Episodes
32. The Fight Against the Clansman, Part One
We begin the harrowing and alarming story of "The Clansman" in Philadelphia. Although this play by the author Thomas W. Dixon is …
Encore Episode: "I Fear No One" - Native American Performance in 19th…
A re-broadcast of an episode originally released in November of 2021. In honor of Native American Heritage Month, an exploration …
31. The Quaker City: The Forbidden Play of 1844, Part Three
The mob is gathering in the street outside the Chestnut Street Theatre, while inside the rehearsals for the scandalous play The Q…
30. The Quaker City: The Forbidden Play of 1844, Part Two
George Lippard's novel "The Quaker City, or the Monks of Monk Hall" is made into a new play. The excitement about it builds in Ph…
29. The Quaker City: The Forbidden Play of 1844, Part One
We set the scene for the 1844 battle over the play at Philadelphia's Chestnut Street Theater, entitled "The Quaker City, or the M…
Season Two Announcement: Drama is Conflict
A quick announcement about our upcoming season of new episodes!
Jasper Deeter and the Hedgerow Theatre
Jasper Deeter formed Philadelphia's oldest repertory theater company in 1923. His work as a director, actor, visionary and actin…
The Paul Robeson House
This special episode of the podcast goes on a journey to the Paul Robeson House and Museum in Philadelphia. Included is an interv…
Special Episode: "Good Night Sweet Prince: John Barrymore Comes Home"
Like the ghost of Hamlet's father, John Barrymore wouldn't stay still and kept showing up! A chapter about Philadelphia's most f…
28. Life & Death in the Theater: More 19th Century Stories
Here are six more stories of 19th C. Philadelphia theater. We discuss Alexander Reinagle, Joseph Jefferson III, James Murdoch, Ma…
Philadelphia's 'Negro Unit' of the Federal Theatre Project: A Convers…
An interview/conversation with Jonathan Shandell, the author of a January 2022 article in the journal Theater History Studies ent…
Interview: Mary B. Robinson
Mary Robinson sat down for a talk with Adventures in Theater History to discuss her four-and-a-half year long tenure at the Drama…
27. The Best of Times
From the 1876 Centennial Exposition to the end of the 19th Century, Philadelphia's experienced a boom in theater construction. Ne…
26. The Black Booth: Part Two
John A. Arneaux plays "Richard III" at the Academy of Music, then mysteriously exits the American stage. His co-star, the actor H…
25. The Black Booth: Part One
John A. Arneaux starred in a one-night all-Black production of "Richard III' at Philadelphia's Academy of Music in January 1887. …
Special Episode: The Mischianza
Before ending their occupation of Philadelphia in 1778, the British threw themselves a hell of a theatre party! Knights and heral…
24. The Everlasting Minstrel Show
The story of one of America's most infamous - and influential - performance traditions, as it specifically relates to the history…
23. The Charlotte Cushman Club
The famous 19th Century American tragic actress - and the 2Oth Century Philadelphia women who founded an organization in her hono…
Special Episode: The Mummers Parade - An interview with Dr. Christian…
Mike Lueger of "The Theatre History Podcast" interviews Dr. Christian DuComb about the history of Philadelphia Mummers Parade, th…
22. The Academy of Music
What was Philadelphia to do, in an age when theater audiences were Running Riot? Why, of course! . . build them an Academy, and …
21. Theater of Cruelty
Bad behavior, bigotry and boorishness! Philadelphia's New Theatre on Chestnut Street, as well as being the premiere home for dram…
20. "I Fear No One" - Native American Performance in 19th Century Phi…
In honor of Native American Heritage Month, an exploration of performances by Indigenous People in theaters of the City of Philad…
19. The Duchess of Arch Street, Part Two
"Mrs. John Drew's Arch Street Theatre" was the most famous company in Philadelphia, during the period from 1862 to 1897. We even …
18. The Duchess of Arch Street, Part One
Louisa Lane Drew's rise to fame and respectability. We chronicle her early years, long before she became the grandmother of All T…