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

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

References
  1. 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.
  2. Bordman, Gerald Martin (1992). American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle. Oxford University Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-19-507242-6.
  3. Southern, Eileen (August 6, 1997). The Music of Black Americans: A History. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 303. ISBN 9780393038439 – via Google Books.
  4. "A Trip To Coontown – Broadway Musical – 1898 Revival | IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
  5. 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.
  6. "A Trip to Coontown". The Allentown Leader. October 5, 1899. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06 – via newspapers.com.


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