Students involved in the University Law School's "Libel Show," a musical-comedy revue involving professor impersonations and satirizing law school culture, are celebrating the show's 100th anniversary this year in a production with more than 200 students.
According to third-year Law student Patrick Byrnett, producer of the "Libel Show," the show began in 1903 as a hazing ritual for the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity. The script was written by the older brothers of the fraternity, Byrnett said, and the pledges were forced to perform skits on the steps of the Rotunda.
The show has been cancelled several times in its 100-year history, Byrnett said, most notably for six years during the 1920s. The reason for shutting down the show then has been the subject of much speculation.
"The most credible story is that the show one year [during the 1920s] centered its plot around Professor Armistead Dobie as the victim of a shotgun wedding," Byrnett said. "He was actually set to marry a woman several decades his junior, which is why it was funny."
The administration was angered by the plot, he said, and Edwin Alderman, the University president at the time, banned the show.
"It's ironic because Armistead Dobie was actually one of the pledges who performed at the first 'Libel Show,'" Byrnett said.
The show was moved from the Rotunda into Old Cabell Hall in 1908, then into the Caplin Auditorium in 1990, where it is still performed today.
The "Libel Show" is the Law School's oldest organization, Byrnett said, predating even the Virginia Law Review by about 10 years.
According to third-year Law student Phoebe Geer, a co-director of the "Libel Show," the show has remained popular because there are many aspects of the Law School the performance can satirize, and the attitudes of the Law School community encourage the show's comic nature.
"For a show like Libel to succeed and foster support from the faculty and administration, you need people who want Law students to be multitalented and have a wide variety of interests," Geer said.
According to third-year Law student John Sheehan, a co-director of the show, that is exactly the environment thriving at the Law School.
"U.Va. Law School tends to have a 'beer and softball' reputation," Sheehan said. "People at the school generally really like being there."
Many other law schools have similar revues, Sheehan added, but they tend to be "more mocking and biting," while the Libel Show at the University is viewed more as a celebration.
Law School professors are often a source of this comic celebration, as much of the show is centered around impersonations of Law School professors, who, for the most part, Geer said, are good sports.
Byrnett cited an example of a character called "Captain Cushman," intended to portray Law School Prof. Barry Cushman as Captain Planet. Cushman does a lot of work with the environment, Byrnett explained. Cushman, a University Law graduate who performed in the Libel Show while a student, said he enjoyed the impersonation.
"Over 100 years there have been professors that have gotten very upset," Byrnett said, "But most tolerate it, and some actively enjoy it."
Byrnett noted some professors look forward to being portrayed in the show and are disappointed if they are not.
According to Byrnett, more than 100 alumni will be attending the shows this weekend. This includes the show's "eldest alum," former Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice and 1936 graduate George Cochran.
Now that the show has reached its 100th anniversary, Byrnett said he hopes it will continue for at least another 100 years.
"It's one of the great traditions of U.Va. Law," Byrnett said. "It says a lot about the Law School administration, students and overall community that something this funny and not related to academics at all could take hold as a tradition and be something hundreds of people look forward to every year"
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