# The Belfry (Germantown Academy)

The Belfry Club founded as the Germantown Academy Dramatics Society was founded in 1894 by Germantown Academy student, J. Warner Johnson, a member of the class of 1895. The club is the oldest (or one of the oldest) high school dramatic societies in the United States of America and has produced at least one show per school year since its founding in 1894.

## Early years

In 1894, J. Warner Johnson, a student at Germantown Academy then located in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a few of his schoolmates formed a dramatic society with the intention to appreciate the performing arts before their college years. Drama clubs like the University of Pennsylvania's Mask and Wig were established already and popular among college students of the late 19th century. The group, led by Johnson brought the idea to Germantown Academy alumnus Frank Palmer, an 1885 GA alumnus who then led the society for another fifteen years. The first production was of the comedy/drama Married Life held at the Workingmen's Club Hall on nearby Chelten Avenue in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Admission was $1 and 50 cents for seats in the upper gallery. The play was given to raise money for the GA Athletic Association and sold out. After the success of the first year, the students continued the tradition that lasts today.
In 1895, the name of the society was changed to The Belfry Club in honor of the notable Germantown Academy symbol of the Belfry that sits atop the schoolhouse. After a few years, the play grew into a focal point of the school year as it was given the night before the Germantown Academy, Penn Charter football game and was then followed by a dance with surrounding girls' schools.

## List of Belfry Productions

* 1894- Married Life
* 1895- The Wolves and the Lamb
* 1896- Engaged
* 1897- Mrs. Asmodeus
* 1898- The Shakespeare Water Cure
* 1899- The Rivals
* 1900- Dandy Dick
* 1901- All the Comforts of Home
* 1902- Seven-Twenty-Eight
* 1903- The Pickwickians
* 1904- A Night Off
* 1905- The Passing Regiment
* 1906- The Prince and the Pauper
* 1907- Love in Harness
* 1908- The Senator
* 1909- The Amazons
* 1910- The Texas Steer Street
* 1911- What Happened to Jones
* 1989- The Skin Of Our Teeth
* 1990- Brigadoon
* 1991- Little Shop of Horrors
* 1992- Once Upon A Mattress
* 1993- Bye Bye Birdie
* 1994- Oklahoma!
* 1995- Anything Goes
* 1999- Great Shakes!, Carousel
* 2000- Working
* 2001- All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Anything Goes
* 2002- Once in a Lifetime, Crazy for You
* 2003- Museum, Once on this Island
* 2004- The Crucible, Grease, Twilight Zone
* 2005- Box Office of the Damned, A Midsummer Nights' Dream
* 2006- Idolatry, Les Misérables
* 2008- Noises Off
* 2009- An Ideal Husband, A Little Night Music
* 2010- Sweet Charity
* 2012- Urinetown: The Musical, Rumors
* 2013- 9 to 5, King Lear
* 2014- Bat Boy: the Musical, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
* 2015- Little Shop of Horrors
* 2017- The Burnt Part Boys, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
* 2018- A Man For All Seasons, Spring Awakening
* 2019- Chess, Rumors
* 2020- Chicago
* 2021- The Internet is Distract--OH LOOK A KITTEN!, Into The Woods
* 2022- Newsies
* 2023- Urinetown, The Winter's Tale
* 2024- Ride the Cyclone, Almost, Maine