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© 2024 Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia
Description
Bringing you the best stories from the deep and fascinating history of theater in the city of Philadelphia.
This is the podcast for all lovers of theater, students of history - or anyone who enjoys great stories with lots of drama!
76 Episodes
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The most iconic New York musical ever is saved by Philadelphia tryout audiences.For a blog post on our website with additional information and images, go to: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/luck-be-a-lady/If you enjoyed the show, PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW! You can do it easily, right here:https://www.aithpodcast.com/reviews/If you have any questions, inquiries or additional comments, you can write us at our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.comOr, follow us on Mastodon: https://historians.soci...
Post-war theater in Philadelphia reflected all the many serious issues the country was facing: Carmen Jones, A Streetcar Named Desire, Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Member of the Wedding and Death of a Salesman all had tryout premieres in Philadelphia - among many others.For a blog post on our website with additional information and images, go to: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/this-train-is-a-goin-home-train/If you enjoyed the show, PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW! You can do it easily, right...
The story of Cole Porter's classic musical Kiss Me, Kate's world premier opening in Philadelphia in December of 1948. For a blog post on our website, with images from the productions we discuss in the episode:https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/rings-and-things-and-fine-array/If you enjoyed the show, PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW! You can do it easily, right here:https://www.aithpodcast.com/reviews/If you have any questions, inquiries or additional comments, you can write us at our email address: AIT...
"Pal Joey," "Native Son," "Annie Get Your Gun" - during the years of the Second World War, there was a new surge of exciting Broadway productions trying out in Philadelphia. But at the same time, the Shuberts' domination of the Philadelphia theater market was meeting increasing scrutiny. For a blog post on our website, with images from the productions we discuss in the episode:https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/quaker-city-theater-in-the-war-years/If you enjoyed the show, PLEASE LEAVE US ...
A reissue of our conversation with scholar Jonathan Shandell and director Jerrell Henderson, about a little-known chapter of Philadelphia's theater history.For a blog post on our website, with images from the productions we discuss in the episode:https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/jericho-one-third-of-a-nation-and-prelude-to-swing/If you enjoyed the show, PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW! You can do it easily, right here:https://www.aithpodcast.com/reviews/If you have any questions, inquiries or additi...
Philadelphia enters the Great Depression. Although a few shows were still having their Broadway tryouts in Philly, it wasn't enough to keep the wrecking crews from tearing down many of the city's grand old theaters. To see images and to find more information about this episode, go to: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/the-wrecking-ball/If you liked the show, leave a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-theater-history-philadelphia/id1562046673Write to u...
The fictional musical "Pretty Lady" has its opening night in Philadelphia!Another dramatic reading from the archives of Philadelphia theater history, underscored with evocative musical accompaniment.If you liked the show, leave a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-theater-history-philadelphia/id1562046673Write to us! aithpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcastFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithp...
A story of an "All Star Cast" touring production in 1927. After the unexpected death of its star, the veteran actor John Drew Jr., company member Peggy Wood wrote this detailed memoir of his final tour. A dramatic reading from the archives of Philadelphia theater history, underscored with evocative musical accompaniment.For images of John Drew and Peggy Wood, see our blog: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/all-star-cast-trelawny-of-the-wells-episode-69/If you liked the show, leave a Revi...
Broadway tryouts and tours and revues were constantly coming to Philadelphia's many large and luxurious theaters during the 1920s - here's a quick review of the revues!Even the Moscow Art Theatre came through town - as well as great productions of Eugene O'Neill plays.Philly was a real Tryout Town, with such great venues as the Erlanger, the Garrick, the Earle, the Shubert, and the Forrest, as well as the revamped and re-designed Chestnut Street Opera House and the the Walnut Street Theatre.F...
The story of the Shubert Brothers, and how they began to take control over almost every commercial theater in Philadelphia - just like they did in cities all acrossAmerica. For a blog post with images of the stories and topics we discuss in this episode, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/the-shuberts-and-their-philadelphia-theaters/If you liked the show, leave a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-theater-history-philadelphia/id15620...
