2014 CONCLAVE THEATRE TOUR CONCLAVE COMMITTEE TABLE of David Newell, Honorary Chair
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2014 CONCLAVE THEATRE TOUR CONCLAVE COMMITTEE TABLE OF David Newell, Honorary Chair CONTENTS Richard L. Fosbrink, Diane Fritz, Mike Hauser, James W. Kastner, Donna McCoy, Janine M. Pixley, Welcome To Pittsburgh! 4 About Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania 6 Tom Rathburn, Patrick Seymour, Amanda Wick, Megan Wozniak Daily Tour Schedule 8 Oaks Theater 11 Casino Theatre 12 The Palace Theatre 13 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Geyer Performing Arts Center 14 Craig Morrison, President Edwin S. Porter Theater 15 Donald Bohatka, Vice-President State Theatre Center For The Arts 16 Lowell Angell, Secretary Carnegie Library Music Hall Of Homestead 17 Ed Kelsey, Treasurer Strand Theater 18 Guthrie Theatre 19 Academy Theatre 20 Ken Bloom, Curtis Cooper, Lisa M. DiChiera, Warner Theatre 21 Jon Flynn, Dulcie Gilmore, Suzanne Leworthy, Warner Cascade Theatre 22 Joe Masher, Ward Miller, Dave Syfczak, Mark Wretschko Kelly Strayhorn Theater 23 McGonigle Theater 24 Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall 25 Charity Randall Theatre, Stephen Foster Memorial 26 Carnegie Music Hall Of Oakland 27 Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall 28 Roxian Theatre 29 Hollywood Theater 30 New Granada Theatre 31 The Pittsburgh Cultural District 32 Byham Theater 33 Heinz Hall For The Performing Arts 34 Benedum Center For The Performing Arts 35 O’Reilly Theater 36 Harris Theater 37 Warner Centre 38 Garden Theatre 39 2 | 2014 Conclave Theatre Tour: Steel City Theatre Historical Society of America | historictheatres.org | 3 Welcome THS neighbors! or those of you who have never would always take me to theaters down- One day in 1967, I found myself be- been to Pittsburgh, I predict that town. One weekend, it was a Roy Rogers ing interviewed by Fred Rogers for a posi- Fyou are going to be pleasantly double feature at the Barry Theater. The tion on the new children’s program, Mis- surprised. Once known as the “Smokey next, we would go and see a lavish M-G- ter Rogers’ Neighborhood. He hired me City,” for its industrial past, Pittsburgh M picture such as Annie Get Your Gun or to be his production assistant and to play today, is that no longer. The cultural re- Showboat at the Loew’s Penn (now Heinz the part of the Speedy Delivery man, Mr. naissance of Pittsburgh began in the mid- Hall for the Performing Arts.) I remember McFeely. That was 47 years ago and I am 1950s and continues to this day through another weekend we went to the Fulton, still delivering in Mister Rogers’ Neigh- the activities of organizations like the (now Byham) to see the latest Betty Gra- borhood! Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. ble musical, needless to say, my grand- As we all gather here in Pittsburgh this Some of the theaters you will be visit- father liked Betty Grable. We even saw year, I want to thank you, my fellow THS ing are located in the downtown Cultural Jerry Lewis, in person at the Stanley (now members, for all you do to support the District. Thanks to the leadership activi- Benedum Center for the Performing Arts) work of the Theatre Historical Society of ties of the Cultural Trust, led by President, before the showing of his first film without America. Together, we need to share the Kevin McMahon, the area has been trans- Dean Martin! legacy of America’s historic theatres with formed with theaters, cabarets, art galler- However, it was the experience at age the next generation and you are an integral ies, restaurants and other complimentary seven, that changed my life—I saw my part of that. venues that have transformed downtown first play. It was a touring version of Har- Although I won’t be able to attend Pittsburgh into a local and tourism desti- vey starring Joe E. Brown that played at every function this week, I will be at sev- nation for entertainment. the old Nixon Theater (which sadly was eral and I hope I can meet all of my fel- Not just a cultural mecca, Pittsburgh torn down to make way for the ALCOA low members. Please say hello to me and is also home to the Steelers, Pirates and building.) share your theater stories—I’d love to Penguins, along with the major corpora- I remember a sea of red velvet, pol- hear them. tions, H. J. Heinz Company, ALCOA, ished brass and crystal chandeliers. It was PNC Bank, Bayer Pharmaceuticals and said that the Old Nixon was the most opu- United States Steel. lent theater ever built in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh has been called home by Nixon’s stage was so large that it could WELCOME the following entertainers over the years, accommodate a treadmill that helped pro- AND SPEEDY DELIVERY! Gene Kelly, Shirley Jones, Michael Ke- vide the illusion of a chariot race in the aton, Zachary Quinto, Adolphe Menjou, stage production of Ben-Hur! Della Reese, Perry Como and Bobby Vin- After the matinee of Harvey, I came ton, (from nearby Canonsburg) and golfer home and immediately created my own Arnold Palmer, (from nearby Latrobe.) version of Harvey in our basement. I as- -DAVID NEWELL Likewise, Andy Warhol, George S. sembled makeshift scenery and played (AKA MR. MCFEELY) Kauman and August Wilson called the all the parts. I knew then that I wanted to ‘burg home. Pittsburgh is also the filming work in some form of theater. Many years location of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. later, I followed that dream and attended (P.S. I will have photos of Mister Rogers and Mr. I grew up in Pittsburgh, and since I the Pittsburgh Playhouse School of the McFeely if you would like to have some to take back was an only grandchild, my grandfather Theater and the University of Pittsburgh. home to your neighborhood!) 4 | 2014 Conclave Theatre Tour: Steel City Pictured: Nickelodeon Marker on Smithfield Street. Image courtesy James W. Kastner. W. James courtesy Image Street. Smithfield on Marker Nickelodeon Pictured: Theatre Historical Society of America | historictheatres.org | 5 he region that is now southwestern Pennsylvania has drawn mankind Tfrom its earliest explorations. First About settled over 16,000 years ago (as documented at Meadowcroft Rockshelter), the area was attractive to Native American tribes who led Pittsburgh, hunter-gatherer and agricultural lives. The coming of Europeans likely wiped out Pitts- burgh’s original natives; however, Iroquois and Algonquian tribes from the east moved Pennsylvania in, along with traders and settlers. Both Brit- ish and French realized the strategic value Each city in America has their own tale to tell, and Pittsburgh’s rise in our of the wilderness location at the forks of the industrial history is no different. Its story of fortune and economic opportunity Ohio, a meeting place to trade for furs with the Indians. After much contention (much shine light on the history of the boom days of construction and the ongoing of it involving young George Washington), legacy that philanthropy plays today. the British established Fort Pitt at the Point. A small village known as “Pittsborough” sprouted around it. 6 | 2014 Conclave Theatre Tour: Steel City The region’s economy was largely steel to the area—a revolution that contin- agricultural through most of the 1700s, ues to shape heritage and culture. Carn- and its people fiercely independent. egie partnered with Henry Clay Frick, a When the federal government attempted self-made millionaire in processing indus- to tax local whiskey production, the new trial coke, an essential steel-making ingre- United States faced its first Constitution- dient. Their partnership soured after the al challenge from Pennsylvania farmers infamous Homestead Steel Strike, a lock- during the Whiskey Rebellion. Because out that ended in 10 deaths and many in- travel was difficult over the Allegheny juries. Still, the Carnegie and Frick names Mountains, Pittsburghers learned to pro- are synonymous with philanthropic causes duce goods themselves. The largest in- in Pittsburgh. Equally important were dustry emerging in the 1800s was boat employers such as Westinghouse, Alcoa, building, followed by glass manufactur- Gulf, and Heinz. ing. In the late 1800s, Pittsburgh also be- Pittsburgh became known as the came a banking center to keep up with “Gateway to the West.” Westward travel the booming economy. Most people con- was even easier after 1811, when Rob- tinued to live, shop, and worship in the ert Fulton launched his steamboat, the self-sufficient communities where they Pittsburgh-built New Orleans. The worked, and the region retains distinc- Pennsylvania Mainline Canal reached tive neighborhoods, many still reflect- its terminus in Pittsburgh in 1830 and ing varied ethnic roots. A boom in social Renaissance II through the 1980s the Pennsylvania Railroad arrived in programs in the late 19th and early 20th brought the city many of its signature the 1850s, further facilitating migra- centuries launched many hospitals and at- skyline buildings such as Mellon Bank tion. Pittsburgh was surrounded with tempts to clean the city, but was hindered Center, One Oxford Center, and PPG reserves of coal, oil, clay, limestone, and by a devastating flood in 1936, the Great Plaza. Pittsburgh today stands at the fore- natural gas. To supply iron for the War Depression, and World Wars I and II. front of medical research and computer of 1812, foundries, rolling mills, and After World War II, Pittsburgh con- and robotics technologies, as well as a forges sprang up, and with their growth, centrated on giving itself a make-over, center for arts and culture, while retain- Pittsburgh expanded and incorporated as including river cleanup and air pollution ing a sense of pride in its coal, steel, and a city in 1816. controls, and new building projects under ethnic heritage. § Pittsburgh earned the nickname the umbrella of Renaissance I. In 1970, the “Smoky City” due to manufacturing, last baseball game was played at Forbes History of Pittsburgh steamboats, and household heating, all Field, while Three Rivers Stadium, along courtesy the Heinz History fueled with coal.