April 7, 1947: The post-Broadway tour of O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" played Philadelphia. Character actor Tom Pedi was Rocky the bartender.
Jan 1949: Tom Pedi was back in Philly, this time as Stanley, the waiter in the restaurant scene - in the world premiere of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman."
#theatrehistory #theaterhistory #phillytheatre #tryouttown #TomPedi #characteractorsalwayswork
There have been several establishments called "Central Square Theatre" (or Theater) over the last century or so. The cinema pictured here at 573 Mass Ave (roughly where the alley next to H-Mart is today) opened in March 1919. It was one of dozens built by Nathan Gordon in his "Olympia" theater circuit. It later became part of the Paramount-Publix theater chain, subsequently run by regional operators Martin Mullin and Sam Pinansky (dba M&P Theaters, later as New England Theatres Inc).
Central Square Theatre closed in 1964. This photo is from late 1954 or early 1955. Photo credit at https://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/34238 .
The movie featured on the marquee, Vera Cruz, has the distinction of being the first movie produced using "Superscope" (a widescreen development process that was more cost-effective than Cinemascope, as one could film using standard spherical lenses), and the first US film to be shot entirely on location in Mexico. It starred Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster (also Ernest Borgnine and Charles Bronson). It was released by United Artists on 25 December 1954, did well at the box office, and was influential on later westerns. Mexican authorities allegedly did not like the way Mexicans were portrayed in Vera Cruz, and applied more stringent monitoring during filming of The Magnificent Seven in 1960.
#CambridgeMA #CambridgeHistory #MassachusettsHistory #TheaterHistory #CinemaHistory #BWphotography
![A black-and-white photograph of a movie theater shot from across Mass Ave (viewer facing northeast). The side panels of the theater marquee read 'Central Sq' over the featured films: 'Superscope - Gary Cooper - B. Lancaster in "Vera Cruz" | also Elroy Hirsh in "Unchained" | Big Kiddie Show Tues 9:30 AM'. The center panel reads 'CONTINOUS[sic] DAILY NEW SHOW SUN and WED'.
On the left side of the frame one can see part of Gorin's department store, above which is the office of V Multer, dentist. On the right side of the frame is Bob's Shoe Box, to the right of which is a hat and bag store called Dorothy's. Several pedestrians are visible on the sidewalk.](https://files.mastodon.social/cache/media_attachments/files/114/280/641/176/102/597/original/3b332388941128cd.jpg)
Lamb's career, in which he failed in his ambition to be a tragic actor but became known for his "low comedy" roles, is a tragedy in itself.
Hooray! @sakkus has updated https://blplaybills.org/ to make searching @BL_DigiSchol playbills even easier
#TheatreHistory #TheaterHistory #playbills #engravings #entertainment #OpenData #OpenGLAM
A toast to the final episode of our Season Three!
With the tryout of Angela Lansbury's revival production of "Mame" in 1983, the tryout town era of Philadelphia theater history effectively came to a close.
"Coda: End of the Tryout Town Era" is now available wherever you listen to your podcasts, or on our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/coda-end-of-the-tryout-town-era/
There's also a special treat - we read a chapter from our upcoming book!
#philadelphia #theater #theatre #theaterhistory #theatrehistory #tryouttown
A sound clip from our New Episode!
"Guys and Dolls" had its World Premiere in Philadelphia in October of 1950 - but not all went smoothly during its pre-Broadway tryout run!
Find the whole story about how Philly saved New York's iconic show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, YouTube - or wherever you like to get your pods on! There are easy links in in Instagram profile.
#philadelphia #guysanddolls #newepisode #theatrehistory #theaterhistory #theatre
January 27, 1948: "Mister Roberts" - starring Henry Fonda in the title role - opened it preview tryout run at the Walnut Street Theatre in #Philadelphia.
As we mention in our Episode 75, originally Eva Marie Saint was cast as Lieutenant Ann Girard - and a photo of her and Fonda was printed in the Inquirer - but she had in fact already been replaced in the role by Jocelyn Brando. #theatre #theaterhistory
Sak Supple @sakkus has updated the OCR on their https://blplaybills.org website, making it easier to search the text of 80,000 playbills from the British Library's collection
#playbills #TheatreHistory #TheaterHistory
[edited to add Sak's username]
A sound clip from our NEW EPISODE! "The Crash"
Philadelphia enters the Great Depression. Although a few shows were still having their Broadway tryouts in Philly, it wasn't enough to keep the wrecking crews from tearing down many of the city's grand old theaters.
