A Trip to Coontown

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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 in New York City on April 4, 1898. [3] [4] [2]

Contents

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:

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 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. 1 2 3 Bordman, Gerald Martin (1992). American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle. Oxford University Press. p. 158. ISBN   978-0-19-507242-6.
  3. 1 2 Southern, Eileen (August 6, 1997). The Music of Black Americans: A History. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 303. ISBN   9780393038439 via Google Books.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  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.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "A Trip to Coontown". The Allentown Leader . October 5, 1899. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06 via newspapers.com.