Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia

In 1911, actress Sarah Bernhardt's production of La Samaritaine met with fervent opposition from Philadelphia clergymen. In 1912, the Irish Players' production of Playboy of the Western World caused yet another Philly audience riot!

What was going on? Listen and find out! It's all part of our continuing Season Two: "Drama Is Conflict".

Please Note: There is nothing immoral, blasphemous, or obscene in this episode. There's no explicit language. None at all. Don't worry, you'll be fine.

For more images, information and a bibliography of our sources, see the blog entry "Bernhardt and the Playboy" on our website:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/bernhardt-and-the-playboy/

If you enjoyed the show, PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW! You can do it easily, right here - especially if you listen to us ON APPLE PODCASTS! We need some more reviews there:
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If you have any questions, inquiries or additional comments, you can write us at our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Check out all our recent episodes! For an exciting season about Philadelphia's "Theatre History" or its "Theater History" - however you spell it, this is the podcast for you.

Please follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/
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To become a Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

The last installment of the saga of Oscar Hammerstein in the "Opera Wars" - and the grand Philadelphia theater he left behind, when the war was over.

We also meet the New York banker Otto Kahn - the power behind the rival Metropolitan Opera - and how that name gets transferred to the Philadelphia building.

Despite many transformations, over the years it has remained a grand temple of Music, Art and Faith on North Broad Street.  We follow the musical trail from 1910 - all the way to the present day.

For more images, information and a bibliography of our sources, see the blog entry "Exit Hammerstein" on our website:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/exit-hammerstein/

If you enjoyed the show, PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW! You can do it easily, right here - especially if you listen to us ON APPLE PODCASTS! We need some more reviews there:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/reviews/

If you have any questions, inquiries or additional comments, you can write us at our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Check out all our recent episodes! For an exciting season about Philadelphia's "Theatre History" or its "Theater History" - however you spell it, this is the podcast for you.

Please follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast
To become a Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

February 1909: The opera "Salome" at Oscar Hammerstein's new Philadelphia Opera House needed to be stopped, as a matter of public decency, declared hundreds of clergymen and civic leaders.

Meanwhile, the impresario himself was threatening to take his newly-founded opera company back to New York, and set up the enormous theater as a vaudeville house instead! What was going on?

This is the second part of three-part series on the impresario Oscar Hammerstein and his venture into the Philadelphia theater world.  For additional images and information, see the blog post on our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/salome-was-a-dancer/

While you're looking at our website, check out all our recent episodes! For an exciting season about Philadelphia's "Theatre History" or its "Theater History" - however you spell it, this is the podcast for you.  https://www.aithpodcast.com/

If you enjoyed the show, PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW! You can do it easily, right here - especially if you listen to us ON APPLE PODCASTS! We need some more reviews there:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/reviews/

If you have any questions, inquiries or additional comments, you can write us at our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast

Mastodon: https://historians.social/@schmeterpitz

To become a Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

November 17, 1908 : The magnificent new theater in North Philadelphia was ready for its first opera! It was "as if some master magician's wand had called it into being," wrote one admiring journalist.

Everyone in the city, especially its most wealthy and socially prominent citizens, could hardly wait to get inside to see the show. But first they had to make their way through the crowd of ten thousand people out on the streets gathered just to see them all dressed up in their finest!

This is the story of the Manhattan opera impresario Oscar Hammerstein, and how the "Opera War" with his rival, the Metropolitan Opera Company, spread all the way to Philadelphia. What remains behind of that war today is not only an amazing theater, but a great story!

After you've listened to the show, for additional images and information, see the blog post on our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/the-beauties-of-society/

If you enjoyed the show, PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW! You can do it easily, right here - especially if you listen to us ON APPLE PODCASTS! We need some more reviews there:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/reviews/

Check out all our recent episodes! For an exciting season about Philadelphia's "Theatre History" or its "Theater History" - however you spell it, this is the podcast for you.

If you have any questions, inquiries or additional comments, you can write us at our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast

Mastodon: https://historians.social/@schmeterpitz

To become a Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

1906: A coalition of African American men attempt to stop Thomas Dixon Jr.'s play The Clansman from being performed in Philadelphia. After leading a public protest in front of the Walnut Street Theatre, the whole matter ends up in City Hall, at a hearing before Mayor John Weaver.

There is a blog post on our website, which has additional information and images about the historical characters in this episode! See: "The Learned Professions": https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/the-learned-professions/

Want to know even more about this story? For instance, about what happened in 1915, when The Clansman came back to Philadelphia as the infamous D.W. Griffith movie The Birth of a Nation?  We recorded a special Bonus Episode about this topic, called "The Birthplace of the Nation Meets 'The Birth of a Nation', " - but it's only available on Patreon. Become a supporter of the show, and you can hear it, too! The link is HERE.

