by Paul R. Spitzzeri
As we commemorate the Juneteenth holiday, we go back to 1876, several months after the failure of the Temple and Workman and the worsening economic conditions of the time, and the appearance in Los Angeles of the collective of African-American entertainers known as the Original Georgia Minstrels, offering comedy, dance and song, in June, with a return in December, as well. When the Angel City underwent its first significant and sustained period of growth during the late 1860s and first half of the subsequent decade, the little city increasingly became a stop for troupes of actors, musicians and other performers touring California and the West.
It was rare, however, for Black performers to come to town, though earlier in the year, the prominent Tennessee Jubilee Singers, a Fisk University group of men and women, gave well-received concerts at the Merced Theater—the building still stands next to the Pico House just south of the Plaza—and the German-American Turnverein Hall. It may be that the success of that visit encouraged the booking of the minstrel act, as well.
As we look at the local press coverage of the Georgia ensemble’s appearances here, we will see similar descriptions and statements, including patently racist ones, to those from earlier in 1876 when the Tennessee troupe came to town. Still, for Los Angeles’ African-American population who attended the performances, there must have been a like level of emotion and pride to see others of their race on the stage entertaining capacity crowds who were, by all accounts, enraptured by the shows.
Most minstrel shows were conducted by white persons in blackface in overt racist stereotypes of all kinds regarding Black people, though by the 1840s and 1850s, some African-American performers appeared in such performances, as well. In October 1861, during the early days of the Civil War, Brooker’s Negro Minstrels, an all-Black ensemble named for a member named John Brooker, performed in Macon, Georgia.
This was followed by Brooker’s Georgia Minstrels, comprised of fifteen former slaves and managed by white man, William H. Lee, that began performing in Macon in summer 1865, just after the end of the Civil War and around the time that the news reached Galveston, Texas that the conflict was over and the slaves on that island community were freed. The group toured in 1865-1866, including in Louisville and Chicago, where Charles B. [Barney] Hicks, an African-American comedian, was their agent, before Samuel Hague took the troupe to his native England in summer 1866.
In an interview later in life, Hicks, an African-American performer, stated that he formed a Georgia Minstrels group in Indianapolis during 1865. Notably, a late September event in Chicago included both “a complimentary benefit to Chas. B. Hicks, Comedian” and “Positively [the] Last Night of Brooker’s Georgia Minstrels.” Some sources suggest Hicks ran the troupe through 1872, including a stint a couple of years earlier in Europe and then in England under Hague as the Great American Slave Troupe.
At this point, apparently, Hicks and/or Hague sold out to Charles Callender, who retained Hicks as a manager for a period for what was refashioned as Callender’s Georgia Minstrels. One source with a great deal of interesting information stated that Hicks left in late 1874 to form his rival group of Georgia Minstrels, while Callender continued with his organization. Yet, by June 1876, Hicks was back when the troupe came to the Angel City.
The Los Angeles Star of the 22nd reported that “this popular troupe of sable hue commence[s] a short season next Monday in this city” and added that it was “numerically and artistically strong,” while, wherever they played, they attracted the “most fashionable of audiences.” Given this, the paper concluded, “we bespeak for them crowded houses during their short sojourn here.” In stating that agent Frank D. Wade notified it of the Monday appearance, though the venue was not then known, the Los Angeles Herald of the same day commented “the Georgians are a first-class company, and they will give us a show worth seeing.”
That evening’s Los Angeles Express published an ad proclaiming an “Announcement Extraordinary!” that the Merced Theatre would host “The Widely Famous and Justly Celebrated Original Georgia Minstrels!” also called “The Great Southern Slave Troupe!” and “The King Laugh Makers!” The ensemble was comprised of twenty “Genuine Negro Artists,” a quartet of end men (the main comedians, so named because they stood at the end of a semi-circle formed by the performers) eight “Eminent Comedians,” a “quartette of unequaled excellence,” meaning singers, and the Champion Serenade Band.
Notably, the venue’s managers issued a card at the end of the ad informing readers that the German Turnverein Society decided, the previous evening, to forego making their hall available to touring companies, so the Merced heads “wish to state that nothing but sheer necessity compelled the occupancy of any other than what has been styled the ‘popular hall.'” They concluded that they hoped “the public will appreciate their efforts in presenting this entertainment, the very acme of excellence” and for which “no pains or expense will be spared” for what was presumed to be “the most enjoyable [performance] of the decade.”
The following day’s edition of the paper remarked that “the theatre has been overhauled and has a good auditorium,” suggesting that the size of the troupe would otherwise have posed a problem for the Merced. The Express added that “the press has pronounced” the Original Georgia Minstrels “the most meritorious troupe of minstrels now playing in the United States” and that it would change the program every night as it “has an almost unlimited repertoire.” While the performers were all Black, the paper concluded,
The people of Los Angeles will be delighted with this excellent company, and will not fail to extend them a patronage equal to their approved claims as first-class representatives of the burnt-cork profession [this usually meaning whites appearing in blackface.]
The Star of the 24th echoed that the “Merced Theatre has been put in thorough condition for the reception of the Georgia Minstrels” as it propounded that, given its renown elsewhere, “we have no doubt they will well sustain that reputation here.” The same day’s Express informed its readers that “a rare treat of negro minstrelsy is in store for the people of Los Angeles” mentioning that “they will give us a taste of delicious music, interspersed with darkey witticisms, followed by plantation sketches, humorous acts and roaring interludes,” so large crowds were anticipated.
The opening day’s edition of the paper commented that “the Georgia Minstrels paraded through the streets today with their own brass band,” with two-dozen performers in black dress suits and stovepipe hats “attracting universal attention” as they marched through the main thoroughfares and were described as “a fine looking body of men.”
