University of Chicago. Blackfriars.

Student dramatic organization founded in 1903. Originally an all-male group which produced and performed annual musical comedies. The group began admitting women, 1950s. Merged with University Theater, 1986.

From the description of Records, 1904-1983 (inclusive). (University of Chicago Library). WorldCat record id: 52250091

The Blackfriars was formed in late 1903 by Frank R. Adams, the first Abbot of the order. Named after the notable theater of Elizabethan London, the Blackfriars was inspired by Harvard's Hasty Pudding, Princeton's Triangle, and other early collegiate musical comedy groups. Membership was restricted to male students, and included one man from each University fraternity as well as any campus actors "fitted for amusing themselves and others". The first production, a satire of the Department of Political Economy titled "The Passing of Pahli Kahn," was presented in the spring of 1904. The new organization proved to be so popular that original Blackfriars musical comedies became an eagerly awaited feature of every spring season.

While the early shows sometimes suffered from awkward staging, the Blackfriars satires of the 1920's and 1930's benefited from shrewd publicity and the aid of professional designers and directors. In the wake of the Depression and World War II, however, lavish extravaganzas were abandoned for productions of a more modest scale. In the 1950s the Blackfriars began admitting women. The group remained an active group on the University campus, finally merging with the University Theater in 1986.

From the guide to the University of Chicago. Blackfriars. Records, 1904-1933, (Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.)