The Shakespeare Club of Pasadena was organized in 1888 and has the distinction of being the first women’s club in Southern California. The Club’s purpose has always centered around the cultural, educational and philanthropic interests of its members. For over 120 years, The Shakespeare Club has maintained its high standards and traditions and continues to participate actively in many varied philanthropic projects.
The Shakespeare Club supports numerous charitable causes in the Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley area, giving its members opportunities to help those less fortunate than ourselves: Rosemary’s Children’s Services, Friends of Foster Children, Villa Esperanza, the Walter Hoving Home, The Women’s Room Project, Door of Hope, Wellness Community, and Trinity Youth Services.
For the past 50 years, The Shakespeare Club has become particularly well-known for its Broadway musicals staged annually to benefit various worthy charities in our community. In recent years, these have become semi-professional productions involving an entire year of planning and preparation. Under professional direction and choreography and with professional sets and orchestra, Club members, husbands, and friends volunteer thousands of rehearsal, production, and promotion hours to bring the show to the public. Proceeds from these productions have been donated to various charities: The Association of Retarded Citizens, Wellness Community, Villa Esperanza, the Pasadena Ronald McDonald House, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Currently, our proceeds go to fund college scholarships for outstanding high school graduates in Pasadena high schools.
In 1993, we were honored by the Pasadena Arts Council with their Gold Crown Community Service Award for the Performing Arts in recognition for its contribution to the community. We are proud to join together to preserve American musical theater as an art form and, in the process, help those in our community who are less fortunate.
We have owned and maintained our lovely Italian Villa on South Grand Avenue in Pasadena since 1972, where meetings and events take place. We are seeking new members and would like to invite women of all ages to join.
Several upcoming events will provide prospective members and friends with a chance to learn more about this philanthropic group.
