A Trip to Coontown
A Trip to Coontown is an American musical comedy. It was performed, directed, and produced by African-Americans.[1][2] It was written and performed in by Bob Cole and Billy Johnson.[2][3] and debuted it New Jersey in 1897 before touring in the U.S. and internationally. Its New York City debut was at the Third Avenue Theatre on April 4, 1898.[3][4][2]
The musical was a reworking of Cole and Johnson's skit "At Jolly Coon-ey Island" which was written by Cole for an operatic variety company called Black Patti’s Troubadours (formed by Sissieretta Jones). A Trip to Coontown spoofed the popular musical A Trip to Chinatown (1891).[1]
In the early 20th century the musical was staged in European cities.[5]
Cast[edit]
According to an October 1899 advertisement in The Allentown Leader, the show featured:
- Coontown Sextette
- Carter and Hillman's Bowery Spielers
- Alice MacKay, Contralto
- Freeman Sisters, acrobatic dancers
- Billy Johnson, "the Luckiest Coon in Town"
- Lloyd G. Gibbs, "Famous Colored Tenor"
- Edna Alexander, "Accomplished Soprano"
- Bob Cole, in his own laughable creations
- Sam Lucas, the "Favorite Colored Comedian"[6]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Moon, Krystyn R.; Krasner, David; Riis, Thomas L. (August 6, 2011). "Forgotten Manuscripts: A Trip to Coontown". African American Review. 44 (1): 7–24. doi:10.1353/afa.2011.0012. S2CID 162036655 – via Project MUSE.
- ^ a b c Bordman, Gerald Martin (1992). American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle. Oxford University Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-19-507242-6.
- ^ a b Southern, Eileen (August 6, 1997). The Music of Black Americans: A History. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 303. ISBN 9780393038439 – via Google Books.
- ^ "A Trip To Coontown – Broadway Musical – 1898 Revival | IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
- ^ Lotz, Rainer E. (August 6, 1997). Black People: Entertainers of African Descent in Europe and Germany. Lotz. pp. 199–201, 208–209, 213–214. ISBN 9783980346184 – via Google Books.
- ^ "A Trip to Coontown". The Allentown Leader. October 5, 1899. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06 – via newspapers.com.
External links[edit]
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