History of the Society

Chronology Cap and Bells takes much pride in rich history of over eight decades. Presented here is a complete and comprehensive list of all productions done under the society’s name, along with some critical events in its development. Year Productions (Director) [S] - Spring, [F] - Fall [Su] - Summer, [W] - Winter Key Events 1920's - 1930's Spring 1928 The Bells (Fr. Tim Coughlin) SJU relocates to City Line Ave. Cap & Bells is founded by students and Fr. Tim Coughlin. Productions staged in The Plays and Players Theatre, Barbelin Hall. 1928-29 The Mysery Man (William J. Morris '09) Old Jester Logo, Date Unknown Later Jester 1929-30 Grumpy (Edwin Stanley '06) 1930-31 Three Wise Fools (Stanley) 1931-32 Journey's End (Stanley) Spring 1933 Cardinal Richelieu (Stanley) 1933-34 The Tavern (Stanley) 1934 [S&F] One Acts Spring 1935 Cyrano De Bergerac (Arthur Behrens) 1936 [S] The First Legion (Behrens) [F] One Acts 1937 [S] Yellow Jack (Behrens) [S&F] One Acts Spring 1938 Amaco (James Graham) 1938-39 Murder in the Cathedral (Wallace R. Stark) Fall 1939 The Ghost of Jerry Bundler (Ray Brennan) 1940's Spring 1940 One Acts Brother Orchid (Stark) 1941-42 25 One Act Plays Spring 1942 The Tavern (Stark)   1946 [S] I Shall Return [F] The Dead Shall Rise [F] One Acts I Shall Return marks the society's first musical farce. 1947 [S] One Acts (John Horstmann) [F] Father Malachy's Miracle (Charles Boylan) Father Malachy's Miracle, 1947 1948 One Acts 1949 [S] The Front Page (Charles Boylan) [S] A Night of the Trojan War [F] Othello (Boylan) Othello is the first play performed in Flanagan Auditorium. In the Fall, Dr. Francis Olley '48 joins the faculty at SJU and becomes the faculty advisor to Cap & Bells. 1950's 1950 [S] Command Decision (Charles Boylan) [F] The Skin of Our Teeth (Francis R. Olley '48) [F] The Merchant of Venice One Acts The Skin of Our Teeth, 1950 1951 One Acts [S] High Tor (Olley) [F] Twelfth Night (Olley) 1952 [S] Antigone [S] One Acts [S] Once in a Lifetime [F] Hamlet (Olley) 1953 [S] Playboy of the Western World (Olley) [F] A Midsummer Night's Dream (Olley) Billy Budd, 1955 1954 [S] Rory Aforesaid [S] A Sleep of Prisoners [F] Henry IV, Part I (Olley) 1955 [S] Billy Budd [F] King Lear (Olley) 1956 [S] Summer in My Heart (Olley) [F] The Tempest (Olley) Summer in My Heart mark's the society's first true musical. 1957 [S] Our Town (Olley) [F] Julius Caesar (Olley) The Crucible, 1959 1958 [S] Juno & the Paycock (Olley) [F] Othello (Olley) 1959 The Lady's Not for the Burning (Olley) [S] The Crucible (Olley) [F] The Taming of the Shrew (John J. Gallagher) One Acts 1960's 1960 One Acts (Olley) [F] Richard II (Olley) Paint Your Wagon, 1962 1961 [S] The Matchmaker [S] One Acts [F] Macbeth (Olley) 1962 [S] One Acts (Olley) [S] Paint Your Wagon [F] Hamlet (Olley) 1963 [S] Saint Joan (John J. Gallagher) [F] Much Ado About Nothing (Olley) 1964 [S] One Acts [S] Tiger at the Gates (Gallagher) [F] Richard III (Olley) 1965 King Lear Bluett Theater is christened with a production of King Lear. It remains the current home of Cap & Bells. 1966 [S] The Confidential Clerk (Gallagher) [S] Carnival [S] A Sleep of Prisoners [Su] A Midsummer Night's Dream (Olley) [Su] Macbeth (Olley) [F] King Henry V (Gallagher) The Summer Shakespeare Festival is recognized in a proclamation by Philadelphia mayor James Tate. 1967 [S] The Three Sisters (Olley) [F] Take Me Along (Gallagher) Tyrone Guthrie, famous director and founding artistic director of the Stratford Festival, visits. 