An interview with actor Johnnie Hobbs and choreographer Patricia Scott Hobbs about the Freedom Theatre in North Philadelphia. In an archival recording, the Philadelphia composer and teacher Charles Gilbert talks to his longtime friends about their experiences at the Freedom, including working with founder John E. Allen and his successor Walter Dallas. Though this is not a comprehensive narrative, we are pleased to begin sharing the story of this important cultural institution, which changed so m...
Jun 27, 2025•38 min•Season 4Ep. 102
Director and Producer Joe Canuso sits down with us to talk about his life and career in Philly theater. From acting at the Pocket Playhouse in the 70s, performing with dance troupes in the 80s, creating cutting-edge shows for the new Fringe Festival in the 90s, founding and leading Theatre Exile in the 2000s, Joe did brought a darkly comic edge and a driving energy to the Philly theater scene. Along with the playwright Bruce Graham, Joe helped to bring to life the play "The Philly Fan." In this ...
Jun 13, 2025•54 min•Season 4Ep. 101
A conversation with one of the longest-serving and most consequential artistic directors and producers of the modern era of Philadelphia theater history, Sara Garonzik. As we continue our Season Four, we learn about her early years - first as and actor, then as a director, then as a producer at the Philadelphia Theatre Company. And we learn her stories about how she took PTC from a 25-year-long home at the Plays and Players Theatre to the new Suzanne Roberts Theatre on Broad Street. Plus, we lea...
May 23, 2025•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 100
Our interview with teacher, writer and director Robert Hedley - the former Chair of the Theater Departments of both Villanova and Temple Universities. In our conversation, we discuss many things - including his early years, his coming to Villanova, his work with playwright David Rabe and producer Joseph Papp, and his work in helping to found The Philadelphia Company (the precursor to the Philadelphia Theater Company). For a full bio of Bob's work, go HERE . (Cover image for this episode is 1976 ...
May 09, 2025•59 min•Season 4Ep. 99
Cato: A Tragedy was a famous 18th Century play by Joseph Addison - supposedly the favorite play of George Washington himself! What connection did it have to the history of America - and the theater history of Philadelphia? This is an edited audio recording of a panel discussion at the Museum of the Revolution in Philadelphia, recorded on April 9th, 2025. A video of the entire event can be found at the MOAR website, HERE . For photographs from the event on our own AITH website, go HERE . For tick...
Apr 18, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 98
The story of three small ambitious cutting-edge Philadelphia theater companies of the 1970s. Why did some survive - and some falter? For a blog post with images of the productions and people we discuss in the episode, go HERE . (Cover photo for the episode shows the actor Daniel Oreskes in The Servant of Two Masters , which was being presented by The Repertory Company in West Philadelphia's Clark Park during the summer of 1975. He is having his costume arranged by an unidentified female member o...
Mar 28, 2025•31 min•Season 4Ep. 97
An interview with Joe Stinson and Ed Sabato about Philadelphia theatrical projects that employed so many local actors before and during the Bicentennial Year of 1976. In the very place where the American experiment began, regular work in "historical re-enactment" and patriotic storytelling gave young and ambitious Philadelphia theater artists a boost in their careers. This episode also provides a coda for the saga of the Manning Street Theatre Company - a story that's at the climax of our book A...
Mar 15, 2025•51 min•Season 4Ep. 96
An interview with the director, writer and artist Tom Bissinger, in which we talk about his work in the 1960s and 70s, including his all-too-brief term as the final Artistic Director of the Theatre of the Living Arts in Philadelphia. A native of San Francisco, Tom's fascinating life story is interwoven with so many iconic names from the 60s and 70s, including working in Philadelphia with the actors Dick Shawn, Judd Hirsch, Morgan Freeman and Danny DeVito! Tom's 2013 memoir, The Fun House: Memory...
Feb 23, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 4Ep. 95
A recut and remixed and refocused version of an interview with the director Mary B. Robinson, about her years she spent in the 1990s as the Artistic Director of the Drama Guild. (Stay tuned at the very end for an brief announcement about the future direction of the podcast - and my thoughts about current events) A short blog post on our website has additional information and images about Mary and some of the productions she staged during her years at the Drama Guild: https://www.aithpodcast.com/...
Feb 07, 2025•45 min•Season 4Ep. 95
Gregory Poggi successfully led the Philadelphia Drama Guild throughout the decade of the 1980s. He talked with us about his memories of those days - tussles with board members, battles with critics, fundraising triumphs and the growing audience support for professional nonprofit theater companies in the city. For a blog post on our website with additional images and information, go to: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/images-for-episode-93-gregory-pogg i/ Support the show "Adventures in Theater ...
Jan 24, 2025•43 min•Season 4Ep. 93
The sudden success of the Drama Guild - a former amateur theater group transformed into a professional local powerhouse - finally fulfills the promise of giving Philadelphia a flagship nonprofit theater company. For a brief blog post with images from the 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! Our website: www.aithpodcast.com Our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com...
Jan 11, 2025•33 min•Season 4Ep. 92
A reprise of one of our early episodes from Season One, in which we travel back 225 years to a single fascinating day in American theater: January 1, 1800. Philadelphia's premiere theater company rang in the New Year with their production of the spectacular Romance entitled "Blue Beard, or Female Curiosity." Meanwhile, in the audience, there are other dramatic events were taking place! Join us on this adventure in early American life, on the cusp of the 19th Century. To see a full blog entry abo...
