A soundbite from our new episode, released today! A conversation with Seth Rozin, the founder and artistic director of InterAct #Theatre of #Philadelphia. Seth shares some great stories about the early years of the company, including the tour of Ireland in the autumn of 1988.

Susanne Sulby, the accent expert behind "Mare of Easttown," taught the Delco drawl to the cast of "Task." "I’m pretty bold. I’ll be sitting somewhere, I’ll hear someone speaking and I’ll say, ‘Oh, you have a really fantastic accent. Tell me about that,'" she said.

It’s unfortunate that the general aging population doesn’t get as much interaction with curious, hardworking young people as college professors do. They really will give you hope about the future on a daily basis 🤔

Gift article! . . . We only caught TWO of the fascinating Philly Fringe* shows covered here, and we're jealous of anyone who saw them all! *Yes we know it's "FringeArts" - but no one around here seems to call it that.

September 30, 1935: The Group Theatre came to town, and the old Broad Street Theatre was packed to see two plays by Philadelphia-born author Clifford Odets: “Waiting for Lefty” and “Awake and Sing!”. A Philly critic praised the two shows' "irresistible urgency," and "terrifying vehemence.

“Given the destruction playing out in various quarters — governmental attacks on places of learning, the stripping of federal funding for arts and culture and public media — spending time in the company of creation has become an act of resistance in itself.” — Inquirer critic Peter Dobrin

NEW EPISODE!!! Find us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts! (Or . . here is a link to the episode page on our website) www.aithpodcast.com/interview-to...

Following the University of the Arts’ abrupt closure in June 2024, several of the school’s properties and assets have found new owners and homes. Among them is part of its special library collection of rare prints and books.

If you’ve ever seen ASSASSINS, you might have noticed the credit “Based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr.” This week, we are honored to welcome Mr. Gilbert to The Sondheim Hub. Click below to read our full interview: thesondheimhub.substack.com/p/a-conversa...

Catherine Nicholson on King Lear in China

I've seen 34 shows in the Philly Fringe so far, and you can read about all of them. Here's week two: playsunpleasant.substack.com/p/philly-fri...

Went to see EgoPo’s “The Gladiator” at historic Carpenters Hall last night - part of their series of important #Philadelphia plays. Guess what they were selling at the front door!!!!

I was quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer in this article about Robert Redford performing in Broadway tryout shows in Philadelphia during the 1960s: share.inquirer.com/TG8V9I

When Simon's play was first performed at the Bucks County Playhouse in April of 1963, it still its original title: "Nobody Loves Me."

Oct. 28th, 1960: The Irish Rebellion drama "Little Moon of Alban" by James Costigan had its world stage premiere at the Forrest #Theatre in #Philadelphia. Miss Harris got very good reviews. But not unnoticed by audiences was a young actor playing her character's slain fiancé - Robert Redford. #RIP

Not only is Calder Gardens like nothing else on the Parkway - it’s like nothing else anywhere. This is a great building, as my review explains. To celebrate, a gift link: share.inquirer.com/1K33B0

September 15, 1955: “The Diary of Anne Frank” had its World Premiere at the Walnut Street #Theatre in #Philadelphia. With few revisions, the production went on to the Cort Theatre in New York, where it had its Broadway premiere three weeks later.

"We are told that AI is inevitable, that we must adapt or be left behind. But universities are not tech companies. Our role is to foster critical thinking, not to follow industry trends uncritically." www.ru.nl/en/research/...

New Episode! An interview with director Blanka Zizka and stage manager Patreshettarlini Adams. They talk about their decades of work at the Wilma Theater, their longstanding artistic collaboration and their deep friendship. And they agree that "Theater is Music." www.aithpodcast.com/blanka-and-p...

“It’s not clear whether the reaction of higher-ups at the University of Central Oklahoma rose to the level of freaked out or afraid, but something got their hackles up.” My report on censorship of a new play.

Sept. 5, 1968: "Her First Roman," a new musical by Ervin Drake, (based upon George Bernard Shaw's play "Caesar and Cleopatra") opened at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia for a three-week tryout run. The production featured Richard Kiley and Leslie Uggams. (1 of 4)

Something I teach my students is that reading is a rhythm. They need to build a space-time where the rhythm of longer form reading is available to them. Generally this begins by having them inventory the various kinds of noise (cellphones, screens, work/care/social commitments) in their lives.

