The Lincoln Minute Men will appear in a show at the Old South Meeting House in Boston this Thursday, May 19 in a show written by Lincoln resident Martha Lufkin to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the repeal of the Stamp Act.
As you may recall from history class, the British government in 1765 imposed the Stamp Act on the American colonies to require payment of a tax on various official documents including marriage certificates. This gave rise more than two centuries later to Marriage is Taxing, Lufkin’s comedy about the little-known fact that there was a rush on marriages to avoid the new tax before the Stamp Act went into effect.
Lufkin, an attorney and a member of the Lincoln Minute Men, has published light mysteries involving lawyers in Alfred Hitchcock magazine. She was casting about for a mystery plot involving lawyers set in the colonial era and happened to learn abut the marriage rush as a result of the British legislation.
Martha Lufkin
“Since I’m a lawyer and tax planner for families, I thought this was so funny that I sat down and write a story about it,” she said. Recently she learned that the Old South Meeting House was celebrating the 250th anniversary of the repeal of the Stamp Act. “I contacted them and they loved the idea” of performing Marriage is Taxing, which is told as a series of letters written by a woman to her sister, she said.
Lincoln Minute Men members Don Hafner, Steve McCarthy, Doug Unkel, Ruth Hodges and Bev Malone participate in the performance, interacting with the guests and chatting about the joyous news about the repeal of the Stamp Act. The evening will also feature 18th-century music by Kairos, a Boston-based flute and harp duo, and dinner.
Tickets are $40 and include a light supper, one complimentary beverage and dessert. A cash bar with beer, wine and soft drinks will also be available. To reserve tickets, click here or call 800-838-3006.