For a copy of the Kelly Miller pamphlet "As To the Leopard's Spots," there is a online facsimile copy at the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/astoleopardsspot00mill

Music in the episode is by Chris Colucci, except for the underscoring late in the episode, which from the second movement of the Symphony No. 1 in E minor by the composer Florence Price.  Performance by the New Black Repertory Ensemble, Leslie B. Dunner, conductor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s4yY_A2A2k

Please Note: There is no historical connection or relationship between the management of the Walnut Street Theatre, as it stood in 1906, and the current management of the modern Walnut Street Theatre at the same location.

If you enjoyed the show, PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW! You can do it easily, right here - especially if you listen to us ON APPLE PODCASTS! We need some more reviews there:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/reviews/

If you have any questions, inquiries or additional comments, you can write us at our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Check out all our recent episodes! For an exciting season about Philadelphia's "Theatre History" or its "Theater History" - however you spell it, this is the podcast for you.

Please follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast
To become a Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

Seven short and light vignettes from the history of Philadelphia Theater - all of which took place in the city during the Holidays, from various theatrical seasons over the past 150 years.

A gift to all of you listeners and supporters of the podcast. We hope you have a wonderful and restful Holiday season, and that the New Year of 2023 brings you health, happiness - and plenty of chances to go out and see some good theater, wherever you are in the world!

For a blog post with images to accompany this episode, go to our website:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/pajama-tops-bottoms-out/

If you enjoyed the show, PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW! You can do it easily, right here - especially if you listen to us ON APPLE PODCASTS! We need some more reviews there:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/reviews/

If you have any questions, inquiries or additional comments, you can write us at our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Check out all our recent episodes! For an exciting season about Philadelphia's "Theatre History" or its "Theater History" - however you spell it, this is the podcast for you.

Please follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast
To become a Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

We continue our story about Thomas Dixon Jr. and his 1905 play The Clansman with an examination of the early life of this formidable man. We learn the root causes of his political obsessions - and about his need to express himself in the world of the theater.

Also in this episode, we finally meet J. Frederick Zimmerman and Samuel F. Nixon, the two Philadelphia theatrical producers who were key members of The Theatrical Syndicate.

After listening to the episode, please visit our website, where there is additional information, images, and even a bibliography for this episode. The link is here: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/the-syndicate/

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.com

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To become a Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

We begin the harrowing and alarming story of "The Clansman," in Philadelphia. Although this play by the author Thomas W. Dixon is know as the progenitor to the 1915 D.W. Griffith film "Birth of the Nation," few are aware of its early controversial history,

The narrative begins in the streets outside the Walnut Street Theatre, as a large crowd of the city's Black citizens have gathered to protest the performance, and to demand that it be stopped.

(Please note: in all descriptions of Philadelphia's Walnut St. Theatre in the year 1906 - there is NO connection to the current management of the Walnut Street Theatre or the producers or organization of the modern company. All the events described in this episode took place long ago, in a different era, and should not be construed to represent the views of the present management of the building as it stands today.)

To se a blog post about the events in this episode, follow this link to our podcast's  web page: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/3000-negroes-riot/

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.com

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To become a Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

A re-broadcast of an episode originally released in November of 2021.

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, an exploration of performances by Indigenous People in theaters of the City of Philadelphia in the 19th Century. We also detail plays by white performers that supposedly depicted Native people and stories in that period.

The attached image for the episode is a detail of an illustration found in the book "History of the Indian Tribes of North America", Volume One, by Thomas McKenney, which was published in Philadelphia in 1838.

For other images and additional commentary about this topic, as well as a bibliography of our sources, see our website's blog post:
https://www.the-native-american-party-blog-post-and-bibliography-for-episode-20

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.com

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

The mob is gathering in the street outside the Chestnut Street Theatre, while inside the rehearsals for the scandalous play The Quaker City go on! The thrilling conclusion of our three part series! Will it all end in a deadly riot? The suspense is building . . 

For a blog post about this episode, with more information and images about the people and events in our story, go to: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/wo-unto-sodom/

(There is also a complete bibliography at the end of the blog post, with of all our sources for Parts One, Two and Three of this series.)

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.com

Or, follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/schmeterpitz
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To become a Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

George Lippard's novel "The Quaker City, or the Monk's of Monk Hall" is made into a new play. The excitement about it builds in Philadelphia, just as the national election of 1844 roils the city.

We learn more about the young Philadelphia writer, and how he was recruited by theater manager Francis Wemyss to provide a script for his Chestnut Street Theatre. Meanwhile, one of Philadelphia's most prominent citizens is headed for the Vice Presidency, while others of the city's elite look with alarm at what Lippard and Wemyss' play might do to their reputations. Some of Philadelphia's theatergoers even have their reasons to threaten riots and bloodshed. The supposedly peaceable 'Quaker City' is not looking very peaceable at all.

