Header Image: George Tynan Crowley (left), Ian Merrill Peaks (center) and Mark Alhadeff (right) sail out into the air, during Blanka Zizka's February 2000 production of Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love. (By the way, in our NEXT episode we will …
Header image, above: Blanka and Jiri Zizka at their new theater space on Sansom Street, 1983. Above and below: Production photos from the Wilma Project's Animal Farm, 1979 - adapted from George Orwell's 1945 novel. The figure in the mask re…
September 11, 1985: "The Gospel at Colonus" had its first performance at the Zellerbach Theatre in Philadelphia. By the end of the show, the audience was on its feet, joining in with the performers. After clapping and singing along in joyful celebr…
Above: John Allen leads a movement class in the basement of Heritage House.When the John Allen and the Freedom Theatre first arrived at Heritage House in the fall of 1970, according to Inquirer reporter Bill Thompson,"the basement was a wreck - sixt…
Header image, above: Joe Canuso, Tom McCarthy, and Bruce Graham pose for a promotional article about The Philly Fan in the Inquirer in 2004 (photo by Vicki Valerio).Below, a feature article about Canuso that was printed in the Inquirer on April…
Above: Sara Garonzik, during construction of the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 2007 (courtesy Philadelphia Theatre Company).Below: Photo from the Camden Courier-Press, October 23rd, 2007: "Sara Garonzik, producing artistic director of the Philadelp…
Above, Peter Schmitz speaking to the audience at the Museum of the American Revolution. Below, Michael Norris, the Executive Director of Carpenters Hall. Dr. Shawn David McGhee, speaking on the particular history of Cato: A Tragedy - and its perfor…
Above, the image of Linda Griffith (left) and Liz Stout (right) that appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News on April 16, 1973, announcing the formation of The Wilma Project.Once again I find myself pressed for time while composing a proper blog pos…
Above: Edward Piszek, the CEO of Mrs. Paul's Kitchens, Inc. and founder of The Copernicus Society of America, in front of the Philadelphia Bourse building on 5th and Chestnut Streets in June of 1976. Behind him are the cast of Americana Jubilee. Thi…
Above, a photo of Dick Shawn and Judi West in Scuba Duba - a production which played Paramus, NJ and Philadelphia PA in the summer of 1969. July 1, 1969: The ban on Scuba Duba was lifted. Philadelphians could go see Dick Shawn do his stuff at Playh…
Above: a recent photo of Gregory Poggi, taken when he was teaching at the University of Michigan.The image of Poggi that is the icon image for our podcast episode is from 1979. It was part of a larger photo that accompanied an article by Edgar Willi…
Above: Dr. Sidney Bloom, DDS, at work in his dental office in 1966, when he was already the Producer of the Drama Guild, then a community theater group. Four years later he would take the organization professional, and lead it to new heights.Below, …
Above, a 1967 artist's conception of the proposed Tomlinson Theater complex and adjacent buildings. Below, a photo of what the neighborhood looked liked before demolition and construction of the Annenberg School of Communications at Temple.Octo…
I really should have known about the subject of this blog post a long time ago!When I was originally recorded the chapter from 42nd Street back in the Fall of 2023, it was meant as a Bonus Episode for our Patreon members only. Six months later,…
Thank you all for following along this seasons with our stories about the Tryout Town Era in Philadelphia theater history!We close the episode with a reading from out upcoming book, also called Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia!From the fo…
Vinnette Carroll, in a photo taken in 1972 during the Broadway run of Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope. (Source: The New York Public Library Digital Collections) Below, a photo of Carroll as a young actress, along with a program of her one-woman …
The photograph and headline of the Inquirer story about the passing of actor David Burns on stage at the Forrest Theatre in March of 1970. Below, a photo taken by the Evening Bulletin, about the protests against the show Lovely Ladies, K…
At top, a photograph of Chita Rivera, as she rehearsed to take over the role of the Narrator in the national touring production of Zorba in 1969.Below, a cartoon by Doug Anderson that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on November 6, 1960. It acc…
Cartoon of of Robert Preston and Barbara Cook in The Music Man – from the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, Sunday, November 17, 1957.Below, Meredith Willson with Preston and Cook, in a publicity photo taken during the rehearsals for The Music Ma…
A 1952 publicity photo of Audrey Hepburn in the Broadway production of Gigi (online collection of the New York Public Library).Below, an ad from the Inquirer for the world premiere tryout run of the play at the Walnut Street Theatre. Joseph Kramm (…
The cover of Damon Runyon's original 1931 collection of stories, Guys and Dolls. Above: Vivian Blaine poses for a publicity photo in Philadelphia, along with "Guys & Dolls" producers Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin. Below: Frank Loesser and Abe Burr…
Above, the "Air Corps scene" from the 1946 revue Call Me Mister. The skit satirized the fancy and adoring reception that returning Army Air Corps pilots would get on their homecoming - as opposed to the lack of ceremony that most regular GI's would …
Above, a photo of the final tableaux of Act One, from the original 1948 production of Kiss Me, Kate. Below, Albert Drake and Patricia Morrison.Below, a cartoon by Jo Metzer from the Philadelphia Inquirer, showing Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne in th…
October 26, 1942: "Getting Ready for All-Soldier Show Opening" was the caption in the Inquirer. Two servicemen/stagehands prepare for Irving Berlin's patriotic show This is the Army at the Mastbaum Theatre.Below, while in town to appear at the openi…
