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Mask and Wig Club of the University of Pennsylvania | |
 Mask & Wig Clubhouse (remodeled by Wilson Eyre, 1894) | |
| Location | 310 South Quince Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 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 1901–1903 |
| Architect | Wilson Eyre Murals: Maxfield Parrish |
| Architectural style | Bavarian Style |
| NRHP reference No. | 79002323[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 20, 1979 |
The Mask and Wig Club, a private club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1889, is a historic collegiate musical comedy troupe. 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."[2]
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.
A number of Mask and Wig original songs were made famous on the radio by mid 20th century recording artists. "The Gypsy in My Soul," written by Clay Boland and Moe Jaffe for a 1937 show, was recorded by Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Ella Fitzgerald. "Daddy", written by Bobby Troup for a 1941 show, was recorded by Sammy Kaye, Glen Miller and the Andrews Sisters.[3] Troup went on to write the jazz standard "Route 66," which was recorded by Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby (with the Andrews Sisters), and later the Rolling Stones.[4] The first electrically recorded album ever released was Mask and Wig's "Joan of Arkansas," in April 1925.[5]
In a September 30, 2021, press release, the club announced an initiative to remove gender as a qualification for membership, and to expand participation and membership to all genders for the first time in its 134-year history starting with the Fall 2022 recruitment cycle.[6]
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
scribd.comwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Woods, Bernie (1994). When the Music Stopped: The Big Band Era Remembered. Barricade Books. ISBN 978-1-5698-0022-5.
- ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (May 27, 2011). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Fifth ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 1920. ISBN 978-0-8571-2595-8. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
- ^ "Recording Industry - Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia".
- ^ https://www.maskandwig.com/press-release [bare URL]