“I’m a hat-a-holic,” said Shirlen Triplett. “I have a roomful of hats. I have hats that I’ve inherited, hats that I’ve bought, hats that have been passed down from one generation to the next.
“Each one has its own personality,” she said. “It symbolizes my spirit, my individuality, my personhood.”
Triplett’s testimonial to the power and glory of hats drew nods of approval from the crowd gathered in the lobby of the Goodman Theatre one recent evening. She was surrounded by dozens of women wearing an amazing array of hats–from an emerald green number with pheasant feathers to a huge black velvet platter done up with ribbons.
That so many hat-wearing women had assembled in the Goodman lobby was, in part, because “Crowns,” a gospel musical about African-American women and their church hats, was on stage.
Another reason? Two busloads of women from Beth Eden Baptist Church in East Morgan Park and its Seniors on the Go group used the preview performance to honor the grandmothers, mothers and aunts–one of them in particular–who had taught them the importance of wearing a crown.
“We decided to pay tribute in memory of the millinery hat festivals that took place under the leadership of Ruby Haynes,” said Arlene Pierce, who coordinated the group’s gathering.
It was the late Haynes who started millinery classes at Beth Eden in 1950, then launched annual Palm Sunday hat festivals in 1951. The festivals, which drew crown-wearing women from churches throughout the city, continued for about 20 years, according to Pierce.
“Crowns,” which runs through April 18, was written and directed by the Goodman’s Regina Taylor and is based on the 2000 book of the same name by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry.
“Church hats are a peculiar convergence of faith and fashion,” writes Marberry. “When the Apostle Paul wrote an open letter to the Corinthians (I Corinthians 11:5) decreeing that a woman cover her head when at worship to symbolize her obedience to God and the church hierarchy, he could not have imagined the flamboyance with which African-American women would comply.”
That mix of fashion and faith was apparent to the women gathered at the Goodman.
“In the South, you dressed up to go to church every Sunday–with the hat and everything,” said Bettye Bonds.
“A hat makes you feel like a lady,” added Virginia Meeks. “It makes you feel complete.”