Find us on Apple Podcasts, or on any other podcasting app!
#theaterhistory #theatrehistory #greatdepression #philadelphia #newepisode #podcast #phillyhistory
A quick sound bite from our new Episode #68 - "The Passing Shows of the 1920s".
In a tribute to this Great Day of American #Football - it features the U. Penn band, Playing the school song "Hail, Pennsylvania!"
#theaterhistory #philadelphia #artistsandmodels #footballnight #theatrehistory #hailpennsylvania #fightingquakers
Another sound clip from our most recent episode!
"Theatrical Real Estate" - the story of how the growing Shubert empire got involved in the Philadelphia theater market -is now available. Look for "Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" wherever you get your podcasts!
#theshuberts #philadelphia #theaterhistory #theatrehistory #newepisode #podcast #historypodcast #podcastersofmastodon #phillytheatre #tryoutown
A sound clip from our new episode!
The Shubert Brothers - Lee, Sam, and Jake - started their careers as poor boys hustling for tips in front of a theater in Syracuse, NY - but by the peak of their careers they would be the most powerful theater owners and in America.
The Raja of Rukh rules again! Our new podcast episode is one of our most downloaded shows ever!
Here's a clip from the show . . but look for the whole thing, wherever you get your podcasts!
Find "Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" in any podcasting app!
*****Fun Fact: George Arliss was also a star in the Broadway show "Hamilton"! Look for a post about this story, next Sunday, January 21st!****
#GeorgeArliss #TheGreenGoddess #theaterhistory #podcastersofinstagram
From the Opera House to the Burlesque House - the Yuletide Spirit was everywhere in Philly theaters back in the year 1911!
Hope every hardworking Santa out there gets the kiss from a lovely representative of the choir today
#theaterhistory #theatrehistory #phillytheater #phillytheater #philadelphiainquirer #Philadelphia #Yuletide #christmas #willrodgers
A sound clip from our new episode, with stories from Philadelphia stages during the winter celebrations of many different bygone eras.
"Holiday Show - 2023" is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods on! Or go right to our website: www.aithpodcast.com
We hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season, and wish you a very Happy New Year!
#theaterhistory #theatrehistory #newepisode #podcast #philadelphia #circushistory
December 10th, 1923: the famous actress Eleonora Duse performed in Philadelphia on her final tour. For one night only, she performed Mrs. Alving in Ibsen's Ghosts at the Academy of Music. She played the text in Italian, and so the play was billed as "Spettri.”
#eleonoraduse #spettri #academyofmusicphilly #theatrehistory #theaterhistory #theater #theatre #history #ibsen
@gutenberg_org May we suggest another tag? #theatre ! By the early 19th Century his plays were being produced around the world - including here in Philadelphia.
In this painting by the Philadelphia artist Thomas Sully, we can see actor William B. Wood, in the role of Charles De Moor in "The Robbers," which was first played on the New Theatre stage in Philadelphia in February of 1811. #theater #theaterhistory
We are so grateful to those listeners who take a couple minutes to leave some stars and a few kind words. Thanks to everyone for for your encouragement and support.
Find us on Apple Podcasts, or Overcast, or Spotify and leave a review yourself! Nothing helps us more to reach more listeners!
#podcastersofmastodon #newreviews #theaterhistory #theatrehistory #phillyhistory #philadelphiahistory #historypodcast #applepodcasts
January 9, 1930: The final act at the Globe Theatre brought down the house. Three people were killed, several dozen more were seriously wounded, and an uncounted number of people were injured by flying glass that rained down from Philadelphia City Hall.
This long-forgotten story and MORE will be part of our Philadelphia Theater History Walking Tour, October 28th! You can sign up today and join! Email us us at: AITHpodcast@gmail.com
The first episode of our Season Three, "The Tryout Town," is now available, on every podcasting app from Apple to Spotify!
Here we begin to tell the story of the Philadelphia theater world in the early 20th Century - even before it became the principal Tryout Town in America.
What was a Tryout Town? Well the answer may just lie in that old Hollywood movie "42nd Street" - and in a show by the guy who Gave His Regards to Broadway, George M. Cohan.
