"Board of Chamber Womanless Wedding", Howell, Michigan, 1936
Item
Title
"Board of Chamber Womanless Wedding", Howell, Michigan, 1936
Description
This is a photograph of the presentation of a "Womanless Wedding". This play took place at the Howell, High School Auditorium to raise funds during Depression, in the 1930's. The date of the back of the photograph was 1936, and said Charles Sutton played the role of the "Bride".
A search of newspapers.com did not find any accounting of the "Womanless Wedding" being performed or sponsored by the Business Chamber, as it was then known, in 1936. The Livingston County Press reported on two presentations of the "Womanless Wedding" during that decade, the first in 1929, and later in 1940. The following was reported.
The cast members were all male businessmen or professionals from the Howell area. In the Livingston County Press, there are articles detailing and advertising for two such performances. The first took place on April 2 and April 3rd, 1929, sponsored by the Class Ten of the M.E. Church freaturing 80 local men.
On October 1st and 2nd, 1940, the Howell Lions Club sponsored a performance using 70 local men. The play, in its advertisement prior to the event, promised to be "a hilarious farce". The proceeds were to support the Lions Sight program and a portion was donated to McPherson Memorial Hospital to purchase a new oxygen tent.
Both events drew good crowds, according to the reports in the Livingston County Daily Press.
According to Wikipedia, "A womanless wedding is a traditional community "ritual of inversion" performance, popular in the United States in the early 19th century. In this comic ritual, the all male cast would act out all roles of a traditional wedding party – including those of bridesmaids, flower girls, and the mother of the bride – while dressed in gowns and dresses. The event often raised money for charities, civic organizations, and churches."
A search of newspapers.com did not find any accounting of the "Womanless Wedding" being performed or sponsored by the Business Chamber, as it was then known, in 1936. The Livingston County Press reported on two presentations of the "Womanless Wedding" during that decade, the first in 1929, and later in 1940. The following was reported.
The cast members were all male businessmen or professionals from the Howell area. In the Livingston County Press, there are articles detailing and advertising for two such performances. The first took place on April 2 and April 3rd, 1929, sponsored by the Class Ten of the M.E. Church freaturing 80 local men.
On October 1st and 2nd, 1940, the Howell Lions Club sponsored a performance using 70 local men. The play, in its advertisement prior to the event, promised to be "a hilarious farce". The proceeds were to support the Lions Sight program and a portion was donated to McPherson Memorial Hospital to purchase a new oxygen tent.
Both events drew good crowds, according to the reports in the Livingston County Daily Press.
According to Wikipedia, "A womanless wedding is a traditional community "ritual of inversion" performance, popular in the United States in the early 19th century. In this comic ritual, the all male cast would act out all roles of a traditional wedding party – including those of bridesmaids, flower girls, and the mother of the bride – while dressed in gowns and dresses. The event often raised money for charities, civic organizations, and churches."
Subject
Play
Rights
Format
image/jpeg
Type
Image
Date
1940-10
Rights Note
Howell Carnegie District Library makes no representation that it is the owner of the copyright in any published material. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright.
Note
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Original Format
film negative
Collection
Citation
“"Board of Chamber Womanless Wedding", Howell, Michigan, 1936,” Howell Area Archives Digital Archive, accessed April 24, 2024, https://archives.howelllibrary.org/items/show/5231.