The edition of the Star on the 27th commented that the ensemble was welcomed by such an audience “as the old Merced Theatre has seldom seen assembled within its walls,” while “their splendid performance was welcomed by round after round of hearty applause.” Words failed, the paper went on, to convey the effect of the show as “it requires to be seen to be appreciated and understood.”
From start to finish “it is a series of side-splitting acts” with a balance of sentiment” while “a tableau [that] exhibited an old-fashioned cotton-picking scene” was such that many in the audience “recognized its truthfulness.” Still, the paper ended its brief review with the observation that, as a reflection of how much Los Angeles grew from 1870 to the present and the venue was already outdated and outmoded,
It is much to be regretted, however, that a building having more capacity than the Merced Theatre could not have been obtained, as the treasury of the Minstrels would have benefited thereby and the audience furnished with better accommodations.
The Express had a more expansive review. It also stated that the house was full, with every box and seat taken, while, contrary to what would be expected when fire codes were introduced and enforced, “the aisles and the side spaces were covered with people.” The two-hour performance moved quickly and the band was praised as professional and polished and singers were also given kudos.
Of three comedians, also including Charley Crusoe and Jimmy Milles, Billy Wilson “is the leading card, and his strong point is in his marvelous mouth,” deemed to be “the most wonderful potato-trap ever seen.” The particular construction and flexibility was such that “his lips, thick and flexible, he can elongate until they look like the sucker of an elephant’s proboscis [trunk], and when he opened his mouth to its full dimensions it looked, figuratively, like a yawning chasm.” Beyond this physical quality, Wilson possessed “a great deal of native humor” and “is a finished artist in his line.”
Also specifically cited were master banjoist Jake Hamilton, the team of Keenan and Morton and their acrobatic and singing act, Bowman and Matlock and their vocal duet, and Crusoe’s soliloquy on “What shall we do with our girls?” The recently returned Barney Hicks “sang a solo very finely” and Bowman and Matlock delivered a well-received clog dance before the ending ensemble piece, “Trabbling Back to Georgia” was considered “a most enjoyable plantation frolic.” The show was “a decided hit” and the paper felt “they will give a long season here to full houses.”
Yet, the Express was compelled to note that as the curtain rose and the troupe came out “the stage was so small that they had to sit scattered instead of in the orthodox half circle” and, while “the little theatre was fairly bursting with life,” the crowded condition was such that “the heat was very oppressive.” It was, however, noticed that, as was stated when the Tennessee Jubilee Singers appeared five months prior,
The audience was beautifully mixed, their [sic] being no distinction observed as to color, but all seated without regard to race.
For the second evening’s appearance, said the Express, “a number of changed were made in the performance, and some new music was introduced” while Wilson’s contortions “amused and astonished” and “the entire company performed with the greatest acceptance,” so that the show “was greatly enjoyed by all.”
The Herald commented that the Merced was again packed to the gills, while “the programme was entirely changed,” excepting a song called “The Precious Baby” and other “lucky hits which demanded repetition. New songs were noted and Crusoe’s second exposition “waked up the house,” while the concluding skit, “Love in Georgia,” was highly regarded, leading the paper to conclude, “the performance was an immense success and amounted to another ovation.”
The Star of the 28th remarked on another parade by the troupe, observing that horses hitched to posts on Spring Street “having no ear for music, made desperate efforts to break away” until the brass band ceased playing upon which “the animals were soon soothed into quietude.” The paper separately observed that,
The Georgia Minstrels had another overflowing house last night. The performance of his troupe takes our town by storm. During their stay here their success will be greater than any troupe that has ever exhibited in Los Angeles.
The next day’s Express reported another packed house for a performance with a greatly changed program including “a number of novelties,” while the final performance on the last day of the month was to have “a surprise for our people” and further new elements. Separately, it was noted that the troupe was to join the weekly Sunday trip to the recently founded town of Santa Monica via the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad, of which F.P.F. Temple was founding president and then treasurer, and give a performance at the seaside community’s Pavilion.
The Star of the 30th gushed that,
Their highly original and really excellent entertainments are giving unbounded satisfaction to our citizens, and the capacity of the Merced Theatre has been taxed to its utmost to accommodate the crowds attracted to see them. We are pleased to learn that Manager Davis has secured Turn Verein Hall for [the evenings of 1 and 2 July], as the troupe will show to much better advantage than in their rather present cramped quarters.
After its performances at Santa Monica and the Turnverein Hall, the Minstrels left town, but returned for a three-night stint in mid-December, with the last on the 17th said by the Express to be “one of the finest minstrel performances ever given here” and the season “a profitable one to themselves and an agreeable one to the theatre-going people of Los Angeles,” where, it was concluded, the troupe “won many additional admirers.”
The Star thought it amusing to mention, in its edition of the 15th, that “all of these famous specimens of genuine Georgia soot” were in town to deliver “their popular budget of mirth and comicalities” except Billy Wilson, “we mean his mouth,” who was coming separately on a special train, unless “it isn’t left any where along the road for a water tank.”
It further tried to joke that when the comedian was a boy he fell into a cellar and came back with that, not his mouth, and that, when taking the Southern Pacific from the north on the recently opened line through the mountains north of Los Angeles “he couldn’t only half open it while passing through the San Fernando tunnel.”
The Express of the 16th marked “the keenest appreciation of the laughable witticisms and grotesque impersonations of this talented troupe” who were “perfect masters of their profession” and delivered “so chaste and honest an entertainment.” Everything was touted as top-notch and displaying in full “the versatility of the various members” including some of the best dancing ever witnessed in the city. The popularity of the Minstrels was such that a matinee was added to fulfill demand.
In February 1879, Callender’s Georgia Minstrels came to Los Angeles for a run of shows and we’ll look to put together a post about that at that time next year, so be on the lookout for that.