Press and Reviews: Apple Hill Playhouse in the News
Local newspapers and guides covered Apple Hill regularly. The articles below were saved on the theatre's own website and are kept here as part of its history. They are reproduced as they were published, with page navigation and advertising from the original news sites removed.
Archived reviews and features
I Do! I Do! opens the 2001 season
May 2001
Read the articleNeil Simon's Proposals (Post-Gazette review)
June 2001
Read the articleProposals feature (Tribune-Review)
June 2001
Read the articleFools preview (Tribune-Review)
August 2001
Read the articleFools review (Tribune-Review)
August 2001
Read the articleThe Caine Mutiny Court-Martial at the courthouse (City Paper)
November
Read the articleIsn't It Romantic (Post-Gazette review)
June 2003
Read the articleRed Herring actors have multiple roles
August 2003
Read the articleApple Hill Playhouse is a 'Great Place' in Westmoreland
2003
Read the article
Why these articles matter
Local reviews are one of the few independent records of what community theatre looked like on a given night. They name the directors, designers and actors, describe the sets and costumes, and capture how audiences reacted, from a sold-out opening night on a humid August evening to a courtroom drama staged while real prisoners were moved through the building below. For anyone researching Westmoreland County's cultural history, or for former cast members looking for their own names, these pieces are a valuable source. They also show how regional newspapers covered small theatres at the start of the 2000s, often sending critics out to Delmont for a single performance.
What the critics noticed
Read together, the reviews return to a few themes: the intimacy of the barn, the ambition of mounting musicals such as Grease and Evita on a small stage, and the courthouse dramas that put audiences inside a real Westmoreland County courtroom. Later coverage is summarised in the history of Apple Hill Playhouse.
Copyright note. These articles remain the work of their original publishers and writers. Where possible, read the current version on the publisher's own website.