A Trip to Coontown
American musical comedy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]