West Chester University Wayne Hall Follies Collection

Collection

Identifier: 067

Staff Only

The West Chester University Wayne Hall Follies Collection is divided into two series, Events and Sheet Music.

Series 1 Events features performance-related materials from the showings of the Wayne Hall Follies’ productions. The items include tickets, pamphlets, scene outlines, and theatrical scene scripts.

Series 2 Sheet Music includes sheet music and copies of the official lyric books and compositions of the songs performed by the Wayne Hall Follies during their productions.

Dates

1940 - 1951

Language of Materials

eng

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Extent

1 Boxes (1 document box)

0.42 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Overview

The West Chester University Wayne Hall Follies Collection features event programs, show tickets, theatatrical scene scripts, and sheet music from the Wayne Hall Follies, a musical theater group formed by and comprised of members of the Varsity Club. The Varsity Club was an organization of men who had earned a varsity letter in sports, such as football, soccer, basketball, baseball, track, or tennis. Materials in this collection range in date form 1940 to 1951.

Biographical / Historical

The Wayne Hall Follies was a musical theater group formed by and comprised of members of the Varsity Club. The Varsity Club was an organization of men who had earned a varsity letter in sports, such as football, soccer, basketball, baseball, track, or tennis, at West Chester State Teachers College. The Varsity Club promoted fellowship between athletes on campus and provided a space to recognize and award members for their athletic achievements. In addition to their Wayne Hall Follies performances, the Varsity Club sponsored dances, held an awards show for varsity athletes, and wrote the publication Ram's Horn, which followed West Chester's football season.

The Varsity Club’s Wayne Hall Follies first appeared on campus in 1937 through three appearances at social events, where members would perform dances at the intermission of social events on campus. Some of the Follies' first performances included a dance parody of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and an amateur talent contest, showcasing a variety of song and dance performances. The 1937 Serpentine yearbook dubs the Varsity Club's Wayne Hall Follies as an ode to "masculine vanity" and lauded them for their school spirit. The Wayne Hall Follies produced an annual show and performed on campus.

The Varsity Club and the Wayne Hall Follies were inactive during the years of World War II, but resumed shortly thereafter. The production of the Wayne Hall Follies saw its end in the mid-fifties.

Arrangement

Materials in this collection have been arranged into series by topic. Within the first series, materials are arranged chronologically and within the second series, materials are arranged alphabetically, as most are undated.