In 1989, during an impromptu visit to Swarthmore, Ira Gitlin '80 and I were surprised to find the main lounge of Willets dormitory still referred to as "Mephisto's." Part of the surprise was that no one seemed to know why-but we did. Mephisto's was a weekly coffeehouse that began in the fall of 1978. On Sunday nights students performed-often several short acts in an evening-in that same location where coffee, tea, and donuts could be purchased. For us it was a predominantly Willets affair. In later years it drew audiences from around campus. But by the time of our 1989 visit, the coffeehouse was gone, as was the sign that went with it. Only the name remained.
What follows is what I remember-perhaps others will come forward with their pieces of the Mephisto's story.
No one expected Mephisto's to become an institution. Early in the fall of 1978, Marc Freedman '80, a Willets R.A., told me he wanted to start a low-key venue to encourage new performers. He borrowed the name of the new coffeehouse from friends. (See sidebar below)
Marc told me that I was just the kind of person he envisioned at this venue. I was a sophomore singer without much of an outlet beyond the shower. Though I had sung with my family and in a high school choral group and had done some acting, I didn't play guitar well enough to accompany myself. I had joined the Swarthmore chorus freshman year, found it frustrating and impersonal, and had not returned the next year. So I feared that would be the extent of my performing life at Swarthmore.
Marc suggested I ask Ira-a good friend who played banjo with Corduroy Road, a popular campus bluegrass band-to accompany me on guitar. Accordingly, Ira and I worked up five or six songs, and we were the first act on the night Mephisto's opened, September 24, 1978. The other performers that evening were Charlie McGovern '80 and Dave Kerrigan '79. Both were relatively seasoned performers. Charlie, a versatile musician and singer who led Corduroy Road, had an awesome solo repertoire that ranged from jazz to folk to pop. Dave fell more solidly in the folk camp, and I most remember his ability to imitate Bob Dylan-to great effect.
Ira and I were regulars at Mephisto's until I graduated. I saw lots of fellow student musicians perform there, including Greg Coe, the late Geoff Trindl, and Luisa Lehrer, (all '81); Ari Eisinger, Dana Lyons, (both '82); plus Ken Schaphorst '82 with his jazz band, Breeze. Mephisto's was also home to poetry, and sometimes plays. The strangest act I recollect was a visiting duo from Hampshire College. One read neo-beat poetry, while the other accompanied him on slide trombone.
I believe that management of the coffeehouse passed from Marc Freedman to Nancy Friedman '82, and then to Jane Rossetti '82. At my 15th reunion in June, I was contacted by New York artist Jessie Winer, who had taken over Mephisto's in 1981 and run it until she graduated in 1984. Jessie says that Serge Seiden '85 took it over when she left. During Jessie's tenure, a number of singing ensembles debuted at Mephisto's: Sixteen Feet, The Dinning Sisters, (founded by Debbie Felix '83), The Grapevine, and the Septa Connection, started by Karen Searle '84.
Jessie's list of musical regulars also included Judy Edelman '87, Sarah Gentry (Tischler) '82, Laurie Matheson '84, and Davy Temperley '87. There were variety nights with lots of performers each doing a song or two. Among the more memorable acts were a juggling troupe that included Ben Druss '85 and Sue Sullivan '83; and a reading of Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham, conducted by John Mackay '84 with assistance from Erica Marcus '84, which drew a record crowd.
Jessie and her sister Debbie '83 had worked in theater prior to Swarthmore. Not surprisingly, drama became a more prominent feature of Mephisto's. Jessie founded and directed The Mephisto Players, a group that performed plays, including three written by Debbie; Jessie also painted posters and designed sets. (The posters became collector's items and often disappeared.) One poster collector was Phyllis Raymond '54, then associate dean of admissions; she and English Literature Professor Peter Schmidt were probably the only two faculty or administration members to frequent Mephisto's. Eventually The Mephisto Players moved to Tarble, where sets could be left up for longer periods than at Willets. Their performance occurred just a few weeks before Tarble burned down in Sept-ember 1983.
At my recent reunion, many classmates couldn't remember going to Mephisto's. But they did remember popular groups like Corduroy Road, The Kids, Breeze, and The Dead Bears-many of whom had played there. Apparently the coffeehouse itself stopped sometime between 1985 and 1987, yet the name lives on.
For myself, I can honestly say Mephisto's changed my life. The group I'm in now-The Urban Legends-is a direct descendant of my Mephisto's act. We even play some of the same songs. After graduation I didn't perform at all for a while. But in 1986 Ira moved to the Washington area, and in 1989 we had our debut in the "real world," at a local coffeehouse. Over the years we've been joined by two other friends and become a real band, and we recently produced our own recording. None of this might have happened if there had been no Mephisto's. And who knows how many other performers got their start on Mephisto's stage?
Ruth Goldberg is a writer and researcher for Time-Life Books, and lead singer for The Urban Legends.
Nattily dressed, the mysterious mollusk brandished a lit cigarette and usually spouted some vaguely hip-sounding comment.
Our first sign for the coffeehouse was a bedsheet crudely stenciled in red paint. A wooden sign replaced it in February 1979. Steve Podell '81 did the carpentry; I laid out the design and did some of the painting, but the finishing touches were applied by Carol Forney '81. Instead of the usual "Oh yes ..." or "Too cool for words ...," Mephisto's cartoon balloon proclaimed, "Your message here" and gave the phone number on Marc Freedman's hall.
By the time the sign mysteriously disappeared-probably in the late '80s-it's likely that no one on campus knew what that dapper blob in the center was supposed to represent.
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