African-American musical theater includes late 19th and early 20th century musical theater productions by

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

s in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and Chicago. Actors from troupes such as the

Lafayette Players A number of theatre companies are associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Lafayette Players (1916–1932) Anita Bush, a pioneer in African American theater, began an acting company after seeing a show at the Lincoln Theater in Harlem. She wante ...

also crossed over into film. The

Pekin Theatre Established on June 18, 1905, Chicago’s Pekin Theatre was the first black owned musical and vaudeville stock theatre in the United States. Between 1905 and around 1915, the Pekin Club and its Pekin Theatre served as a training ground and showca ...

in Chicago was a popular and influential venue.

Early history

The

African Grove Theatre The African Grove Theatre opened in New York City in 1821. It was founded and operated by William Alexander Brown,Hatch, James V., and Ted Shine. ''Black Theatre USA: Plays by African Americans: The Early Period, 1847––1938''. New York: Free, ...

opened in New York City in 1821. Before the late 1890s, the image portrayed of African-Americans on Broadway was a "secondhand vision of black life created by European-American performers." Stereotyped " coon songs" were popular, and

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

was common. Minstrel shows were often performed in early history and were inspired by black music. These shows were first performed by white people who used black face in the 1800s. Many of these performers wore old ripped clothing, some actually stolen from slaves, to “represent” the enslaved African Americans. Along with the clothing, they acted black people out to be lazy, thieves, and dumb.

Will Marion Cook William Mercer Cook (January 27, 1869 – July 19, 1944), better known as Will Marion Cook, was an American composer, violinist, and choral director.Riis, Thomas (2007–2011)Cook, Will Marion ''Grove Music Online.'' Oxford Music Online. Retrieved ...

and

Bob Cole Robert Cole may refer to: Entertainment *Robert William Cole (1869–1937), British writer *Bob Cole (composer) (1868–1911), American composer *Bobby Cole (musician) (1932–1996), American musician Sports *Bob Cole (cricketer) (born 1938), for ...

brought black-written musical comedy to Broadway in 1898. Cook's '' Clorindy, or The Origin of the Cake Walk'', an hour-long sketch that was the first all-black show to play in a prestigious Broadway house, Casino Theatre's Roof Garden. Cole's ''

A Trip to Coontown A Trip to Coontown is an American musical comedy. It was performed, directed, and produced by African-Americans. It was written and performed in by Bob Cole (composer), Bob Cole and Billy Johnson. and debuted it New Jersey in 1897 before touring in ...

'' was the first full-length New York musical comedy written, directed and performed exclusively by blacks. The approach of the two composers were diametrically opposed: Cole believed that African Americans should try to compete with European Americans by proving their ability to act similarly on- and offstage, while Cook thought African Americans should not imitate European Americans but instead create their own style. Bob Cole and brothers

John Rosamond Johnson John Rosamond Johnson (August 11, 1873 – November 11, 1954; usually referred to as J. Rosamond Johnson) was an American composer and singer during the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, he had much of his career in New York ...

and James Weldon Johnson focused on elevating the lyrical sophistication of African American songs. Their first collaboration was "Louisiana Lize", a love song written in a new lyrical style that left out the watermelons, razors, and "hot mamas" typical of earlier " coon songs." Cole and the Johnson brothers went on to create musicals such as ''The Belle of Bridgeport'', ''The Red Moon'' (with

Joe Jordan Joseph Jordan (born 15 December 1951) is a Scottish football player, coach and manager. He is currently a first-team coach at AFC Bournemouth. A former striker, he played for Leeds United, Manchester United, and Milan, among others at club le ...

), ''The Shoo-Fly Regiment'', ''In Newport'', ''Humpty Dumpty'', and ''Sally in Our Alley'' (featuring Bob Cole's "Under The Bamboo Tree"). Bob Cole's suicide in 1911 ended "one of the promising musical comedy teams yet seen on Broadway".

National recognition

Bert Williams and George Walker, called the "

Two Real Coons 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many culture ...

", found fame in 1896 with a musical farce called ''The Gold Bug''. The duo's performance of the cakewalk captured the audience's attention, and they soon became so closely associated with this dance that many people think of them as its originators. Williams met Walker in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in 1893, while they played Dahomeyans in an exhibit of the

California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894 The California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894, commonly referred to as the "Midwinter Exposition" or the "Midwinter Fair", was a World's Fair that officially operated from January 27 to July 5 in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. In ...

. They played different venues while putting together their act. Williams and Walker were dropped from "

Isham's Octoroons John William Isham (1866 – September 24, 1902) was an American vaudeville impresario who was known for his ''Octoroons'' and ''Oriental America'' shows. These had their roots in traditional minstrel shows but included chorus girls, sketches and o ...

