Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia

Our guest today is Nick Stuccio, the former ballet dancer who helped found, lead and guide one of the most important producing organizations in the city - the annual Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

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"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

The Artistic Director of the Philadelphia theater troupe New Paradise Laboratories talks with us about his early life and education, about his midlife journey from Bloomsburg, PA to Blacksburg, VA - and about how he is finds his new Home in Art in the "failed Utopia" of Philadelphia.

There blog post on our website, with some photos of Whit and the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble during the 1970s and 80s. Go HERE.

The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble's own website is HERE.

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

We complete our conversation with the innovative Philadelphia director, teacher and dramaturg Mark Lord.

In this episode we touch on many of Mark's productions that he staged with the Philly performance groups Potlatch, Big House and Headlong Dance Theatre.

The cover art from this episode is a photograph from a work called Pink Melon Joy, staged in 1992, which Mark discusses in this episode.

He also talks about his collaboration with the late designer Hiroshi Iwasaki, and about some of the many students he had the privilege to teach during his years at Bryn Mawr College.

To see images of the plays and people we discussed in our two-part interview with Mark, there is a blog post on our website, here: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/begin-again-and-again/

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

We begin our conversation with the innovative Philadelphia director, teacher and scholar Mark Lord, for many years a distinguished theater professor at Bryn Mawr College in the Philly suburbs.

Mark's life story starts us on a journey we are taking on the podcast, during which we will meet many of the most innovative and cutting-edge theater artists of the modern era of Philadelphia theater.

To see images of the plays and people we discussed in our two-part interview with Mark, there is a blog post on our website, here: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/begin-again-and-again/

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

An interview with Jen Childs and Pete Pryor, the founders of 1812 Productions, the only Philadelphia theater company dedicated to comedy.

A blog post with images from this episode can be found HERE.

A full pictorial history of 1812's past shows can be found on their website, HERE.

The song "Daddy Long Legs," is from the show Box Office of the Dammed, sung by Jilline Ringle. It was recorded live at the Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia on April 2nd 2001, and was included the CD "The Songs of Michael Ogborn" - music and lyrics, copyright Michael Ogborn.

All additional music and underscoring is licensed from the collection of Epidemic Sound.

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

Our interview with the great Philadelphia actress Mary Martello. Join us as she shares the fascinating story of her life and her career.

To see photos and images of Mary some of the many roles she had performed over her career, see this blog post on our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/mary-martello-is-always-right-here/

You can find an even more extensive archive of photos from Mary's life and career on her own professional website, HERE.

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

A newly-revised and improved edition of our examination of the final two decades that Edwin Forrest spent in Philadelphia - and his lasting legacy in the city.

For photographs and additional commentary about this topic, see our website's blog post!
https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/Episode-15-See-The-Players-Well-Bestowed/

Note: There is not much here about Edwin Forrest and the Astor Place Riots, which (as I always point out) took place in New York, not Philadelphia. I think Forrest actually had little to do with causing them. For a fuller examination, see Nigel Cliff's book, The Shakespeare Riots.

I also highly recommend this episode by New York history podcasters The Bowery Boys!
https://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2019/05/the-astor-place-riot-massacre-at-busy.html

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

During the Great Depression years of the 1930s, some touring Broadway shows got into trouble in Philadelphia.

"The People's Mayor" S. Davis Wilson had his limits when it came to what he would allow in the city's theaters, and plays such as Tobacco Road, New Faces of 1936, and Langston Hughes' Mulatto came under official scrutiny.

For more background information and images about this episode, go to our website:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/the-peoples-mayor/

For another story about S. Davis Wilson and the musical he censored called "Orchids Preferred" read all about it on our Patreon page! The link is HERE.

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

A Summertime Treat! We bring out again one of our most popular and beloved episodes of the podcast . . . the story of how Philadelphia saved the pre-Broadway tryout run of the most New York shows ever!

For a blog post on our website with additional information and images, go to: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/luck-be-a-lady/

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

In honor of the 250th anniversary of American Independence, we bring back this episode about Philadelphia theater during the Bicentennial year!

