Historic Pocono Playhouse gutted in fire

[morosco]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 6:21pm

Historic Pocono Playhouse gutted in fire

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 6:28pm

For those who don't know, this was the sister theater to the Bucks County Playhouse, where Sondheim got his start.

Sad. I hope they rebuild it.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 6:30pm

Wow. That was close to where I went to college. I think I know some people who appeared in some shows there.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 6:32pm

Both this and the Bucks County Playhouse were dumps.

Honestly, this is no great loss.

[Paul W. Thompson]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 6:33pm

How awful! I worked at both of those theaters in the summer of 1986, along with the Woodstock Playhouse (which burned down years ago, I think) and the Falmouth Playhouse. Physically, they had all seen better days, even back then. I won't go into our living conditions or pay, for nine shows a week. Not to mention the travel. But artistically, I am quite proud of what we achieved, and the audiences flocked to the shows and had a good time. Theater is good for the Poconos, I'm sure of it.

[philly03]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 6:33pm

So sad.

And off-topic, but Sondheim really got his start-ings at the Bucks County Playhouse? (I thought it was the Walnut - he's on the board there!). Didn't know that -- shame they're productions aren't that great anymore !

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 7:15pm

Maybe I'm wrong about that, but it was definitely in that area. I thought I heard that it was Bucks County.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 7:23pm

Can anyone say "Jewish Lightning"?

P

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 7:29pm

Two of his other theatres were destroyed in fires under suspicious circumstances, as I recall.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 7:54pm

And they have both been mentioned in this thread.

[philly03]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 8:04pm

It could have been Bucks. Haven't been there in a year - that's the one in New Hope. All of the theatres (save for the super-regional Walnut Street in downtown Philly) are in pretty bad condition.

Bucks County Playhouse floods usually atleast once a year. It's a shame!

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 8:21pm

I'm surprised that this wasn't the Ogunquit Playhouse, considering they had a fire there this year.

That place is LUCJY it didn't go up in a flash. It's a tinderbox.

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 8:22pm

I worked at Pocono for 7 years, and it is where I fell in love with theatre. Yes, the building was falling apart and the shows were not always wonderful, but there was a lot of great art created here and true friendships were made.

If it were not for this building I would not be who I am now, and for that I will always be grateful. I will always remember the Childrens' Theatre, which is where I started. We put on 9 shows a summer, usually with 2 weeks of rehearsal. It was very intense but also so much fun and so rewarding. It was a rare day when we did not sell out the theater (something the mainstage only saw when there was a television star in the show) and after every show we would rush out to the front lawn and greet the kids and sign autographs in character.

I stopped by the property this afternoon to take some final pictures and was surprised to see a nice crowd of actors, techies and fans. There was even a little memorial next to one of the signs with a few flowers and some notes.

This theater will be missed by many. It has been the main cultural hot spot since 1942 and was one of the last remaining pieces of the "old Poconos". While I do not think it will be rebuilt, I do hope someone decides to build a new theater there soon.

ps- Yero, while Sondheim lived in Bucks County he did not work at the theatre.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 8:33pm

I must have misheard, then. Thanks for the correction.

It's always hard when a big piece of your childhood is gone. I'm sorry.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 9:39pm

I've always wondered...where do the ghosts of theaters go when the theaters burn down?

[Gingersnap2]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 9:43pm

I'm so glad I'm not the only person who's wondered about displaced ghosts in theatres (or any other old building that's destroyed).

[Marianne2]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 9:52pm

Well, they can move to the Shawnee Playhouse now. Apparently that one was also burned down about 24 years ago, but it got rebuilt.

[kristin_bernadette]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 10:44pm

Aw, this is depressing. I'm glad it wasn't the Bucks County Playhouse though, since I live right near it.

[nycdncr]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 11:35pm

I hope there's a thorough investigation as to how this happened. It seems suspect that the owner of this theater owned two other theaters that burned down. Arson was the official cause of the other two's demise...though no arrests were made. I think we need to get CSI on the case.

The loss of any theater is an awful occurrence, no matter how run down the place may be. That place still brought culture to the community and served as an outlet for artistic dreams and ambitions.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/4/09 at 12:35am

just curious, but how bad is the pay for working at Bucks County Playhouse?? I was thinking of trying to work for them next year.

[philly03]

Posted: 10/4/09 at 2:37am

ACL, I'd love to know the same thing. Tickets are like $17, and they're lucky if half the audience shows up.

Pocono Playhouse is NOT in Bucks County for the record!

[Eris0303]

Posted: 10/4/09 at 2:46am

My sister loves to go to the Bucks County Playhouse. It's only about half an hour from here and she can go during the week with her caretaker. It's a nice little trip for her

[philly03]

Posted: 10/4/09 at 3:02am

Bucks County Playhouse seems to attract very good young female singers/actresses, and then the young male actors are hit or miss! It's ALWAYS nice to spend the day in New Hope anyway though!

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 10/4/09 at 8:34am

Pocono and Bucks are sister Playhouses. This means that the Pocono season (which was much shorter than Bucks') was made up of shows that happened at Bucks, full cast (and usually set) transfer included.

[philly03]

Posted: 10/4/09 at 2:41pm

jacobtsf , that's often not true anymore (or atleast from what I remember). The Pocono Playhouse is atleast an hour if not 2 hours away. Usually though, they do take whatever Bucks County Playhouse's OUTSIDE Series and put it inside for them. Sometimes the cast transfered, but not usuaully as many of the outside productions are high school and college kids.