The Best of Times
04/18/22 • 59 min
From the 1876 Centennial Exposition to the end of the 19th Century, Philadelphia's experienced a boom in theater construction. New plays, musicals, operettas and vaudeville shows constantly cycled in and out of the city to fill these theaters. By the 1890s, one newspaperman estimated that on average each of Philadelphia's one million people saw five shows a year! It was the best of times.
In this episode we do our best to describe this productive and significant, but mostly forgotten era of Philadelphia theater history.
Music in the episode is mostly from Evangeline; or, The Belle of Acadia an 1874 musical by Edward Rice.
To see and hear more of this show, as it was recently played and produced in Portland, Maine, see this playlist on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzxddX3RlZft3pSnqdMzU43l4emFzE6TR
A heartfelt thanks to Mr. Charles Kaufmann and the singers and orchestra of the Longfellow Chorus of Portland Maine, as well as the Charlotte Cushman Foundation of Philadelphia for their generous help, cooperation and support.
For images relating to the episode, and additional information see our website's blog post and bibliography, go here.
On Sunday, June 29th, the author and podcaster Peter Schmitz will be appearing at the Brookline Books stall at the 2025 American Library Association annual conference and exhibition at the Philadelphia Convention Center.
If you’re a librarian - or a fan of libraries - and are coming to the ALA in Philly this year, please be sure to stop by and say hello!
"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now!
To order our book via Bookshop.org - GO HERE
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 us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast© 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.
From the 1876 Centennial Exposition to the end of the 19th Century, Philadelphia's experienced a boom in theater construction. New plays, musicals, operettas and vaudeville shows constantly cycled in and out of the city to fill these theaters. By the 1890s, one newspaperman estimated that on average each of Philadelphia's one million people saw five shows a year! It was the best of times.
In this episode we do our best to describe this productive and significant, but mostly forgotten era of Philadelphia theater history.
Music in the episode is mostly from Evangeline; or, The Belle of Acadia an 1874 musical by Edward Rice.
To see and hear more of this show, as it was recently played and produced in Portland, Maine, see this playlist on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzxddX3RlZft3pSnqdMzU43l4emFzE6TR
A heartfelt thanks to Mr. Charles Kaufmann and the singers and orchestra of the Longfellow Chorus of Portland Maine, as well as the Charlotte Cushman Foundation of Philadelphia for their generous help, cooperation and support.
For images relating to the episode, and additional information see our website's blog post and bibliography, go here.
On Sunday, June 29th, the author and podcaster Peter Schmitz will be appearing at the Brookline Books stall at the 2025 American Library Association annual conference and exhibition at the Philadelphia Convention Center.
If you’re a librarian - or a fan of libraries - and are coming to the ALA in Philly this year, please be sure to stop by and say hello!
"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now!
To order our book via Bookshop.org - GO HERE
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 us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast© 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.
Previous Episode
The Black Booth: Part Two
John A. Arneaux plays "Richard III" at the Academy of Music, then mysteriously exits the American stage. His co-star, the actor Henri Strange, remains - and strives to create a Shakespeare theater for Philadelphia's Black audiences. The second half of a two-part story.
Guest Voices
John A. Arneaux: Aaron Bell
Reporter: Bill Van Horn
R. Henri Strange: Davon Johnson
Young Woman: Journee Lutz
Transition and background music for this episode was from the album:The Music of Francis Johnson and His Contemporaries; Early 19th Century Black Composers, performed on original instruments by The Chestnut Band Company & Friends - Diane Monroe, violin, conducted by Tamara Brooks.
Additional music from The New World Symphony by Antonin Dvorak, recorded by the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, 1956.
For additional images and information see our website's blog post and bibliography: "The Happy Possessor of a Noble Ambition":
On Sunday, June 29th, the author and podcaster Peter Schmitz will be appearing at the Brookline Books stall at the 2025 American Library Association annual conference and exhibition at the Philadelphia Convention Center.
If you’re a librarian - or a fan of libraries - and are coming to the ALA in Philly this year, please be sure to stop by and say hello!
"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now!
To order our book via Bookshop.org - GO HERE
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 us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast© 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.
Next Episode
Interview: Mary B. Robinson
January 1990: The appointment of Mary B. Robinson as the new Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Drama Guild is announced, taking over from outgoing Artistic Director Gregory Poggi.
In the fall of 2021, Mary Robinson sat down for a talk with Adventures in Theater History. It was also the first time she had publicly discussed her four-and-a-half year long tenure at the Drama Guild in since 1995. We also talked about the many shows she subsequently directed at the Philadelphia Theatre Company.
The first of a planned series of many interviews with historically important Philadelphia theater artists and scholars, we are proud to bring you this fascinating hour-long recorded conversation. Enjoy!
For a blog post with some images of productions from Philadelphia Drama Guild in the 1990s, go here.
On Sunday, June 29th, the author and podcaster Peter Schmitz will be appearing at the Brookline Books stall at the 2025 American Library Association annual conference and exhibition at the Philadelphia Convention Center.
If you’re a librarian - or a fan of libraries - and are coming to the ALA in Philly this year, please be sure to stop by and say hello!
"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now!
To order our book via Bookshop.org - GO HERE
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 us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast© 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.
Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia - The Best of Times
Transcript
© Podcast text copyright - Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.
[OPENING THEME]
Welcome, welcome and welcome once again to Adventures in Theater History. With this episode we attempt to wrap up the first season of our show, covering the overall narrative of Philadelphia theater history from its beginnings to the end of the 19th Century. We will dive into the 20th Century next season.
It has been our position ever since we began this podcast that the Nineteenth C
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/adventures-in-theater-history-philadelphia-349244/the-best-of-times-50593729"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to the best of times on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy