''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 Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...

to be performed at a major

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

house."Bordman, Gerald, ''Musical Theatre: A Chronicle'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978), p. 190. It features music by

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 ...

, book by Jesse A. Shipp, and lyrics by poet

Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American C ...

. It was written by Jesse A. Shipp as a satire on the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...

back-to-Africa movement The back-to-Africa movement was based on the widespread belief among some European Americans in the 18th and 19th century United States that African Americans would want to return to the continent of Africa. In general, the political movement wa ...

of the earlier nineteenth century. ''In Dahomey'' is regarded as a marquee turning point for African-American representation in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

theater. It opened on February 18, 1903, at the New York Theatre, starring

George Walker George Walker may refer to: Arts and letters * George Walker (chess player) (1803–1879), English chess player and writer *George Walker (composer) (1922–2018), American composer * George Walker (illustrator) (1781–1856), author of ''The Co ...

and

Bert Williams Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian-born American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He is credited as being ...

, two iconic figures of vaudeville entertainment at the time. The musical ran for 53 completed performances and had two tours in the United States and one tour of the United Kingdom.Riis, Thomas L., ''Just Before Jazz: Black Musical Theater in New York, 1890-1915'' (London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989), p. 91 In total, ''In Dahomey'' ran for a combined four years.

Production history

Produced by McVon Hurtig and Harry Seamon, ''In Dahomey'' was the first to star African-American performers

and

, two of the leading comedians in America at the time. ''In Dahomey'' opened on February 18, 1903, at the New York Theatre, and closed on April 4, 1903 after 53 performances (then considered a successful run). It had a tour in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, followed by a highly successful tour of the United States, which lasted a total of four years. It was the first American black musical to be performed abroad. The musical was revived on Broadway, opening at the Grand Opera House on August 27, 1904 and closing on September 10, 1904 after 17 performances. Bert Williams (as Shylock Homestead), George Walker (as Rareback Pinkerton) and Aida Overton Walker (as Rosetta Lightfoot) reprised their roles.

Tours in England and America

Based on the show's New York success, the producers of ''In Dahomey'' transferred the entire production to England on April 28, 1903, with a staging at the Shaftesbury Theatre, followed by a provincial tour around England. This was capped by a command performance celebrating the ninth birthday of the eldest son of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

at Buckingham Palace. ''In Dahomey'' was heralded as "the most popular musical show in London." After a year touring England and Scotland, ''In Dahomey'' returned to New York. It reopened on August 27, 1904, at the Grand Opera House. This was followed by a major 40-week tour across the United States. It played such cities as

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, California;

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

; and

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Missouri; turning in a profit of $64,000.

Themes

Featuring the renowned comic pair of Bert Williams and George W. Walker, the show was the first to introduce a critical discourse of African Imperialism into the vaudeville theatre scene. Walker and Williams were said to have emphasized some of the most important components of early 20th-century Black musicals: fast-changing scenery using tableau (presumably painted backdrops), improvisation, traditional Black-facing, heavy

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

, and interpolation of songs borrowed from other original source-texts.

Synopsis

The story tells of two conmen from Boston who, having found a pot of gold, devise a plan to move to Africa to colonize Dahomey (present-day

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

) with a group of poor American blacks. Having suffered bad luck, the conmen, Shylock Homestead (played by

) and Rareback Pinkerton (

) are sent to Florida to con Cicero Lightfoot (Pete Hampton), the president of a colonization society. To his surprise, Pinkerton learns that Homestead is rich, and arranges to become his trustee to gain access to Homestead's wealth. Once having been successful with that, Pinkerton struts around, acting as a

dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle des ...

, or a refined figure in black society. Upon realizing Pinkerton's schemes, Homestead refuses to continue to support Pinkerton's acts, and the show culminates with a spectacular

cakewalk The cakewalk was a dance developed from the "prize walks" (dance contests with a cake awarded as the prize) held in the mid-19th century, generally at get-togethers on Black slave plantations before and after emancipation in the Southern Uni ...

. In other sources, ''In Dahomey'' is described as following the attempts of two con men (played by Bert Williams and George Walker) charged with recovering a lost heirloom to be flipped for profit. The search for the heirloom crosses paths with a colonization society that intends to settle pioneers in Dahomey. The plot of the original source-text differs, according to many sources, but all agree there were three primary locales in ''In Dahomey'':

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Gatorville (Florida), and Dahomey. A February 1903 New York Theatre program has been found that printed a synopsis that generally concurs with the scenes depicted in extant scripts. The recovered synopsis reads:

Importance

''In Dahomey'' marked an important milestone in the evolution of the American

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

. Its composer

combined the "high operetta style" he had studied with the relatively new form of

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 J ...

in the finale "The Czar of Dixie". According to John Graziano, author of ''Black Theatre USA'', it was "the first African American show. The score made use of the "high operetta style" that synthesized successfully the various genres of American musical theatre popular at the beginning of the twentieth century— minstrelsy,

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

, and

." Significantly, the production of ''In Dahomey'' marked the first full-length African American musical to be staged in an indoor venue on Broadway, premiering at the New York Theatre on February 18, 1903. The earlier ''Clorindy'' was produced in 1898 at the Roof Garden of a Broadway theater. During its four-year tour, ''In Dahomey'' proved one of the most successful musical comedies of its era.Hatch, James. V. ''Black Theatre USA'' (New York: The Free Press, 1996), pp. 64-65 The show helped make its composer, lyricist, and leading performers household names. ''In Dahomey'' was the first black musical to have its score published (albeit in the UK, not the US). The play is thought to have marked a significant shift in black theatre performance. Limited by a demand for the comedy of ethnic and racial stereotypes— particularly black stereotypes as depicted through minstrel performance— African-American performers were restricted largely to perform variations of the "darky" and Chinese people as caricatures. While still featuring such racial caricatures, ''In Dahomey'' simultaneously builds on depictions of black characters. It creates a significant alternative to the dominant representations of blacks in the theatre during its era. As the first show with an entirely African-American cast, ''In Dahomey'' is said to have been met with hostility from some. One ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' report mentioned "troublemakers" who had warned for the play being the initiation of a potential

race war An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's positio ...