", one of the first African American companies to break from the minstrel style performance. They then put together a number of small productions including ''A Lucky Coon'', ''

Sons of Ham ''Sons of Ham'' was a 1900 musical staged in the United States. Will Marion Cook wrote the music and Jesse A. Shipp the book. It was a farce, with Bert Williams and George Walker portraying two young men mistaken for twin heirs. It opened Octobe ...

'', and ''The Policy Players'', but their ultimate goal was to produce and star in their own Broadway musical. So they thought back to the times in

and produced ''

In Dahomey ''In Dahomey: A Negro Musical Comedy'' is a landmark 1903 American musical comedy described by theatre historian Gerald Bordman as "the first full-length musical written and played by blacks to be performed at a major Broadway house."Bordman, Ge ...

'' (1903) alongside Paul Laurence Dunbar,

Jesse A. Shipp Jesse Allison Shipp, Sr. (March 24, 1864 in Cincinnati, Ohio - May 1, 1934 in Jamaica, Queens, New York)Bandanna Land ''Bandanna Land'' (also known as ''In Bandanna Land'') is a musical from 1908. The book was written by Jesse A. Shipp, lyrics by Alex Rogers ''(aka'' Alec) Rogers ''(né'' Alexander Claude Rogers; 1876–1930), and music composed primarily by ...

'' (1908) also stood high in the Williams and Walker claim to fame. Their dreams of stardom come to life and they took musicals in a new direction, back to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. George Walker died during the run of ''Bandanna Land'' and his wife

Ada Overton Walker Aida Overton Walker (February 14, 1880 – October 11, 1914), also billed as Ada Overton Walker and as "The Queen of the Cakewalk", was an American vaudeville performer, actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, and wife of vaudevillian George ...

substituted for him during the final week of the run.

Crossover shows

By 1911, Ernest Hogan, Bob Cole, and George Walker had died. Will Marion Cook and the Johnson brothers, James and J. Rosamond, had pursued new careers and Bert Williams moved to the '' Ziegfeld Follies'' and black musical theater went into a hiatus. In 1915

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

composer

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin ( 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Because of the fame achieved for his ragtime compositions, he was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one ra ...

attempted to stage an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

Treemonisha in Harlem but the show was a financial and critical failure and Joplin was ruined and retreated into retirement until his death in 1917. In May 1921, the surprising hit ''

Shuffle Along ''Shuffle Along'' is a musical composed by Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle, and a book written by the comedy duo Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. One of the most notable all-Black hit Broadway shows, it was a landmark in African-America ...

'' made its way to

with almost $18,000 in debt. "One of the most popular black shows of the 1920s; began to tinker with the pattern of segregation". The creators of the astronomical point in history are The Dixie Duo,

Noble Sissle Noble Lee Sissle (July 10, 1889 – December 17, 1975) was an American jazz composer, lyricist, bandleader, singer, and playwright, best known for the Broadway musical ''Shuffle Along'' (1921), and its hit song "I'm Just Wild About Harry". Ea ...

and Eubie Blake, who met at a party in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in 1915. Their career was brief but successful. "''Shuffle Along'' was a milestone in the development of the black musical, and it became the model by which all black musicals were judged until well into the 1930s."

F. E. Miller Flournoy Eakin Miller (14 April 1885 – 6 June 1971), sometimes credited as F. E. Miller, was an American entertainer, actor, lyricist, producer and playwright. Between about 1905 and 1932 he formed a popular comic duo, Miller and Lyles, with ...

and

Aubrey Lyles Aubrey Lee Lyles (8 January 1884 – 28 July 1932), sometimes credited as A. L. Lyles, was an American vaudeville performer, playwright, songwriter, and lyricist. He appeared with Flournoy E. Miller as Miller and Lyles as a popular African-A ...

, who wrote the book for ''

'' (1921) had met in 1906, and began performing at the "Pekin Theater Stock Company" near

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

from 1906 to 1909, along with other African American stars such as Harry Lawrence Freeman. In 1921, Miller and Lyles appeared in a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

made in Photokinema, a sound-on-disc process, singing their composition "De Ducks", while Sissle and Blake made three films in the

Lee De Forest Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor and a fundamentally important early pioneer in electronics. He invented the first electronic device for controlling current flow; the three-element "Audion" triode va ...

Phonofilm sound-on-film process in 1923. These short films are a record of music similar to the work these four men were doing on stage at the time...

