Bryant's Minstrels was a

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 ...

minstrel troupe that performed in the mid-19th century, primarily 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 ...

. The troupe was led by the O'Neill brothers from upstate New York, who took the stage name Bryant.Mahar 38.

History

The eldest brother Jerry, a veteran of the Ethiopian Serenaders, Campbell's Minstrels, E.P. Christy's Minstrels and other troupes, sang and played

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

and bones. Dan Bryant, who had toured with Losee's Minstrels, the Sable Harmonists and Campbell's Minstrels, sang and played

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

. Neil (Cornelius) Bryant played

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

and

flutina The Flutina is an early precursor to the diatonic button accordion, having one or two rows of treble buttons, which are configured to have the tonic of the scale, on the "draw" of the bellows. There is usually no bass keyboard: the left hand ...

. Other members, including English-born fiddler Phil Isaacs, rounded out the original roster. All of the minstrels danced and acted in comedy segments, which were often

improvised Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

.Nathan 228. Dan Bryant Photo

Bryant's Minstrels first performed on 23 February 1857 at Mechanics' Hall on Broadway. The Bryants each brought with them the acts and songs they had learned and perfected while playing in other troupes. These older, proven pieces created a nostalgic format of primarily

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

-themed material that seemed to ignore contemporary discussion over

abolition Abolition refers to the act of putting an end to something by law, and may refer to: * Abolitionism, abolition of slavery * Abolition of the death penalty, also called capital punishment * Abolition of monarchy *Abolition of nuclear weapons *Abol ...

. Songs on the bill included Stephen Foster's " Gentle Annie" and the Christy Minstrels' "See, Sir, See" and "Down in Alabama". The Bryants proved a hit with audiences and critics alike. One reviewer wrote that "it is gratifying to find that we have yet among us those who will not suffer the original type of negro eccentricity to die out altogether. The connecting link . . . are icthe Bryant's Minstrels . . . and it is, therefore, to be hoped for that they will continue as they have begun, and stick to the 'old style' entertainment." Over the next few months, they became one of New York's more popular acts. ''

The Clipper ''The Clipper'' was a weekly labor-orientated newspaper published in Hobart, Tasmania, from 8 April 1893 until 25 December 1909, before its merger with the '' Daily Post'' in 1910. History Its first editor was James Paton, a Christian sociali ...

'' wrote on 20 June that "The different bands of Minstrels, in this city, have experienced a wonderful falling off in patronage since the advent among us of the 'Bryants.'" Another review spoke of "a combination of comical talent . . . never before witnessed in Ethiopian Minstrelsy . . . ." Even a nationwide economic downturn in 1858 did not hurt their revenues. The Mechanics' Hall remained their primary venue until May 1866. Dan Bryant in blackface

Over the troupe's life, members came and went. In October or November 1858,

Dan Emmett Daniel Decatur Emmett (October 29, 1815June 28, 1904) was an American songwriter, entertainer, and founder of the first troupe of the blackface minstrel tradition, the Virginia Minstrels. He is most remembered as the composer of the song "Dixie ...

joined as primary

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

for what would prove the most prolific period of his career. He also performed

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

, banjo, drum, fife, and vocals. The song "

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

", usually attributed to him, was first performed on stage by the Bryants during an 1859 concert. The final act of most minstrel shows of the time were blackface

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

s of mainstream theater, but "Dixie" and songs like it prompted an industry-wide revival of

-related material. Emmett's songs proliferated among rival companies. Emmett's influence also helped mature the

walkaround A walkaround (also spelled walk-around or walk around, or called a horay) was a dance from the blackface minstrel shows of the 19th century. The walkaround began in the 1840s as a dance for one performer, but by the 1850s, many dancers or the en ...

from a simple dance to a complete song-and-dance routine. Raw Recruits cover

Next to Christy's Minstrels, the Bryants were the longest-lasting minstrel troupe to have formed before the Civil War. Jerry Bryant died in 1861, but during the war, Bryant's Minstrels carried on, populating their shows with pro-

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

songs such as "One Country and One Flag" and "Raw Recruits", as well as Irish characterizations and songs such as "

Finnegan's Wake "Finnegan's Wake" is an Irish-American comic ballad, first published in New York in 1864. Various 19th-century variety theatre performers, including Dan Bryant of Bryant's Minstrels, claimed authorship but a definitive account of the song's origi ...

" and "Lanigan's Ball". In May 1866, Bryant's Minstrels left Mechanics' Hall, which burned down not long after, to minstrel promoter

Charles "Charlie" White Charles T. "Charlie" or "Charley" White (1821–1891), was an early blackface minstrel entertainer. Born June 4, 1821 in Newark, New York, White moved with his family at the age of two to New York City, where, before he launched his career as ...

and went on a road trip to San Francisco. Dan Emmett left the troupe in July, though he occasionally continued to compose for them. On their return to New York in 1868, the Bryants took over the Olympic Theatre in

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

on East 14th Street and later moved into their own "Opera House" on 23rd Street. The late 1860s and 1870s saw minstrel production grow increasingly elaborate and expensive and troupe sizes enlarge.Saxton 76. The Bryants stuck with their traditional formula and their popularity waned as a result. Adding the African American dwarf

Thomas Dilward Thomas Dilward (c. 1817–1887) was an entertainer who appeared in blackface minstrel shows from 1853 until the early 1880s under the name Japanese Tommy. He was also sometimes billed as "The African 'Tom Thumb'" and the "African Dwarf Tommy".

to their ranks in the late 1860s (under the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

"Japanese Tommy") did little to stem the tide. Dan Bryant died in his New York City home in 1875, but the troupe carried on for seven more years under the management of his surviving brother Neil.Rice 106

Notes

References

*Mahar, William J. (1999). ''Behind the Burnt Cork Mask: Early Blackface Minstrelsy and Antebellum American Popular Culture''. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. *Nathan, Hans (1962). ''Dan Emmett and the Rise of Early Negro Minstrelsy''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. * Saxton, Alexander (1996). "Blackface Minstrelsy", ''Inside the Minstrel Mask: Readings in Modern Minstrelsy''. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. . *Toll, Robert C. (1974). ''Blacking Up: The Minstrel Show in Nineteenth-century America''. New York: Oxford University Press.
New York Times, April 12, 1875.
*Rice, Edward LeRoy, (1911). ''Monarchs of Minstrelsy''. New York: Kenny Publishing. *Irish Songs. "Finigan's Wake: The Popular Irish Song Sung by Mr. Dan Bryant, with Enthusiastic Applause." New York: William A. Pond & Co. (1864), "Pat Malloy: Originally Sung with Great Success by Mr. Dan Bryant..." New York: William A. Pond & Co. (1865), "Lanigan's Ball: The Popular Irish Song Sung with Enthusiastic Applause by Dan Bryant, of Bryant's Minstrels, New York, Words by Tony Pastor, Arranged for the Piano-Forte by Charles Glover, Music by Neil Bryant" New York: William A. Pond & Co. (1863). {{authority control Musical groups established in 1857 Blackface minstrel troupes American comedy troupes 1857 establishments in New York (state)