1968 [S] Long Day's Journey Into Night (Olley) [S] One Acts [F] The Winter's Take (Olley) The Winters's Tale, 1968 1969 [S] A Sleep of Prisoners [S] Luther [F] The Time of Your Life 1970's 1970 [S] Candida [F] The Merchant of Venice (John C. Gallagher) Twelfth Night, 1971 1971 [S] Coriolanus (Olley) [F] Twelfth Night (Olley) 1972 [S] You Can't Take It With You (Olley) [F] The Tempest (Olley) 1973 [S] Mrs. Warren's Profiession [F] A Man for All Seasons (Olley) 1974 [S] Tartuffe (Olley) [F] The Iceman Cometh (Olley) 1975 [S] One Acts [F] Antigone (Theresa Donahue) [F] The Lady's Not for Burning (Olley) [F] All's Well that Ends Well (Olley) All's Well that Ends Well, 1975 1976 [S] Our Town [F] The Effect of Gamma Rays... (Donahue) [F] The Country Girl (Olley) 1977 [S] Playboy of the Western World (Olley) [S] You Can't Take it With You (Olley) [F] Hamlet (Olley) [F] The Second Shepherd's Play (Mark S. Quinlan) 1978 [S] Much Ado About Nothing [F] The Queen and the Rebels (Olley) 1979 [S] A Moon for the Misbegotten (Olley) [F] The Good Doctor (Olley) 1980's 1980 [S] Markings (Olley) [S] The Servant of Two Masters (Theresa Donahue) [S] One Acts [F] Dogg's Troupe Hamlet (Paul M. Puccio) [F] The Real Inspector Hound (Lawrence M. Arrigale) [F] One Acts The Servant of Two Masters, 1980 1981 [S] The Alcestiad (Olley) [S] The Fantasticks (Olley) [F] Guys and Dolls (Olley) 1982 [S] You Can't Take it With You (Tony Constandino) [S] Macbeth (Olley) [F] Once Upon a Matress (Olley) You Can't Take it With You, 1982 1983 [S] The Madwoman of Chaillot (Peg Schofield) [S] One Acts [F] Misalliance (Olley) 1984 [S] Harvey [F] Two's Company (Olley) 1985 [S] The Good Doctor (Olley) [F] Godspell (Cynthia Doyle) The Glass Menagerie, 1988 1986 [S] Arsenic and Old Lace (Olley) [F] The Road of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd (Olley) 1987 [S] Our Town (Olley) [F] Summer in My Heart (Olley) 1988 [S] One Acts [S] The Glass Menagerie (Olley) [F] A Man for All Seasons (Daniel M. Ruff, SJ) [F] Dames at Sea (Anthony Constandino) 1989 [S] The Skin of Our Teeth (Peg Schofield) [S] One Acts [F] Measure for Measure (Olley) [F] Variety Show 1990's 1990 [S] The Philadelphia Story (Peg Schofield) [S] One Acts [F] Grease (Brian Daley) Into the Woods, 1991 1991 [S] The Odd Couple [Male Version] (Schofield) [S] The Odd Couple [Female Version] (Olley) [S] The Tempest (Olley) [F] Into the Woods (Olley) 1992 [S] The Crucible (Schofield) [F] Anything Goes (Olley) 1993 [S] Philadelphia, Here I Come (Olley) [S] One Acts [F] Little Shop of Horrors (Schofield) Little Shop of Horrors, 1993 1994 [S] Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Schofield) [S] One Acts [F] Dancing with Lughnasa (Schofield) 1995 [S] The Winter's Tale (Olley) [S] One Acts [F] One Acts 1996 [S] Sunday in the Park with George (Olley) [F] Follies (Olley) [F] One Acts 1997 [S] Much Ado About Nothing (Schofield) [S] One Acts [F] Oklahoma (Olley) Sunday in the Park with George, 1996 1998 [S] Aristocrats (Olley, Michael Toner) [F] Guys and Dolls 1999 [S] Ah! Wilderness (Brian Sweeney, Michael Toner) [S] Long Day's Journey into the Night (Olley, Sweeney) 2000's 1999-2000 [S] Sweeney Todd (Brian Sweeney) Long-time director Francis R. Olley '48 dies as a result of complications from a fall. He was 72. Thomas A. Bogar assumes responsibilities of Artistic Director. 2000-2001 [F] West Side Story (Thomas A. Bogar) [W] Love, Will (Bogar) [S] Lend Me a Tenor (Bogar) Lend Me a Tenor, 2001 2001-2002 [F] Evita (Bogar) [W] You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Deirdre Finnegan) [S] Ten Little Indians (Bogar) 2002-2003 [F] Anything Goes (Celeste Walker) [W] Seasons of Love: A Tribute to RENT (Tim Williams '04) [S] A Doll's House (Walker) Celeste Walker assumes responsibilities of Artistic Director and wins Advisor of the Year Award. Cap & Bells celebrates the 75th Anniversary of its founding at St. Joseph's University. 2003-2004 [F] Into the Woods (Renee Dobson) [W] The Laramie Project (Laura Grace Pattillo) [S] A Streetcar Named Desire (Dobson) George McMahon, Bluett Theatre Technical Director from 1977-2003, passes away at age 52. Renee Dobson and Laura Pattillo jointly assume the titles of Artistic Director. Bluett Theatre's interior is remodeled. 2004-2005 [F] Phantom (Dobson) [W] As You Like It (Pattillo) [S] Jesus Christ Superstar (Dobson) Phantom, 2004 2005-2006 [F] The Diary of Anne Frank (Dobson) [W] Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Pattillo) [S] Jekyll and Hyde (Dobson) 2006-2007 [F] Assassins (Dobson) [W] The Immigrant (Pattillo) [S] Cabaret (Dobson) 2007-2008 [F] Godspell (Dobson) [W] Amadeus (Pattillo) [S] Chicago (Dobson)