, stressing in its mostly positive review that "the Negroes were in heaven". The play ran for the whole season with considerable success and without incidents. After 59 performances, the troupe was invited to play in London for six weeks, touring England and France for a couple of months after that.

Music

''In Dahomey'' captures much of the perspective of early 20th-century Broadway. Many songs feature classic vaudevillian elements and dramatic flexibility. Fewer than a half-dozen songs were topically linear to ''In Dahomey''s driving narrative. Only two songs, "My Dahomian Queen" and "On Broadway in Dahomey Bye and Bye", refer to the locations and plot integration. Many songs, such as "Brown-Skin Baby Mine", "My Castle on the Nile", "Evah Dahkey Is a King", "When It's All Goin' Out and Nothin' Comin In", and "Good Evenin'", have been performed in other vaudevillian Broadway shows.

Musical numbers

Original cast

In its entirety, ''In Dahomey'' featured plenty more secondary characters than its opening stage at the Harry de Jur theatre could comfortably hold.

Later works

Walker and Williams produced two more musicals featuring them as the stars, known by the full titles as ''Williams and Walker In Abyssinia'' and ''Walker and Williams in Bandanna Land'' (1907). These works had different themes, staging and locales.

Cultural references

Percy Grainger Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...

wrote a virtuosic concert

rag Rag, rags, RAG or The Rag may refer to: Common uses * Rag, a piece of old cloth * Rags, tattered clothes * Rag (newspaper), a publication engaging in tabloid journalism * Rag paper, or cotton paper Arts and entertainment Film * ''Rags'' (1915 ...

entitled ''In Dahomey (Cakewalk Smasher)'', in which he blended tunes from Cook's show and

Arthur Pryor Arthur Willard Pryor (September 22, 1869 – June 18, 1942) was a trombone virtuoso, bandleader, and soloist with the Sousa Band. He was a prolific composer of band music, his best-known composition being "The Whistler and His Dog". In lat ...

's popular cakewalk number, " A Coon Band Contest".Ould, Barry Peter (1996)
Grainger piano music
(pdf). Hyperion Records. Retrieved 2011-09-16. In this tribute to contemporary African-American music, the clash of the two tunes creates what has been called "a page of almost Ivesian dissonance". Grainger may have seen Cook's ''In Dahomey'' on stage in London in 1903. He started composing his rag that year, completing the score six years later in 1909.

Song from ''Show Boat''

In 1894 the comedian Bert Williams was hired to play an African "native" at the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894. The Dahomey natives who had been in the

1893 Chicago World's Fair The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

were late reaching San Francisco, where they were again supposed to occupy the African pavilion. Having learned of the use of African and other foreign people in exhibits at the fairs,

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...

and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote a song, "In Dahomey", for their 1927 musical, ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

.'' Intended as the last number in Act II, Scene I, "In Dahomey" is performed by a purported group of African natives featured in an exhibit at the

. The song begins with the "natives" chanting in what is supposedly an African language. After the watching crowd disperses, they switch to singing in an American dialect, revealing they are American blacks playing roles, not Dahomey natives.Mary Kay Duggan, "Publishing California Sheet Music: San Francisco Midwinter Exposition," ''Quarterly Newsletter of the Book Club of California'' (2010). The lyrics expressed the relief of the "natives" that they could soon go home to their New York apartments. This scene earlier features the "Act II Opening (Sports of Gay Chicago)" and the hit love song "Why Do I Love You?" The song was never a hit. After the 1946 revival of ''Show Boat'' on Broadway, the song "In Dahomey" was omitted from the score of ''Show Boat'' and from the cast album recorded of that Broadway production. It has never been used in a film version of the show. It is one of the few songs having no connection to the musical's storyline. The song was recorded three times as part of the full musical: in 1928 by the original chorus who performed in the first London production of the show; in 1988 by the Ambrosian Chorus with

John McGlinn John Alexander McGlinn III (September 18, 1953 – February 14, 2009) was an American conductor and musical theatre archivist. He was one of the principal proponents of authentic studio cast recordings of Broadway musicals, using original ...

conducting, who included it in his landmark 1988

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

recording of the complete score of ''Show Boat''; and in 1993 for the Studio Cast recording of the 1946 revival version.

1999 revival

A revival of ''In Dahomey'', of title and songs only, was produced at the

Henry Street Settlement The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founde ...

from June 23-July 25, 1999 in New York City. It was written and directed by Shauneille Perry, who created a new script inspired by characters and songs from the original.Kenneth Jones, "First Legit African-American Musical, In Dahomey, Inspires New Version in NYC June 23-July 25"
''Playbill'', 23 June 1999; accessed 10 February 2019

References

External links

* Jones, Kenneth.
First Legit African-American Musical, In Dahomey, Inspires New Version in NYC June 23-July 25
, ''Playbill'', 22 June 1999 * *
''In Dahomey'' (Grand Opera House, 1904) at Playbill Vault

"'In Dahomey' at Music of the United States of America (MUSA)
{{Paul Laurence Dunbar Broadway musicals 1903 musicals African-American theatre All-Black cast Broadway shows Works by Paul Laurence Dunbar