Lost Theatre History

[Chevstriss]

Posted: 4/3/07 at 12:29pm

surprisingly the internet doesn't have much in the way of records for live theatre that was happening outside of NYC. As a child I attended Valley Forge Music Fair in the summer, back in the 60s when it was still an actual tent. I can find no record of who the stars were I saw. I know I saw Patrice Munsel as Mame, and Bill Hayes in Camelot. Patrice Munsel had done other shows there, Kiss Me Kate perhaps? Does anyone have old playbills from Valley Forge? it appears the only way to get this info is from playbill collectors.

Also I was in London in 80 seeing tons of musicals, and becuz you had to pay extra for playbills, and I was a starving student, I have no idea what actors I was watching. Is there a source for this? I saw Sweeney, On the 20th Century, original cast of Amadeus, about 10 more.

[rf12792]

Posted: 4/3/07 at 4:26pm

Regarding the first part of your question:

If you are looking for information about a theatre that is still in operation, try contacting the theatre directly. Many of them keep detailed archives of past productions. Valley Forge Music Fair closed in the mid-1990s, but you could try contacting the Valley Forge Historical Society--chances are there were archives that ended up somewhere, and they might be able to help. I also found this link that might be of interest:

http://www.lambertville-music-circus.org/press/ValleyForgeMusicFair.pdf

Also, if you're looking for more of an overview of the history of summer theatre, there is a good book called "Summer Stock! An American Theatrical Phenomenon" by Martha LoManaco that you might want to check out.

Hope that helps!

[Chevstriss]

Posted: 4/4/07 at 12:03am

I've seen that article and I'm afraid it skips over the yrs I attended. We did, however, stay at the Tally Ho next door for 1 week when we first moved to philly waiting for our house & furniture, and as a 5 yr old I spend every day by the pool w/ Ms. Munsel, which meant nothing to me at the time.

I remember her always being paged for the phone tho.

[Piercemn]

Posted: 4/4/07 at 2:40am

Back when I was younger, from 1963 until 1980, there was a tent theatre in Milwaukee called the Melody Top. There's not a lot of information about them online either, however, I saw six shows there over the years:

Jean Pierre Aumont and Marisa Pavan in Carnival, 1969
Kaye Stevens as Mame, 1970,
Dorothy Lamour and Jack Bailey in Hello, Dolly!, 1971
Jane Powell in Meet Me in St. Louis, 1971
Gretchen Wyler and Linda Kaye Henning in Applause, 1972
Earl Wrightson and Lois Hunt in Gigi, 1974

Some of these may have played at Valley Forge as well. Later on, they brought in JoAnne Worley in Dolly and Anything Goes, and toward the end, they had either South Pacific or The Sound of Music every other year, usually starring Anna Maria Alberghetti.

Thanks for a pleasant walk down memory lane.