A blog post with images and more information about the stories we talk about in the episode can be found on our website! https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/bicentennial-blues/

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

We interview director Lane Savadove about his lifelong journey that has taken EgoPo Classic Theater around the world - and back again.

Visit EgoPo's own website here: https://egopo.org/

A great article about the production of The Ramayana that we discuss in the episode can be found at the Broad Street Review, HERE.

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

In this special episode, we explore the theatrical history of the great Centennial Exposition – one of the biggest entertainment events ever mounted in Philadelphia.

Our guests today are historian John Henry Hepp IV and the blogger and culture history maven TravSD!

A blog post, with many of the images and buildings we talk about during the show, is HERE.

Here is a link to Professor Hepp's book, Mystery and Marvel, Philadelphia's 1876 Exhibition.

And here's how to find a copy of TravSD's history of vaudeville: No Applause—Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous.

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

A modern walking tour along a noisy street - with the narrative of a long-forgotten theater district of Philadelphia's near north side!

For a blog post with images and photos of the theaters and streets we discuss in the episode, go to:https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/photos-and-images-for-the-ghost-theaters-of-callowhill-street---episode-124/

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

Back-to-back interviews about the past - and the future - of the Lantern Theater. Peter talks with Stacy Maria Dutton and Charles McMahon.

For a blog post with images relating to this episode go here: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/down-st-stephens-alley/

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

A conversation with Grace Gonglewski, who has been performing and creating in Philadelphia theaters for the last four decades! She shares with us her memories of her life and work.

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

Three tales from the deep annals of Philadelphia opera history . . . . from a fantastical account of a performance of Guy Mannering in the 1840s, to the world premiere of Victor Herbert's Natoma in 1911, to a final Gotterdammerung at the Academy of Music in 1948.

To view images and additional details about all the stories in this episode - go to this blog post on our Patreon page! https://www.patreon.com/posts/121123422

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

In the Spring of 1978, "The Troc" - Philadelphia's longtime notorious burlesque house on Arch Street - closed for business.

The journalist Edgar Williams composed this poetic farewell to the site of so many vivid, poignant, and hilarious episodes from his youth.

A good photo essay about the history of The Troc can be found in this online article by writer Thom Carroll in the Philly Voice: https://www.phillyvoice.com/photos-100-years-trocadero-theatre/

It is our podcast's 5th Birthday! So we are releasing a special treat for our listeners - a treasure taken from our vault of Bonus Episodes of our Patreon page.

Please consider becoming a supporter of our show on Patreon! The link is here:
https://www.patreon.com/c/AITHpodcast

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

It might seem to be a lurid Hollywood tale . . . but is it really a Philadelphia theater story?

Here's our take on the life and times of the actress Diana Barrymore, eldest daughter of John Barrymore - from her privileged beginnings, through her successes on stage, her failures in filmdom . . to her sad and sordid end.

But is she really just another celebrity cautionary tale? There's more to her story than got told in the tabloids.

As you listen, for a selection of photos of Diana, and other fascinating images about the events we discuss in this episode,GO HERE.

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

Herbert J. Biberman, the screenwriter, director and left-wing activist, was once one of the most well-known men in show biz - but not for his talent or his intellect.

Because in 1950, he became famous for being one of the "Hollywood Ten" - a group of men known for their opposition to politically-motivated industry blacklists - and was facing prison for refusing to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee.

But his Philadelphia origins are almost completely unknown - perhaps because he wanted it that way. We investigate that story in this episode, and uncover much that had been hidden or unexamined - until now

For photos and images of Biberman, as well as many of the other people and plays we mention in this episode, go to our photo essay on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/images-for-he-of-119082063

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

The rise of the Arden Theatre Company - as well as the story of the beginnings of the modern Walnut Street Theatre Company and the Lantern Theater Company.

Support the show

"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/

Our email address is AITHpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on social media:

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

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

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

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.