This Friday is First Friday in Old City, Philadelphia! And you’ve got to check out this INCREDIBLE exhibition of artistic insect masks from artist #KristenEgan at Arch Enemy Arts! Watch the video to learn more about the gallery and these artworks made from dried out gourds. #OldCitySpotlights

A huge moment -- Melvyn Bragg steps down from In Our Time after over a quarter of a century. What a programme and what a legacy! Just a model for how to make great, clever, engaging radio, and a twenty-seven-year experiment that proves there's a huge global audience for smart, scholarly programming.

A new review from a listener of our podcast! #theater #theatre #theaterhistory #theatrehistory #philadelphia #podcast #happypodcaster

The Trocadero Theatre was, for decades, one of the strongest beating hearts of Philly’s alternative music scene.

I would read an academic murder book in which the murder was solved by reading the syllabus

These two Ancient Greek plays on in London mid-September are brilliantly acted and directed. Thiasos really know what they’re doing with comedy. I’m speaking on 17th. thecockpit.org.uk/show/euripides…

NEW EPISODE!!! "The Wilma Story, Part Two" Find us on any podcasting app, on YouTube, or listen right on our website! #theater #theaterhistory #theatre #theatrehistory www.aithpodcast.com/the-wilma-st...

A quick soundbite preview of tomorrow's new episode of the podcast - "The Wilma Story, Part Two"! Make sure you don't miss out hearing the whole story . . . follow us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, YouTube - or anywhere you like to get your pods on! #theatre

Will spend the rest of my life considering how we were rushed into "going paperless" for the good of the environment only for the next generation of digital tools to become far worse for the environment.

We're definitely entering an era where the Internet is so hollowed out, so untrustworthy and compromised, that real world interactions, things identifiably done by human beings, will take on greater value and purpose.

Me, on the first day of the semester, dealing with all the classroom technology.

Only in New York City, and under the supervision of a librarian in the room . . . but still, wow!

“We are still in the earliest stages of this process, which will be rooted in listening, research, and community input. The path forward will ultimately be shaped by the voices of our artists, our patrons, and our staff, not by consultants.”

Jeffrey Sweet remembers George C. White, founder of the influential Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, who died on Aug. 6 at the age of 89 and played a central role in the last 6 decades of American playwriting. www.americantheatre.org/2025/08/22/t...

July 1977: Penn Jillette juggled next to a hot dog stand on 2nd and Pine St. in Philadelphia. He was tall, but drew crowds with his big voice. "Part of the power of street performing is getting the people to recognize you. They say, 'Jesus, he's loud,' then they come over to see what's going on."

This is the amazing level of performance energy that #vaudeville performers needed to have - several times a day, six days a week. Even though vaudeville was long gone by that point, Ed Sullivan loved keeping the its spirit alive on his TV show, and clearly audiences still loved it, too.

A sound clip from our new episode! "The Wilma Story, Part One" - Jiri and Blanka Zizka speak! Using archival recordings, we have created a narrative about the early years of the Wilma Theater in #Philadelphia! Find us, wherever you get your #podcasts.

New Episode! "The Wilma Story: Part One" www.aithpodcast.com/the-wilma-st...

August 6, 1974: Angela Lansbury began a week-long run as Mama Rose in "Gypsy" at Philadelphia's Forrest #Theatre. Amazingly, the Inquirer's editors buried a fantastic drawing of her by the paper's longtime resident cartoonist, Doug Anderson, in the back pages. We are proud to put it center stage.

The Music Circus in Lambertville was for many years one of the most interesting summer theaters in the Delaware Valley. It was owned and managed by St. John Terrell, a friend of Hirschfeld's. It was one of the first American theaters to really explore the possibilities of 360-degree "arena" staging.

“The thing I kept hearing over and over was that my regionalism – the slowness of my southern accent – would make it difficult for me to do Shakespeare... I wanted to take this thing I was told I couldn’t access and see if I could make it work for me.”

Of no interest whatsoever to anyone on this feed. archive.org/details/unlo... The unlocked recordings collection at the archive, largely if not entirely commercially unavailable (other than extortionate prices on discogs, I'm sure.)

You need to read this entire thread. It's like a stream of consciousness monologue, entitled: "Playwright Stuck on a Train got Bored and Decided to Skeet The Truth."

Early in his career Edward Everett Horton worked in Philadelphia stock companies and little theaters. From 1913 to 1915 he appeared in a dozen roles with the Orpheum Players, the Little #Theater and the Penn Players, honing the acting skills that would later make him a star.

Me and my book project

July 18, 1906: The future playwright Clifford Odets is born in Philadelphia, at 207 W. George St. His family left for the Bronx when he was two, but later returned to Philly, living at 1721 68th Street. He had quit school, was writing plays - but he got a job as an actor in a local stock company.

Not bad for a Philly kid.

Mood, this morning. As long as the coffee lasts, anyway.