 1894).
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| Location | 310 South Quince Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 39°56′45.08″N 75°9′36.48″W / 39.9458556°N 75.1601333°WCoordinates: 39°56′45.08″N 75°9′36.48″W / 39.9458556°N 75.1601333°W |
| Area | 0.1 acres (0.040 ha) |
| Built | as St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1834; remodeled into clubhouse 1894, altered 1901-03 |
| Architect |
Wilson Eyre Murals: Maxfield Parrish |
| Architectural style | Bavarian Style |
| NRHP Reference # | 79002323 |
| Added to NRHP | November 20, 1979 |
The Mask and Wig Club, a private club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1889, is the oldest all-male collegiate musical comedy troupe in the United States. Created as an alternative to the existing theatrical and dramatic outlets at the University of Pennsylvania, Mask and Wig has presented comedy, music, and dancing to the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and audiences across the country. Its credo is "Justice to the stage; credit to the University."
The club's performers, or "The Cast," put on two all-original shows each year in collaboration with the Club's own Stage Crew, Band, and Business Staff. Many Mask and Wig originals were made famous on the radio by mid 20th century luminaries. The well-known "Route 66" was composed by club member Bobby Troup and launched to the height of popularity by Frank Sinatra. Troup's song "Daddy" was written for a Mask and Wig show. Other Mask and Wig songs, such as "The Gypsy in My Soul," written by Clay Boland and Moe Jaffe, have been performed by the likes of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Ella Fitzgerald. The first electrically recorded album ever released was Mask and Wig's "Joan of Arkansas," in April 1925.
The Mask and Wig Club of the University of Pennsylvania was first conceived of in 1888 by a small group of undergraduates, led by Clayton Fotterall McMichael, who were interested in the stage and desired something the University did not offer: a troupe that would produce original humorous theatrical pieces. In 1889, therefore, McMichael and the other original founders sent out a call for undergraduate men to audition for the group and participate in the creation and production of its first performance.
McMichael and his peers envisioned a group that involved dressing up in frocks and performing spoofs and parodies. Because colleges at the time were open only to young gentlemen any production was limited to an all–male cast. These organizations naturally saw burlesque, which was quite popular in that era, as the perfect genre. The overblown characterizations, loose plotting, musical interludes, and parody of high art made the style perfect for a group of young, well-educated, amateur men, especially since the drag tradition came "built-in."
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