Pennsylvania Plays a Sweet Role in ‘Hershey’
Debuting Nov. 25, the Hollywood film about the famous chocolatier features many Keystone State sites, including Pittsburgh.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ANGEL STUDIOS
The holiday season is going to be even sweeter this year.
“Hershey,” a film based on the life of Milton Hershey and his iconic chocolate brand, will hit theaters on Nov. 25.
The PG-rated biopic starring Finn Wittrock and Alexandra Daddario as Milton and Catherine “Kitty” Hershey was shot across 17 diverse filming locations in Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh, Hershey, Harmony, Smithfield and Ligonier.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ANGEL STUDIOS
A total of 74 meticulously designed sets captured the scale of Hershey’s world, from the chocolatier’s humble beginnings on a Derry Township farm to the rise of his candy empire, the Hershey factory town and the philanthropic Milton Hershey School.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ANGEL STUDIOS
Harmony, a historic village located about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh, was given a Hollywood makeover to take it back in time to the late 19th century. Several thoroughfares were covered in mulch to transform them into dirt roads traversed by horses and buggies, and the Harmony Museum was reimagined as a general store. Another nearby building was transformed into a print-and-binder shop, and Wunderbar Coffee & Crepes, located in a historical opera hall, had its windows and doors painted to turn it into an old-fashioned coffee and tea shop.
In Brownsville, Fayette County, film crews restored about a dozen facades in and around the historic Union Station for the Silver Screen. When production wrapped in August 2025, they took the props but left the refurbished Market Street storefronts intact. In a Facebook post, Mayor Ross H. Swords Jr. asked if anyone would want to repurpose them.
Nikk Alcaraz, an artist, author and content creator, brought the vacant block back to life for the holidays, creating a Victorian-era toy store, a candy company and a bookshop.
PHOTO COURTESY OF NIKK ALCARAZ
Tru-Tone, a Chicago-based company that makes vintage-style LED Christmas bulbs, saw Alcaraz’s TikTok posts (as did millions of others around the globe) and donated lights to the cause. It’s a festive feast for the eyes — one that continues to change with the seasons.
A turn-of-the-century version of Bedford Square on the South Side will also appear in the film, along with Hey Babe, a foodie-friendly cocktail lounge in East Liberty.
Director Mark Waters asked Betsy Ann Chocolates, a West View business that’s been cranking out candy since 1938, to create candy props for “Hershey.”
