Blog Posts: Commentary and Images for Every Episode

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 this topic 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 …