We begin the harrowing and alarming story of "The Clansman," in Philadelphia. Although this play by the author Thomas W. Dixon is know as the progenitor to the 1915 D.W. Griffith film "Birth of the Nation," few are aware of its early controversial history,

The narrative begins in the streets outside the Walnut Street Theatre, as a large crowd of the city's Black citizens have gathered to protest the performance, and to demand that it be stopped.

(Please note: in all descriptions of Philadelphia's Walnut St. Theatre in the year 1906 - there is NO connection to the current management of the Walnut Street Theatre or the producers or organization of the modern company. All the events described in this episode took place long ago, in a different era, and should not be construed to represent the views of the present management of the building as it stands today.)

To se a blog post about the events in this episode, follow this link to our podcast's  web page: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/3000-negroes-riot/

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: [email protected]

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

A re-broadcast of an episode originally released in November of 2021.

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, an exploration of performances by Indigenous People in theaters of the City of Philadelphia in the 19th Century. We also detail plays by white performers that supposedly depicted Native people and stories in that period.

The attached image for the episode is a detail of an illustration found in the book "History of the Indian Tribes of North America", Volume One, by Thomas McKenney, which was published in Philadelphia in 1838.

For other images and additional commentary about this topic, as well as a bibliography of our sources, see our website's blog post:
https://www.the-native-american-party-blog-post-and-bibliography-for-episode-20

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: [email protected]

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

The mob is gathering in the street outside the Chestnut Street Theatre, while inside the rehearsals for the scandalous play The Quaker City go on! The thrilling conclusion of our three part series! Will it all end in a deadly riot? The suspense is building . . .

For a blog post about this episode, with more information and images about the people and events in our story, go to: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/wo-unto-sodom/

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: [email protected]

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

George Lippard's novel "The Quaker City, or the Monk's of Monk Hall" is made into a new play. The excitement about it builds in Philadelphia, just as the national election of 1844 roils the city.

We learn more about the young Philadelphia writer, and how he was recruited by theater manager Francis Wemyss to provide a script for his Chestnut Street Theatre. Meanwhile, one of Philadelphia's most prominent citizens is headed for the Vice Presidency, while others of the city's elite look with alarm at what Lippard and Wemyss' play might do to their reputations. Some of Philadelphia's theatergoers even have their reasons to threaten riots and bloodshed. The supposedly peaceable 'Quaker City' is not looking very peaceable at all.

Part Two of our three-part series about the threat of violence in the streets and theaters of Philadelphia in 1844, as we continue theme of  Season Two of our podcast: "Drama is Conflict."

For images and more information about this topic, see the blog post on our website:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/george-lippard-and-the-election-of-1844/

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: [email protected]

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

The theater of Philadelphia was being staged during the roiling years of the 1840s. Bankruptcies, riots, labor unrest, growing religious fervor and racial tensions, rising crime (and public perception of crime due to increasing availability of journals and newspapers) were everywhere.

This is the context for the first episode of our Season Two: "Drama is Conflict," in which we set the scene for the coming battle over the play at Philadelphia's Chestnut Street Theater, entitledThe Quaker City, or the Monks of Monk Hall, by George Lippard. How and why this production came about will be the story of our next two episodes, as well.

For more about the historical context of today's episode, including images of many of the people and events we discuss, see the blog post on our website: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/philadelphia-in-1844/

The image used for this episode is a detail from an 1844 lithograph entitled "The Death of George Shifler." It was a bit of popular propaganda produced by the nativist "American Republican Party," and supposedly depicted the death of the 19 year-old Shifler during the Kensington Riots of May 6, 1844. It is from the collection of the Library Company of Philadelphia. Persistent link: https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/digitool%3A65090

For more information about the riots, there is an excellent article in the online Encyplopedia of Greater Philadelphia: https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/nativist-riots-of-1844/

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: [email protected]

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

A quick announcement about our upcoming season of new episodes . . . For an exciting season about Philadelphia's "Theatre History" or "Theater History" - however, you spell it, this is the place.

Spoiler Alert: There will be lots of drama. And conflict!

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: [email protected]

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

Jasper Deeter formed the Hedgerow Theatre company in 1923. Though seemingly self-isolated in the small and intense community of theater workers he had gathered, his work as a director,  actor, visionary and longtime acting teacher had a profound affect on shaping Philadelphia's - and America's - theater for years to come.

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/

The Hedgerow Theatre's website can be found here: https://www.hedgerowtheatre.org/

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: [email protected]

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

This special episode of the podcast goes on a journey to the Paul Robeson House and Museum in Philadelphia.

Included is an interview with Janice Sykes-Ross of the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, and a recording of a live tour of the Paul Robeson House with docent Terry Fimiano Guerin.

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/

The website for the Paul Robeson House and Museum is here.

A beautiful video on YouTube, that we mention in the episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9TDPvXHeeY

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: [email protected]

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

Like the ghost of Hamlet's father, John Barrymore wouldn't stay still and  kept showing up! A chapter about Philadelphia's most famous acting family, from Wicked Philadelphia, a book by Thomas H. Keels

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/blog/alas-poor-yorick/

To find out more about Mount Vernon Cemetery in North Philadelphia:
https://www.mountvernoncemetery.org/

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: [email protected]

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

As an addendum to Season One, here are six more stories of 19th C. Philadelphia theater. We discuss Alexander Reinagle, Joseph Jefferson III, James Murdoch, Matilda Heron, John McCullough - as well as two stagehands at the Walnut Street Theater you likely never heard of before, but may never forget!

To see images and more information about today's subjects, see the blog post on our podcast's web page:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/back-to-the-19th-century/

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: [email protected]

Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/

Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE

© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.