The Cap and Bells Dramatic Arts Society, the predecessor to the SJU Theatre Company, was founded in 1927, the same year St. Joe’s moved to Hawk Hill. The next year, on Feb. 11, 1928, students put on their first annual production entitled “The Bells.”
A paper program for the production is in the St. Joe’s Archives Collection, located in the Drexel Library.
In the early years of Cap and Bells, actors often received hardbound copies of their scripts and programs, according to Lesley Carey, university archivist. Audience members received paper programs like the one in the archives for “The Bells.”
Cap and Bells performed “The Bells” in the ballroom at the Penn Athletic Club, located near Rittenhouse Square, according to a review of the play that appeared in a March 1928 issue of Crimson and Gray, the university’s literary magazine.
“The Bells,” written by Leopold Lewis and first performed in London in 1871, tells the story of Mathias and his connection to the mystery of a murdered Jewish merchant 15 years prior to the events of the play. Mathias, who is guilty of the crime, is haunted by guilt, hearing in his sleep the sleigh bells he had heard the night of the murder. At the end of the play, he wakes from a dream about a trial in which he was convicted to an imagined noose around his neck and dies of a heart attack.
All 19 roles, as well as the entire company, were played by men, as then, St. Joe’s College only admitted men. The part of Mathias was played by James Gallagher, class of 1929. Women’s roles, including that of Mathias’ wife, Catherine, and his daughter, Annette, were played by Joseph I. McCullough, class of 1929, and John T. McCabe, class of 1930, respectively. The play was directed by William Morris, class of 1909.
The writer of the Crimson and Gray review praised Gallagher’s performance, writing, “To say that James. E Gallagher, ’29, gave us a living Mathias is the best appreciation and the highest tribute we can pay him. … The man was equal to the task, and Mr. Gallagher deserves congratulations for his splendid interpretation.”
Cap and Bells disbanded in January 1943 due to World War II, but returned soon after the war ended. A production of Shakespeare’s “Othello” in 1949 launched the tradition of performing a Shakespeare play in the fall and a contemporary work in the spring, which continued for nearly three decades.
Cap and Bells formally changed their name to the SJU Theatre Company in 2011, and have continued to exemplify the talents of the St. Joe’s theater community with musicals and plays each year.
Ally Engelbert ’25 contributed to this story.
