Q: Your column about Boalt Christmas carols reminded me of another old tradition. Does the law school still put on the annual Christmas Show?
A. Alas, the traditional ChrisHanuKwanPanchaBodhiSadeh Show no longer celebrates the season when the Light of Learning vanquishes the darkening mind of the law student. But memories linger long in the Law School Archives.
In December 1963, the Class of 1964 presented the annual Christmas Show, which that year was a musical review titled Nuts In Boalt. The (loose) plot involved a law student named Marvin Gardens (Myron Moskovitz) who is certain he has been driven crazy by law school, and seeks help from the eminent psychiatrist Stefan Riesenfreud (Ted Bell). The show was recorded, and subsequently issued as a two-disc LP album, later converted to a compact disc, and now mp3 files. Though some recording quality has been lost in the mutations, the spirit of what was obviously a very enjoyable evening continues to shine through. The opening number, “We Came to Boalt,” is a classic.
Here are links to the musical review, with each file approximately one side of the original double LP:
Part One:
Download MP3 – Right-click and choose ‘Save as’ to download file
Part Two:
Download MP3 – Right-click and choose ‘Save as’ to download file
Part Three:
Download MP3 – Right-click and choose ‘Save as’ to download file
Part Four:
Download MP3 – Right-click and choose ‘Save as’ to download file
The files have been compressed to make loading quicker. If you would like to hear an uncompressed version (which improves the sound quality slightly), please let us know.
Happy holidays!
Have a question? Ask the Archivist: benemann@law.berkeley.edu