America's Longest Run : A History of the Walnut Street Theatre Hardback
by Andrew Davis
Part of the Keystone Books series
Hardback
Description
America's Longest Run: A History of the Walnut Street Theatre traces the history of America's oldest theater.
The Philadelphia landmark has been at or near the center of theatrical activity since it opened, as a circus, on February 2, 1809.
This book documents the players and productions that appeared at this venerable house and the challenges the Walnut has faced from economic crises, changing tastes, technological advances, and competition from new media.
The Walnut's story is a classic American success story.
Built by immigrants who came to America to seek their fortune, the Walnut responded to the ever-changing tastes and desires of the theater-going public. Originally operated as a stock company, the Walnut has offered up every conceivable form of entertainment - pageantry and spectacle, opera, melodrama, musical theater and Shakespeare.
During the Depression, it escaped the wrecking ball by operating as a burlesque house, a combination film and vaudeville house and a Yiddish theater, before becoming the Philadelphia headquarters for the Federal Theatre Project. Because Philadelphia is located so close to New York City, it has served as a tryout house for many Broadway-bound shows, including ""A Streetcar Named Desire"", ""The Diary of Anne Frank"", and ""A Raisin in the Sun"".
Today, the Walnut operates as a nonprofit performing arts center.
It is one of the most successful producing theaters in the country, with more than 350,000 attending performances each year.
Information
-
Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
- Format:Hardback
- Pages:424 pages, 44 Halftones, black and white
- Publisher:Pennsylvania State University Press
- Publication Date:02/04/2010
- Category:
- ISBN:9780271035789
Other Formats
- Paperback / softback from £24.65
Information
-
Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
- Format:Hardback
- Pages:424 pages, 44 Halftones, black and white
- Publisher:Pennsylvania State University Press
- Publication Date:02/04/2010
- Category:
- ISBN:9780271035789