The "Little Theater Movement" arrives in Philadelphia, bringing modern plays and surprising new venues - including the Walnut Street Theatre, where The Green Goddess was given a World Premiere tryout run in December of 1920.For a blog post with images of the stories and topics we discuss in this episode, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/green-goddess-dressing-notes-to-episode-66/ If you liked the show, leave a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/po...
Our annual Holiday episode! Featured are stories about the tightrope sensation El Nino Eddie, "Hitchy-Koo; the Intimate Revue," The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Timbuktu!, Signor Blitz during the American Civil War, and many other tales about Philadelphia theater history.For a blog post with images of the stories and topics we discuss in this episode, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/hitchy-koo-and-happy-new-year/If you liked the show, leave a Review on Apple Podcasts! https...
Stories of seven notable vaudevillians who came from Philadelphia, including W.C. Fields, Ethel Barrymore, and Ethel Waters. (We also briefly profile Ed Wynn, Larry Fine, Walter C. Kelly, and the woman known as "Sober Sue.") Was Philadelphia "The Cradle of Vaudeville" in the same way it was The Cradle of the Nation? After listening to the show, let us know what you think! Write to us at: AITHpodcast@gmail.com On our website, there's a blog post with a Bibliography of the sources for this epis...
Philadelphia, like all American cities of the day, was home to the exciting energy and show-biz hustle of vaudeville theaters in the first decades of the 20th Century. On our website, there's a blog post with a Bibliography of the sources for are show, plus lots of images of the Philly vaudeville theaters we talk about on this episode - "The Exciting New Vaudeville Theaters of Sleepy Old Philadelphia": https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/the-exciting-new-vaudeville-theaters-of-sleepy-old-philade...
In the fall of 1915, D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation was booked to play at the Forrest Theatre - a "legitimate house," not a movie theater - but would Philadelphia's city authorities allow it to be shown? After all, the film's racist source material, Thomas Dixon's play The Clansman, had been officially banned in the city back in 1906. But was this a "movie" or a "photo-play"? Could it be legally censored at all? How did this controversy result in plays and movies being regarded as two ...
We begin our third season of adventures! Here we learn about the historical originas of the "Tryout Town" in American showbiz of the early 20th Century.We discuss the movie 42nd Street and discuss many touring shows that came through Philly on their way to and from Broadway - including George M. Cohan's Little Johnny Jones, which introduced the song "Give My Regards To Broadway" at the Walnut Street Theatre in 1904. But we also learn that the real place that Philadelphians needed to tra...
Actress, director and educator Penelope Reed sits down for an interview with us, and shares fascinating memories of her long career in Philadelphia area theater. In particular she discusses her lifelong involvement and eventual leadership of the Hedgerow Theatre in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania.This episode can be seen as a continuation of our Episode 36, "Jasper Deeter and the Hedgerow Theatre" from September 2022. You can find it on any podcasting app, or go right to the episode page on our web...
[Note: This is a repeat of our Episode 12, first released in June 2021]Fires were a real danger in 19th Century theater, and some Philadelphia theaters were burned down and rebuilt multiple times. Inevitably, in some of these fires performers, audience members, and firefighters lost their lives. In this episode we go on exploration of how theater fires in the 1800s affect the physical environment that we experience plays in today.To view the episode blog entry with illustrations and a bibliog...
First released as Episode 10 in May of 2021, we bring out this great story once again!You can find illustrations and additional information about the events we describe here, on our webpage: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/episode-10-George-Frederick-Cooke/If you liked the show, leave a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-theater-history-philadelphia/id1562046673Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcastFollow us on Instagram: https:...
The the final episode of our story about the Theatre of the Living Arts. While exciting work continues to happen on South Street, opposition to Andre Gregory's artistic leadership rises, and eventually matters come to a head after the production of the play Beclch.(The image for this episode is actress Sharon Gans in the role of Queen Beclch, in a photo taken during rehearsals by Betty Nettis Bennett.)Go to our blog post "Landslide," which contains additional information, documents and ...
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