I've only been there once but once was enough to fall in love with The Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia. It's gone through name changes and a fire and relocations but the lineage of the place dates back to 1808 and that is not a typo. George M. Cohan played there. Ethel Barrymore played there. Edwin Booth played there. And here's one so special it deserves its own paragraph…
In 1923, the Marx Brothers debuted their first show headed for Broadway, I'll Say She Is, at The Walnut Street Theater.
And speaking of men named Marx: In 2017, my lovely friend Amber and my not-quite-as-lovely friend Marv Wolfman and I went there to see my pal Frank Ferrante not playing Groucho Marx. He was starring in a very fine production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum which, as you know if you read the previous post on this blog, is my favorite musical.
That's me, then Frank, then Amber in the lobby before the show. And just before that photo was taken — by Marv, I think — we all got a wonderful backstage tour of the place. I love old theaters. I love old theaters a lot.
If I were more mobile, I'd go there before the end of May and see their current stage offering…another of my favorite musicals, 1776. Yes, I know a lot of theaters stage that show but how many of them are located within walking distance of where the action in that play takes place? Independence Hall is three-tenths of a mile away so that is just too, too appropriate. Here's a video of the ribbon-cutting when the show opened recently…