BOYS WILL BE “PONY BOYS” (1915)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** In the early part of the last century, a Brooklyn school boy could put on a dress with nary a thought of it. Cross-dressing – for one night of the year, at least – became so popular with some prep school boys, that they looked forward to it eagerly every year, along with their admirers. This cross-dressing showcase was known as the “Pony Ballet,” the most popular part of the fundraiser put on by Poly Prep which was performed by the pre-pubescent boys of the Poly Prep Country Day School. At the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where the spectacle was celebrated annually, it was not only acceptable for every 10-year-old boy to wear a dress – it was expected. “In 1915’s show the ballet was composed of a dozen youngsters from the lower grades of the school made up as girls. They made the liveliest and most attractive collection of ‘ponies’ seen on the stage in a long time.” A few years later, in 1917, such songs as “I’m a Regular Man Down Here,” and “Hello, Mr. Dream Man,” were sung with bravado in the show “Three Queens.” But the cake must have been taken by the Poly Prep boys in 1914 when the “girls” came out in “doll baby dresses […]
