''How Newtown Prepared'' is an American

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, 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, ...

staged in 1916 by the

Tutt Brothers Salem Tutt Whitney ( Salem Tutt; 15 November 1875 – 12 February 1934) and J. Homer Tutt ( Jacob Homer Tutt; 31 January 1882 – 10 February 1951), known collectively as the Tutt Brothers, were American vaudeville producers, writers, and performe ...

which toured the United States. The musical engaged with current military events of 1916 involving the all-black 10th Cavalry Regiment's involvement in the

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, US Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the para ...

of the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

in February 1916 and the Allied Powers and

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

in Turkey in 1916 during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Plot

Setting: Newtown, United States; a ship on the Atlantic Ocean; and Turkey, 1916 during the events of the Mexican Revolution and World War I The musical begins in the fictional all-black town of Newtown somewhere in the United States where older

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

veterans are at odds over the topic of military preparedness and the use of volunteer militias with the younger citizens of the town. After the town receives word about the all-black 10th Cavalry Regiment's involvement in the

of 1916 during the

, the older and younger citizens of Newtown join together to form a militia to aid the 10th Cavalry Regiment in its cause. Mexican spies invade the town of Newtown but fail in their attempt to dissuade the Newtown militia from joining the 10th Cavalry Regiment. The Mexican spies succeed in tricking the Newton militia to board a vessel controlled by the Mexicans and end up never reaching Mexico. After many misadventures, the Newtown militia ends up in Turkish territory during World War I and are forced to fight for the wrong side against the Allied Powers. The play ends happily when the regiment is rescued by an American ship.

History

Characters depicted included George Washington Bullion, who was part of previous Tutt brother farces including '' George Washington Bullion'' (1910) and ''George Washington Bullion Abroad'' (1915). The show had an African American cast. It was scheduled to play at the Academy of Music in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. It was also booked at the Opera House in

Americus, Georgia Americus is the county seat of Sumter County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,230. It is the principal city of the Americus Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Schley ...

. The show starred the Tutt brothers as well as Blanche Thompson along with a large supporting cast. T. L. Corwell was announced as the show’s manager. It was billed for the Brandeis Theater in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

which advertised it above an upcoming screen of ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'' is a 1915 American Silent film, silent Epic film, epic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and ...

''. The

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra Rick Benjamin is the founder and conductor of the world-renowned Paragon Ragtime Orchestra. Benjamin has an active career as a pianist and tubist as well as an arranger. Early Interest in Ragtime Music Benjamin's interest in ragtime music began i ...

recorded a Clarence G. Wilson song from the show titled ''Zoo-Step''. It is on the album ''Black Manhattan, Volume 3''.

References

{{Reflist Musical comedy plays Musicals about war 1916 musicals African-American musicals Musicals set in the United States Musicals set in Turkey Musicals about World War I Musicals about the Mexican Revolution Musicals set on ships