From the Gilbert and Sullivan website: "In February of 1973, a group of students, staff, spouses, community members, and three professors, brought together by founding student Jack Marshall, sat backstage in the Moot Courtroom, waiting to perform Gilbert and Sullivan's courtroom farce, "Trial by Jury". The show had been rehearsed sporadically, amid warnings by professors and students that it was a grievous waste of precious study time. No tickets had been sold; admission was free. Nervously, they waited to see if anyone would bother to come to their show. Six hundred people turned out to watch the performance. They sat in the aisles, on the stage, and on each other. By the finale, nobody believed that "Trial by Jury" had been a waste of time. Thus was born the Georgetown Gilbert & Sullivan Society.

Since its founding in 1973, The Georgetown Gilbert & Sullivan Society (GGSS) has provided a forum in which Georgetown University Law Center students, alumni, faculty, and staff, alongside volunteers from the community at large, can produce and perform theatre. GGSS strives to foster social and professional networks, utilizing a shared passion for the performing arts as a launchpad for greater engagement. Much like the law itself, our organization aims to evolve with the needs of society, and these shifting ideals require outreach to diverse scholars and artists. Our ultimate objective is to serve as a creative outlet for dynamic voices, reflecting their perspectives through an exploration of both modern and classic texts in light of the happenings in the world around them.

GGSS is sustained primarily by law students and lawyers, persons not known for having copious amounts of free time. GGSS is open to all to join, including law students, undergraduate students, faculty members, and the community at large.

A play is presented every fall and a Broadway musical in the spring."