How Newtown Prepared

How Newtown Prepared is an American musical comedy staged in 1916 by the Tutt Brothers which toured the United States.[1] The musical engaged with current military events of 1916 involving the all-black 10th Cavalry Regiment's involvement in the Pancho Villa Expedition of the Mexican Revolution in February 1916 and the Allied Powers and Central Powers in Turkey in 1916 during World War I.[2]

Plot

Setting: Newtown, United States; a ship on the Atlantic Ocean; and Turkey, 1916 during the events of the Mexican Revolution and World War I

The musical begins in the fictional all-black town of Newtown somewhere in the United States where older African American veterans are at odds over the topic of military preparedness and the use of volunteer militias with the younger citizens of the town. After the town receives word about the all-black 10th Cavalry Regiment's involvement in the Pancho Villa Expedition of 1916 during the Mexican Revolution, the older and younger citizens of Newtown join together to form a militia to aid the 10th Cavalry Regiment in its cause.[2]

Mexican spies invade the town of Newtown but fail in their attempt to dissuade the Newtown militia from joining the 10th Cavalry Regiment. The Mexican spies succeed in tricking the Newton militia to board a vessel controlled by the Mexicans and end up never reaching Mexico.[2] After many misadventures, the Newtown militia ends up in Turkish territory during World War I and are forced to fight for the wrong side against the Allied Powers. The play ends happily when the regiment is rescued by an American ship.[2]

History

Characters depicted included George Washington Bullion, who was part of previous Tutt brother farces[1] including George Washington Bullion (1910) and George Washington Bullion Abroad (1915). The show had an African American cast.[3]

It was scheduled to play at the Academy of Music in Richmond, Virginia.[4] It was also booked at the Opera House in Americus, Georgia.[5] The show starred the Tutt brothers as well as Blanche Thompson[6] along with a large supporting cast. T. L. Corwell was announced as the show’s manager.[7] It was billed for the Brandeis Theater in Omaha, Nebraska which advertised it above an upcoming screen of The Birth of a Nation.[8]

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra recorded a Clarence G. Wilson song from the show titled Zoo-Step. It is on the album Black Manhattan, Volume 3.

References
  1. Peterson, Bernard L. (May 29, 1993). A Century of Musicals in Black and White: An Encyclopedia of Musical Stage Works By, About, Or Involving African Americans. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313266577 – via Google Books.
  2. Reid Badger (1995). A Life in Ragtime: A Biography of James Reese Europe. Oxford University Press. p. 139. ISBN 9780195345209.
  3. "National Glass Budget: Weekly Review of the American Glass Industry". National Glass Budget. May 29, 1916 – via Google Books.
  4. "Richmond Times-Dispatch 8 October 1916 — Virginia Chronicle: Digital Newspaper Archive". virginiachronicle.com.
  5. "The Opera House". The Americus Times-Recorder. November 19, 1916. p. 7.
  6. "Philadelphia Tribune Archives, May 26, 1917, p. 8". NewspaperArchive.com. May 26, 1917.
  7. Humanities, National Endowment for the (September 9, 1916). "The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, September 09, 1916, The 21st Anniversary Edition of The Broad Ax, Image 7". pp. PAGE SEVEN – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
  8. "Omaha Daily Bee dated February 11, 1917, page 29". www.gastearsivi.com.
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