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aithpodcast.bsky.social
The official feed of the podcast - AND THE BOOK - that tells the deep and fascinating History of Theater in the city of Philadelphia. www.aithpodcast.com (On the former Bird Site we were "@schmeterpitz")
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Our book spotted in the wild! At the recently re-opened Barnes & Noble in Bryn Mawr, PA, you can find it in the Local Interest section, right by the staircase going up to the second floor! (pssst! I signed it!)

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

March 2, 1936: "3 Men on a Horse," the racetrack comedy about an ordinary guy who realizes he has a supernatural ability to pick winning horses, opened at the Garrick Theatre. The production starred Hume Cronyn. It was co-written (with George Abbott) by Philadelphia born-and-raised John Cecil Holm.

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

A new Bonus Episode on Patreon! The tragic story of Diana Barrymore - daughter of John Barrymore. During her life she found more of a home in theater than she ever did in Hollywood. Available only to Patreon supporters - so why not become one today, and listen in? www.patreon.com/posts/diana-...

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

ANYWAY, did you know there's an extension you can put on Chrome that will connect with your local library system and when you go look at a book, say on AMZ, it will tell you if that book exists in the library system and if it's available? It's literally called Library Extension.

submitted 3 days ago • 301 comments

February 28, 1974: The Stephen Sondheim/Hugh Wheeler musical "A Little Night Music" opened at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia, as the first stop of its national tour. Jean Simmons starred as Desiree Armfeldt. Margaret Hamilton was Madame Armfeldt, and George Lee Andrews was Frederick Egerman.

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

(1) February 27, 1976: Leonard Bernstein & Alan Jay Lerner's musical "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" had just begun its pre-Broadway tryout at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia. During a dress rehearsal a few days earlier, Bernstein told a reporter he had a "good feeling" about the production.

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

Feb 26, 1883: Actor-manager Frederick Warde brought his repertoire of classic roles to Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theatre. Local critics were harsh ("Such a company of 'spouters" had not been seen in Philadelphia for many a long day"), but at least the gorgeous posters of Warde's visit survive.

submitted 5 days ago • 1 comment

Just one week to go before our big Author Event at Barnes & Noble on Chestnut Street in Center City Philadelphia! Tuesday, March 4th at 6 pm! There's a link for tickets in the Comments.

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

Every once in awhile, the good guys win. www.inquirer.com/education/un...

submitted 7 days ago • 1 comment

I've been sitting on this news for a while and I'm thrilled to share it now: The New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards are bringing back the beautiful metal plaque for Best Play that had been lost since the early 1940s. It’s the Talk of the Town! www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

submitted 7 days ago • 2 comments

(1) Feb 24, 1964: The try-out season for hopeful musicals was in full swing in Philadelphia, which meant it was a busy time for the Inquirer's resident cartoonist, Doug Anderson. Barbra Streisand was playing Fanny Brice in the extended pre-Broadway run of "Funny Girl" at the Erlanger Theatre. . .

submitted 7 days ago • 1 comment

Did you know that a lot of future Hollywood stars worked together in a small theater on funky South Street in Philly? Morgan Freeman, Danny DeVito, Judd Hirsch, Sally Kirkland, Michael Cristofer . . And this new guy, Tom, "Will Give You The Best Six Nights of Your Life!" It was the Sixties, man.

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

New Episode! A far-out interview with the director, writer and artist Tom Bissinger, whose fascinating life story is interwoven with so many iconic names from the 60s and 70s, including the actors Dick Shawn, Judd Hirsch, Morgan Freeman and Danny DeVito! www.aithpodcast.com/tom-bissinge...

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

March 1969: Sam Shepard's "La Turista," was staged at the Theatre of the Living Arts in Philadelphia. The cast included Gloria Maddox, Lee Kissman, and a young actor named Michael Procacino, who later as Michael Christofer would become a successful actor, director, and Pulitzer-winning playwright

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

The Walnut Street Theatre Gift Shop has SIGNED copies of "Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" for sale! When you go to see the Walnut's hilarious production of Noel Coward's "Hay Fever," pick up a a fascinating book to take home with you! (Did we mention they are SIGNED By the Author??)

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

(1) February 20, 1939: “Spirochete” - a play about syphilis - was finally allowed to open at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. (The Walnut, little used by commercial theater producers in the late 1930s, had recently become the local home of the Federal Theatre Project of the WPA.)

submitted 11 days ago • 1 comment

The Walnut Street Theatre Gift Shop has SIGNED copies of "Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" for sale! When you go to see the Walnut's hilarious production of Noel Coward's "Hay Fever," pick up a a fascinating book to take home with you! (Did we mention they are SIGNED By the Author??)

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

The book I’m currently working on (“The Perfect Moment”! lol for it in 2026!) is about the last time that there was a sustained assault on American arts and culture by the Right. So if I may, here are the two big things every mistake the arts/culture world made during this period had in common:

submitted 12 days ago • 1 comment

today's random theater photo: It Can't Happen Here, adapted from Sinclair Lewis's novel, which opened in 21 theaters across 17 states on October 27, 1936.

submitted 14 days ago • 4 comments