The Quaker City: The Forbidden Play of 1844, Part Two

10/14/22 • 34 min

Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia

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/

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!

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"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now!
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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.

Support the show

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

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

Previous Episode

The Quaker City: The Forbidden Play of 1844, Part One

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/

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℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

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

Next Episode

The Quaker City: The Forbidden Play of 1844, Part Three

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

℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

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

Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia - The Quaker City: The Forbidden Play of 1844, Part Two

Transcript

[AITH OPENING THEME]

Welcome back to Adventures in Theater History. Today, we present the second of a three part series that we began in our last episode, as we commence our Season Two, Drama is Conflict! So here it is: The Quaker City - the Forbidden Play of 1844, PART TWO.” [00:32]
[“Drama is Conflict” Musical Theme]

At the beginning of George Lippard’s novel The Quaker City, o