Please note proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of event date is required for entry. Please visit our website for all COVID-19 safety guidelines and protocols.
History Plays return to Landmark Center this fall with Obscenity On Trial: The Case Against Dr. Charles Malchow written by Thomas Fabel. Set in 1904, this production explores the repercussions of the Comstock Act of 1873, which prohibited the use of U.S. Mail for any “obscene, lewd, lascivious, immoral, or indecent” publications. When Dr. Charles W. Malchow, a respected physician and Hamline University Medical School faculty member, wrote a clinical book titled “The Sexual Life” he intended it to be used by physicians to alleviate the widespread ignorance of sexual functioning, especially among women. However, when a mailed pamphlet promoting the sale of the book was brought to the attention of the United States Attorney, which happened to be officed in room 301 in Landmark Center, he was prosecuted by the federal government.
Landmark Center’s History Play performance series is a theater program designed to bring to life many of the trials, court decisions, legal ramifications, and other related events that were relevant to Landmark Center when it was the Federal Courts Building. Noted Twin Cities judges, legal practitioners, and academics often trade robes for costumes to bring the events to life.
“Obscenity On Trial” will play on October 7, 8 at 7 pm, and Sunday, 10 at 2 pm, in the F.K. Weyerhaeuser Auditorium. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at landmarkcenter.org, by calling Sydney at 651.292.3063, or at the door while supplies last. Please note this play references mature themes and is recommended for ages 16 and up.
Please note this play contains mature themes and is recommended for ages 16 and up.