Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia
Bringing you the best stories from the deep and fascinating history of theater in the city of Philadelphia. This is the podcast for all lovers of theater, students of history - or anyone who enjoys great stories with lots of drama!
Episodes
A conversation with actor Tom Teti about his life, his career in Philadelphia theater, and his long association with People's Light and Theatre Company in Malvern.
For a blog post with images and additional information about Tom's career, go to: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/tom-as-in-teti/
For more information about the October 2025 production of Tommy and Me at PLTC, go HERE.
Director Blanka Zizka and stage manager Patreshettarlini Adams talk about their decades of work at the Wilma Theater, sharing stories of their longstanding artistic collaboration and deep friendship. And they agree that "Theater is Music."
An excellent and heartwarming Adventure in Philadelphia Theater History!
Music from historic Wilma Theater productions sampled in this episode includes:
1) ...
The history of Philadelphia's Wilma Theater during the 1990s, with archival recordings of the voices of Jiri and Blanka Zizka.
For images and additional information about this episode, see the blog post on our website HERE.
The original interviews of Jiri Zizka can be found on YouTube - HERE and HERE.
The original interview of Blanka Zizka can also be found on YouTube - HERE.
The voices of Jiri and Blanka Zizka help to narrate the history of Philadelphia's Wilma Theater during the 1980s.
For images and additional information about this episode, see the blog post on our website HERE.
"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now!
Our website: www.aithpodcast.com
A conversation about the impact that Blanka and Jiri Zizka had on the Philadelphia theater scene in the 1980s and 90s.
If you have not yet listened to our Episode 97, "Off-Off Broad Street," in which we discuss the history of "The Wilma Project" during the 1970s, you can find it here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1721762/episodes/16873817
This is one of a multi-part series on the origin and his...
Charlie Gilbert returns to talk about the music theater and the many new musicals being created and developed in Philadelphia during the 1980s and 90s.
We discuss the founding and early years of the American Music Theatre Festival, musicals performed at the Walnut and Arden Theatres, and the beginning of the Musical Theater Program at the University of the Arts - as theatrical and musical activity up and down Broad Street flourishes...
An interview with actor Johnnie Hobbs and choreographer Patricia Scott Hobbs about the Freedom Theatre in North Philadelphia.
In an archival recording, the Philadelphia composer and teacher Charles Gilbert talks to his longtime friends about their experiences at the Freedom, including working with founder John E. Allen and his successor Walter Dallas.
Though this is not a comprehensive narrative, we are pleased to begin sharing the...
Director and Producer Joe Canuso sits down with us to talk about his life and career in Philly theater.
From acting at the Pocket Playhouse in the 70s, performing with dance troupes in the 80s, creating cutting-edge shows for the new Fringe Festival in the 90s, founding and leading Theatre Exile in the 2000s, Joe did brought a darkly comic edge and a driving energy to the Philly theater scene.
Along with the playw...
A conversation with one of the longest-serving and most consequential artistic directors and producers of the modern era of Philadelphia theater history, Sara Garonzik.
As we continue our Season Four, we learn about her early years - first as and actor, then as a director, then as a producer at the Philadelphia Theatre Company. And we learn her stories about how she took PTC from a 25-year-long home at the Plays and Playe...
Our interview with teacher, writer and director Robert Hedley - the former Chair of the Theater Departments of both Villanova and Temple Universities.
In our conversation, we discuss many things - including his early years, his coming to Villanova, his work with playwright David Rabe and producer Joseph Papp, and his work in helping to found The Philadelphia Company (the precursor to the Philadelphia Theater Company).
...
Cato: A Tragedy was a famous 18th Century play by Joseph Addison - supposedly the favorite play of George Washington himself! What connection did it have to the history of America - and the theater history of Philadelphia?
This is an edited audio recording of a panel discussion at the Museum of the Revolution in Philadelphia, recorded on April 9th, 2025.
A video of the entire event can be found at the MOAR website...
The story of three small ambitious cutting-edge Philadelphia theater companies of the 1970s. Why did some survive - and some falter?
For a blog post with images of the productions and people we discuss in the episode, go HERE.
(Cover photo for the episode shows the actor Daniel Oreskes in The Servant of Two Masters, which was being presented by The Repertory Company in West Philadelphia's Clark Park during t...
An interview with Joe Stinson and Ed Sabato about Philadelphia theatrical projects that employed so many local actors before and during the Bicentennial Year of 1976.
In the very place where the American experiment began, regular work in "historical re-enactment" and patriotic storytelling gave young and ambitious Philadelphia theater artists a boost in their careers.
This episode also provides a coda f...
An interview with the director, writer and artist Tom Bissinger, in which we talk about his work in the 1960s and 70s, including his all-too-brief term as the final Artistic Director of the Theatre of the Living Arts in Philadelphia.
A native of San Francisco, Tom's fascinating life story is interwoven with so many iconic names from the 60s and 70s, including working in Philadelphia with the actors Dick Shawn, Judd H...
A recut and remixed and refocused version of an interview with the director Mary B. Robinson, about her years she spent in the 1990s as the Artistic Director of the Drama Guild. (Stay tuned at the very end for an brief announcement about the future direction of the podcast - and my thoughts about current events)
A short blog post on our website has additional information and images about Mary and some of the productions sh...
Gregory Poggi successfully led the Philadelphia Drama Guild throughout the decade of the 1980s. He talked with us about his memories of those days - tussles with board members, battles with critics, fundraising triumphs and the growing audience support for professional nonprofit theater companies in the city.
For a blog post on our website with additional images and information, go to:
https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/...
The sudden success of the Drama Guild - a former amateur theater group transformed into a professional local powerhouse - finally fulfilled the promise of giving Philadelphia a flagship nonprofit theater company.
For a brief blog post with images from the episode, go HERE.
"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retail...
A reprise of one of our early episodes from Season One, in which we travel back 225 years to a single fascinating day in American theater: January 1, 1800.
Philadelphia's premiere theater company rang in the New Year with their production of the spectacular Romance entitled "Blue Beard, or Female Curiosity." Meanwhile, in the audience, there are other dramatic events were taking place! Join us on this advent...
Three new Philadelphia theater complexes are built for the mid-century modern era - funded by wealthy philanthropists. The Annenbergs would donate grand new Modernist-style Arts Centers at Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania, and the Haas family would spearhead the drive to renovate the old Walnut Street Theatre.
For a blog post with photos of all three theaters and other events described in the episode, g...
A re-edited, reduced and remixed account of the entire history of the Theatre of the Living Arts – the first major professional theater company in Philadelphia's modern era.
Photo of the company of The Line of Least Existence was taken by Bill Watkins.
Links to blog posts on our podcast's webpage, with other images and information about our sources, can be found here, here and here.
Popular Podcasts
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.