April 14, 2023

51. Banned in Philadelphia

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.

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.

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.

This is another episode in our ongoing series about censorship and public campaigns against certain controversial shows during the 20th Century. This time around, such disparate plays as Tobacco Road, New Faces of 1936, and Langston Hughes' Mulatto make the news, as the Philadelphia Police Department and the Mayor's reconstituted Board of Theatrical Control tried to draw the line about what was acceptable on Philadelphia stages.

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https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/the-peoples-mayor/

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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.


© 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.

© Podcast text copyright Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.