Part Two of our three-part series about the threat of violence in the streets and theaters of Philadelphia in 1844, as we continue theme of  Season Two of our podcast: "Drama is Conflict."

For images and more information about this topic, see the blog post on our website:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/george-lippard-and-the-election-of-1844/

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.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/

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Mastodon: https://historians.social/@schmeterpitz

To become a Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

The theater of Philadelphia was being staged during the roiling years of the 1840s. Bankruptcies, riots, labor unrest, growing religious fervor and racial tensions, rising crime (and public perception of crime due to increasing availability of journals and newspapers) were everywhere.

This is the context for the first episode of our Season Two: "Drama is Conflict," in which we set the scene for the coming battle over the play at Philadelphia's Chestnut Street Theater, entitledThe Quaker City, or the Monks of Monk Hall, by George Lippard. How and why this production came about will be the story of our next two episodes, as well.

For more about the historical context of today's episode, including images of many of the people and events we discuss, see the blog post on our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/philadelphia-in-1844/

The image used for this episode is a detail from an 1844 lithograph entitled "The Death of George Shifler." It was a bit of popular propaganda produced by the nativist "American Republican Party," and supposedly depicted the death of the 19 year-old Shifler during the Kensington Riots of May 6, 1844. It is from the collection of the Library Company of Philadelphia. Persistent link: https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/digitool%3A65090

For more information about the riots, there is an excellent article in the online Encyplopedia of Greater Philadelphia: https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/nativist-riots-of-1844/

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.com

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Mastodon: https://historians.social/@schmeterpitz

To become a Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

A quick announcement about our upcoming season of new episodes . . . For an exciting season about Philadelphia's "Theatre History" or "Theater History" - however, you spell it, this is the place.

Spoiler Alert: There will be lots of drama. And conflict!

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

Jasper Deeter formed Philadelphia's oldest repertory theater company in 1923. Though seemingly self-isolated in the small and intense community of theater workers he had founded, his work as a director,  actor, visionary and longtime acting teacher had a profound affect on shaping Philadelphia's - and America's - theater for years to come.

In this show we interview theater historian Barry Witham about his 2013 book A Sustainable Theatre: Jasper Deeter at the Hedgerow, and then bring listeners along on a guided tour of Hedgerow Theatre campus in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania.

Check out this blog post with historical images of Jasper Deeter, plus photos from our visit to the Hedgerow in August 2022, on our website!
https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/photos-of-the-hedgerow/

The Hedgerow Theatre's website can be found here: https://www.hedgerowtheatre.org/

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.com

Or, follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/schmeterpitz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast
To become a Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

This special episode of the podcast goes on a journey to the Paul Robeson House and Museum in Philadelphia. Included is an interview with Janice Sykes-Ross of the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, and a recording of a live tour of the Paul Robeson House with docent Terry Fimiano Guerin.

For a blog post on our website with additional information, images, and links, go to:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/the-house-i-live-in/

The website for the Paul Robeson House and Museum, where you can learn more about its history and the story of Paul Robeson, and how to arrange your own tour, is here.

A beautiful video on YouTube, that we mention in the episode, tells the story of Paul Robeson, the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and its founder Frances P. Aulston, and the house where he spent the last 10 years of his life. It was created in conjunction with Scribe Video Center's "Precious Places Community History Project" in Philadelphia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9TDPvXHeeY

By the way, there are some mysteries about the Paul Robeson House! Check here for some small problems the staff has encountered recently identifying the provenance or location of certain items.

The WCPA is a 501c3 non-profit organization, information about how to make donations to their important work can be found here.


If you enjoyed the show, PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW! You can do it easily, right here:
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If you have any questions, inquiries or additional comments, you can write us at our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Or, follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/schmeterpitz
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To become a Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

Like the ghost of Hamlet's father, John Barrymore wouldn't stay still and  kept showing up! A chapter about Philadelphia's most famous acting family, from Wicked Philadelphia, a book by Thomas H. Keels

Wicked Philadelphia: Sin in the City of Brotherly Love by Thomas Keels, is available on Amazon.com. Please visit Tom's website, www.thomaskeels.com, for more information on his other books and upcoming talks and lectures.

For blog post with images and more thoughts about this topic, go to:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/alas-poor-yorick/

To find out more about Mount Vernon Cemetery in North Philadelphia:
https://www.mountvernoncemetery.org/

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.com

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Video of 1963 Orson Welles interview, followed by Barrymore doing Hamlet in 1933:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2jWx4IqgEM

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

As an addendum to Season One, here are six more stories of 19th C. Philadelphia theater. We discuss Alexander Reinagle, Joseph Jefferson III, James Murdoch, Matilda Heron, John McCullough - as well as two stagehands at the Walnut Street Theater you likely never heard of before, but may never forget!