Dec 27, 2024•33 min•Ep. 91
Three new Philadelphia theater complexes are built for the mid-century modern era - funded by wealthy philanthropists. The Annenbergs would donate grand new Modernist-style Arts Centers at Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania, and the Haas family would spearhead the drive to renovate the old Walnut Street Theatre. For a blog post with photos of all three theaters and other events described in the episode, go to our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/mid-century-modern/ Sup...
Dec 13, 2024•51 min•Season 4Ep. 90
A re-edited, reduced and remixed account of the entire history of the Theatre of the Living Arts – the first major professional theater company in Philadelphia's modern era. Photo of the company of The Line of Least Existence was taken by Bill Watkins. Links to blog posts on our podcast's webpage, with other images and information about our sources, can be found here , here and here . Support the show "Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstor...
Nov 25, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Season 4Ep. 89
Our first episode of Season Four - introducing our plans and hopes for the upcoming year on the podcast. Support the show "Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! Our website: www.aithpodcast.com Our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/ Support us on Patreon: https://www.pa...
Nov 15, 2024•13 min•Season 4Ep. 88
Like the ghost of Hamlet's father, the body of John Barrymore would not stay still . . . one dark night it suddenly appeared in his hometown. A story about the wandering remains of a member of Philadelphia's most famous acting family, taken from Wicked Philadelphia: Sin in the City of Brotherly Love , a book by Thomas H. Keels. This episode was originally released as our Episode 34 in July of 2022. Please visit Tom's website, www.thomaskeels.com , for more information on his other books and upco...
Oct 25, 2024•31 min•Ep. 87
An encore presentation of Peter's reading of the chapter "Oh, It's a Lovely War: The Mischianza 1778" from Thomas H. Keels' Wicked Philadelphia: Sin in the City of Brotherly Love . 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...
Oct 11, 2024•31 min•Ep. 86
A re-released and edited version of our Episode 36! 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/ More historic...
Sep 22, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 85
An Exciting Announcement! Support the show "Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! Our website: www.aithpodcast.com Our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast © Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reser...
Sep 08, 2024•10 min•Ep. 84
This Encore episode of the podcast - first released as Episode 35 in our Season One - goes on a journey to the Paul Robeson House and Museum in Philadelphia. 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/ Support the show "Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! Our website: www.aithpodcast.com Our email addres...
Aug 23, 2024•57 min•Ep. 83
In which we close out the Tryout Town story of Philadelphia theater - and we share a chapter of Peter's upcoming book! Support the show "Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! Our website: www.aithpodcast.com Our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/ Support us on Patreon: ...
Aug 03, 2024•20 min•Season 3Ep. 82
In the 1970s, director Vinnette Carroll brought her gospel-themed musicals about African American culture through Philadelphia on their way to Broadway. We discuss this much-neglected important Black theater artist, in a conversation with Jerrell Henderson. There is a blog post, filled with lots of amazing images and additional information about this topics we discuss in the episode! It can be found on our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/vinnette-carroll-and-philadelphia/ Support the s...
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 81
The continuation of to the story from our previous episode, we talk about the failures, successes - and sometimes the deaths of shows and performers of commercial tryout shows in Philly of the 1970s. For images and notes about shows mentioned in this episode, go to: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/death-and-all-that-jazz-notes-and-images-for-episode-80/ Support the show "Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retai...
Jul 06, 2024•27 min•Season 3Ep. 80
Many tryout shows - along with some post-Broadway tours - came through Philadelphia during the 1960s. Some shows died in Philly - and some performers and audience members did too! For images and notes about shows mentioned in this episode, go to: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/life-is-what-you-do-while-youre-waiting-to-die-notes-and-images-for-episode-79/ Support the show "Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book re...
Jul 05, 2024•39 min•Season 3Ep. 79
The Philadelphia story of the development and world premiere of that famous Iowa musical, by Meredith Willson, The Music Man . For a blog post with additional information and images, 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! Our website: www.aithpodcast.com Our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast I...
Jun 28, 2024•34 min•Season 3Ep. 78
The fates and fortunes of commercial shows of the 1950s demonstrate how deep the influence of Hollywood was in American commercial theater coming through Philadelphia on tryout runs. For a blog post with additional information and images, 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! Our website: www.aithpodcast.com Our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky...
Jun 14, 2024•42 min•Season 3Ep. 77
The most iconic New York musical ever is saved by Philadelphia tryout audiences. 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! Our website: www.aithpodcast.com Our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.c...
May 25, 2024•30 min•Season 3Ep. 76
Post-war theater in Philadelphia reflected all the many serious issues the country was facing: Carmen Jones , A Streetcar Named Desire , Caucasian Chalk Circle , The Member of the Wedding and Death of a Salesman all had tryout premieres in Philadelphia - among many others. For a blog post on our website with additional information and images, go H ERE Support the show "Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailer...
May 06, 2024•32 min•Season 3Ep. 75
The story of Cole Porter's classic musical Kiss Me, Kate 's world premier opening in Philadelphia in December of 1948. For a blog post on our website, with images from the productions we discuss in the episode: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/rings-and-things-and-fine-array/ Support the show "Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! Our website: www.aithpodcast.com Our email address: AITHpodcast@gmail....
May 01, 2024•24 min•Season 3Ep. 74
"Pal Joey," "Native Son," "Annie Get Your Gun" - during the years of the Second World War, there was a new surge of exciting Broadway productions trying out in Philadelphia. But at the same time, the Shuberts' domination of the Philadelphia theater market was meeting increasing scrutiny. For a blog post on our website with images from the productions we discuss in the episode, go HERE Support the show "Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstor...
Apr 19, 2024•40 min•Season 3Ep. 73