''Rang Tang''

Rang Tang ''Rang Tang'' is a musical that premiered July 12, 1927, on Broadway at the Royale Theater and ran for 119 performances, including a 14-week overrun, during which, the production moved September 12, 1927, to the Majestic – finishing October 24 ...

'' was premiered July 12, 1927, on Broadway at the Royale Theater and ran for 119 performances, including a 14-week overrun, finishing at the Majestic October 24, 1927.

Lew Leslie's ''Blackbirds''

In 1928, white producer and director

Lew Leslie Lew Leslie (born Lewis Lessinsky; April 15, 1888 – March 10, 1963) was an American writer and producer of Broadway shows. Leslie got his start in show business in vaudeville in his early twenties. Although white, he was the first major imp ...

staged the first of a popular series of '' Blackbirds'' revues, featuring such talents as singers

Adelaide Hall Adelaide Louise Hall (20 October 1901 – 7 November 1993) was an American-born UK-based jazz singer and entertainer. Her long career spanned more than 70 years from 1921 until her death and she was a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Hal ...

and

Aida Ward Aida Ward (February 11, 1900 – June 23, 1984) was an American jazz singer. Born in Washington, D.C., Ward rose to fame in the 1920s and 1930s in New York, on Broadway and at Harlem's Cotton Club. She appeared alongside Adelaide Hall and Bill "B ...

, dancer extraordinaire

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid African-American entertainer in the United States during the f ...

and top-flight funnyman Tim Moore. Further ''Blackbirds'' revues were staged in 1930 with Ethel Waters,

Buck and Bubbles John William Sublett (February 19, 1902 – May 18, 1986), known by his stage name John W. Bubbles, was an American tap dancer, vaudevillian, movie actor, and television performer. He performed in the duo "Buck and Bubbles", who were the fi ...

, and Flournoy Miller, in 1933 with Edith Wilson, and in 1939 with

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

and Tim Moore. The key to Leslie’s success was the exceptional talent he found. “Leslie managed to build his black revues around one or more dynamic performers, who could carry a modest show to success.” Although these productions showcased black talent, they were almost completely created by white writers and composers. In an interview, Leslie made a remarkable claim that “They (white men) understand the colored man better than he does himself. Colored composers excel at spirituals, but their other songs are just 'what' (dialect for 'white') songs with Negro words."

''Porgy and Bess'', the WPA, ''The Swing Mikado'', and ''Carmen Jones''

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

's ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

'' (1935) – starring Will Marion Cook's wife Abbie Mitchell among many others – is the most famous black musical of the 1930s. It is called a black musical because of the African American cast, even though neither the music or plot is of the “Negro inspiration” like the creators proclaim. "''Porgy and Bess'' marked the nadir in the history of black musical comedy, symbolizing the end of tradition and experimentation in black musical theater on Broadway". This also led the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

to start the Federal Theater Project that established the Negro Unit with programs in 22 cities. This gave a new break to the struggling artists. The Negro Unit avoided musical comedies, but had a few musicals with black cast including Eubie Blake’s ''Swing It'', which closed in 1937 and lessened hope for the Federal Theater Project. However, one black musical comedy succeeded and twisted the new realm of musical theater, ''

The Swing Mikado ''The Swing Mikado'' is a musical theatre adaptation, in two acts, of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 comic opera, ''The Mikado'', with music arranged by Gentry Warden. It featured a setting transposed from Japan to a tropical island. The show was fi ...

'' (1937), a "modernization" of

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

’s classic operetta, ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

''. This was followed by '' The Hot Mikado'' (1939). Another modern version of the classics was

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...

's Broadway musical '' Carmen Jones'' (1943), a version of

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

’s ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' with an all-black cast.Woll, ''Black Musical Theater,'' pg. 189.

Present day

In the late 20th and 21st century, predominantly Black musical theatre shows became more common. Notable shows include '' Once on This Island,'' ''

The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.

,'' '' MJ the Musical'', '' Dreamgirls,'' ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...

,'' '' Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,'' ''

Ain't Too Proud ''Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations'' is a 2018 jukebox musical with music and lyrics by The Temptations and a book by Dominique Morisseau. Based on the story of The Temptations, the musical had a series of regional produc ...

,'' '' Passing Strange,'' and '' The Wiz.'' '' Sister Act'' is led by a Black character while ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'' features multiple Black characters, ensemble members and a story about integration.

Michael R. Jackson Michael R. Jackson (born 1981) is an American playwright, composer, and lyricist, best known for his musical ''A Strange Loop'', which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2022 Tony Award for Best Musical. He is originally from Detroit, M ...

's A Strange Loop won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2020, becoming the first African American musical to win this award.

References

{{African American topics African-American theatre Musical theatre