The Hedgerow Theatre in Rose Valley passed a 100th-anniversary milestone in 2023, a long life for a theater company that started with only nine dollars and seven actors, writes Rosa Cartagena for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The repertory company was founded in 1923 by Jasper Deeter, a former Harrisburg newspaperman. It took over an old grist mill in Rose Valley, a town that developed into an arts and crafts community.
Over the years, the Hedgerow utilized the talents of playwright Langston Hughes and renowned actors that included Ann Harding, Paul Robeson, Stephen Lang, and Keanu Reeves.
The theatre was beloved by celebrity playwrights such as Eugene O’Neill and George Bernard Shaw.
For much of the theatre’s existence, actors lived communally up the hill from the theater building, sharing house chores, even growing their own food and tending to livestock during the Depression.
It was the oldest and longest-running repertory theater for 33 years but temporarily ceased operations in 1956, citing excessive costs.
Hedgerow alumni founded their own successful companies, including People’s Light, Freedom Theatre, Theatre of the Living Arts, and Curio Theatre Company.
It is currently under the direction of Marcie Bramucci.
See the theatre’s history as told through photos in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
This 1948 U.S. State Department documentary took a look at the Hedgerow Theatre.
