An image made by the architectural firm of Hoffman-Henon as publicity for the new Erlanger Theatre on 21st and Market.
Below, the newspaper ad for the first show ever done at the Erlanger, Jerome Kern's Criss Cross, next to a photo of the chorus from the show, all decked out in fezzes and zouave jackets (no harem pants, at least - but the producers had to show some legs, I guess).
Going back to some stories from the beginning of Episode 68 . . . Below, Robert Elliot, Jeanne Eagels and Robert Kelly in Rain - along with the header of a review from its world premiere tryout performance at the Garrick Theatre.
Next, the photo from the Inquirer of Konstantin Stanislavsky and the company of the Moscow Art Theatre arriving at the Broad Street Station in April of 1926. Next to it is a photo of Philadelphians lining up to see the MAT at the Lyric Theatre - though over their shoulders can be seen a poster for the even more popular show next door at the Adelphi Theatre - the Shubert/Schubert operetta Blossom Time.
Another typical Shubert show of the 1920s - the facade of the Chestnut Street Opera House, all decked out for the "artistic" nudie revue Artists and Models, which had a special "football night" on October 25th, 1925.
As long as we're sharing images of Philly theaters from the 1920s, here's ads for the new Earle Theatre on East Market Street:
And here's and ad for the failed Broadway tryout of Strike up the Band:
Maurine Watkins' play Chicago came to the Walnut Street Theatre in February of 1928. Below, a cartoon from the Inquirer, and some photos from the Billy Rose Collection of the New York Public Library, including a shot of the star Francine Larrimore, as well as a jailhouse scene that clearly included some male members of the cast in drag.
We'll certainly discuss the much more famous Bob Fosse musical adaptation of Chicago, when we get to the tryout shows of the 1970s. Meanwhile, here's a passage from a 1928 review that ended up being cut from our episode . . . Wrote one Philly critic of the show:
"It cannot be Roxie's poor boob husband, nor the sob sister reporter, nor Jake, the police news hound . . nor the companion murderesses of Roxie . . The prosecuting attorney is innocent enough, so is the judge . . They all mean right, but are harmless . . Still, there must be a heavy. For is not 'Chicago' a play of jazz crime? it is like searching for the proverbial button, finding a villain in this play."
It apparently never occurred to the writer that Society Was To Blame.
And we would be remiss not include some images from The Squall, which also played at the Walnut:
Finally, a photograph of Lee Simonson's gorgeous designs for Eugene O'Neill's Marco Millions, which came to Philadelphia in a Theatre Guild touring production. In a literary sense, the play is generally regarded as one of O'Neill's worst plays from the 1920s - an era when he produced so many other classics. But Simonson's designs are worth remembering.
Selected Bibliography:
"Rain in Unique," Philadelphia Inquirer, October 9, 1922.
"The Three Sisters," Philadelphia Inquirer, May 5, 1923.
"Killing Comedy at the Walnut," Philadelphia Inquirer, February 7, 1928.
"Marco Millions Gorgeous Satire," Philadelphia Inquirer, December 4, 1928.
