J. L. BELL is a Massachusetts writer who specializes in (among other things) the start of the American Revolution in and around Boston. He is particularly interested in the experiences of children in 1765-75. He has published scholarly papers and popular articles for both children and adults. He was consultant for an episode of History Detectives, and contributed to a display at Minute Man National Historic Park.

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Wednesday, May 11, 2016

“Marriage Is Taxing” and More at Old South, 19 May

Blood on the Snow isn’t the only historical theater debuting in Boston this month.

On Thursday, 19 May, the Old South Meeting House will host a performance of “Marriage Is Taxing” by Martha Lufkin. This one-woman comedy is “based on the rush to marry in the weeks before the Stamp Act took effect, to avoid the impending tax on marriage certificates.”

(Back here I looked at the reports from 1765 and 1766 of people accelerating or putting off marriage because of the new tax on the certificate that said a couple was legally able to marry. Not only were there such reports in New England newspapers, but, at least in some communities, there was a measurable shift in marriage patterns.)

Lufkin’s performance is just one part of an evening that the Old South is titling “Marriage, Taxes, and a Dose of Rebellion.” The evening begins at 6:30 P.M. with a light supper while musicians perform period tunes. The cost is $40 per person, including the meal, or $30 for Old South members. Go to this page for more information and tickets.

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