To see images and more information about today's subjects, see the blog post on our podcast's web page:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/back-to-the-19th-century/

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.com

Or, follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/schmeterpitz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast
To become a Patreon Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

For the music and recordings featured in today's episode (all found easily on YouTube)
Alexander Reinagle
"Six Scots Tunes" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meY6-Hkolxc
"Baroque Americain" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyu811rSB5U
"Philadelphia Sonata #1" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImEhQvsukJM
"Federal March" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3I067IuWA8
"Philadelphia Sonata #2" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHcIbd9f07k
"I Have a Silent Sorrow Here" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngVW6rKaWCc

Joseph Jefferson
"Jefferson and Liberty" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAOurpDRyPw&list=PLfw18z0BT49LCohEMD3kBcYcMm7LZgUN8
"Jump Jim Crow" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8wg1vGucbs
"Rip Van Winkle" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwiBdrOtGmA

James E. Murdoch
"Philadelphia Fireman's Cotillion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aw_JDlvXwc
"Sospiri del Mio Cor" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1TbAwZv1R8&list=PLfw18z0BT49LCohEMD3kBcYcMm7LZgUN8&index=15

Matilda Heron
"Traditional Irish Music" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdxGhKbdjxU
Chopin, Sonata #3 - Op.58, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cy3dmqrn3c&list=PLsiUDYPNEqx2yytIAxpTOrxWtKfByxg2z

John McCullough
Tchaikovsky, Music for Hamlet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2le05k-6ls
"The Ravings of John McCullough

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

An interview/conversation with Jonathan Shandell, the author of a January 2022 article in the journal Theater History Studies entitled "Caricatured, Marginalized, Betrayed".  The article examines the history of the Philadelphia "Negro Unit" of the Federal Theatre Project in the 1930s - specifically the history of three plays produced by the FTP at the Walnut Street Theatre.

You can read more about Jonathan on his website: https://jonathan.shandell.us/home

Also in the conversation in Jerrell Henderson, a  theater director, puppeteer and teacher currently living in Chicago. A native Philadelphian, he has devoted much time to studying and writing about musical theater, especially Black musical theater. He is the curator and creator of black_theatre-vinyl_archive on Instagram.  https://www.jerrell-henderson.com/

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 additional comments, you can write us at our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Or, follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/schmeterpitz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

January 1990: The appointment of Mary B. Robinson as the new Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Drama Guild is announced, taking over from outgoing Artistic Director Gregory Poggi.

Robinson's tenure at the Drama Guild was slated to begin in August of 1990, so she could move back to Philadelphia and start planning her first season. At a press conference, she stated that she planned to personally direct at least 3 of the 5 shows staged by the Drama Guild, whose current home was in the Zellerbach Theatre on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. . . . 

In the fall of 2021, Mary Robinson sat down for a talk with Adventures in Theater History. It was also the first time she had sat down and really discussed her four-and-a-half year long tenure at the Drama Guild in since 1995. We also talked about the many shows she subsequently directed at the Philadelphia Theatre Company in years since. The first of a planned series of many interviews with historically important Philadelphia theater artists and scholars, we are proud to bring you this fascinating hour-long recorded conversation. Enjoy!

For a blog post with some images of productions from Philadelphia Drama Guild in the 1990s, go to: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/photos-of-mary-robinson-and-the-drama-guild/

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© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

From the 1876 Centennial Exposition to the end of the 19th Century, Philadelphia's experienced a boom in theater construction. New plays, musicals, operettas and vaudeville shows constantly cycled in and out of the city to fill these theaters. By the 1890s, one newspaperman estimated that on average each of Philadelphia's one million people saw five shows a year! It was the best of times.

In this episode we do our best to describe this productive and significant, but mostly forgotten era of Philadelphia theater history. 

Music in the episode is mostly from Evangeline; or, The Belle of Acadia an 1874 musical by Edward Rice.

To see and hear more of this show, as it was recently played and produced in Portland, Maine, see this playlist on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzxddX3RlZft3pSnqdMzU43l4emFzE6TR

A heartfelt thanks to Mr. Charles Kaufmann and the singers and orchestra of the Longfellow Chorus of Portland Maine, as well as the Charlotte Cushman Foundation of Philadelphia for their generous help, cooperation and support.

Additional music is from "Fatinitza" and Debussy's "La Soiree dan Grenade", played by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra.

For images relating to the episode,  and additional information see our website's blog post and bibliography: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/the-best-of-times-blog-post-and-bibliography-for-episode-27/

Want to know even more great stuff about Philly theater history and can't wait for the next episode? We post stories every day on our Facebook page and our Instagram feeds. Follow us there for a daily dose of Philly theater!

If you liked the show, leave a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-theater-history-philadelphia/id1562046673

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/

Mastodon: https://historians.social/@schmeterpitz

Our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.