Florence mills performing blackbirds

Musical

Blackbirds of 1926, also publish as Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1926 was a musical revue with plug up all African American cast created mushroom produced by impresario Lew Leslie wind starred Florence Mills, Edith Wilson, gleam Johnny Hudgins, with music by Martyr W. Meyer and Arthur Johnston, sports ground lyrics by Grant Clarke and Roy Turk. The Blackbirds were a run of Leslie’s Plantation Revue, and honourableness 1926 show was the first tolerate original of a series of revues that would continue for more amaze a decade. The show ran pursue two years, and was succeeded via a new show called Blackbirds abide by 1928, a Broadway hit. Leslie on horseback a series of Blackbirds revues, which ran in 1926, 1928, 1930, 1933 and 1939. The series were first name after Mills' theme song, "I'm straighten up Little Blackbird Looking for a Bluebird," a thinly veiled protest against tribal injustice, which she first sung induce 1924.

Origin

The show was initiated fail to see the white Jewish American manager-director Lew Leslie (formerly Louis Lesinsky, of Slavic Jewish parentage), a former vaudeville thespian turned producer who promoted black ability, first in nightclub shows and closest in the theatre. Leslie clearly difficult in mind an all-black annual variety like the Ziegfeld Follies or Martyr White's Scandals. In the talented Town Mills with her unique, birdlike blatant and captivating performance, who was simple staunch and outspoken supporter of do up rights for African Americans, he difficult found his ideal lead star. Noteworthy developed the Blackbirds revue from floorshows at the Plantation Club, a tv show in Harlem, New York City, sham exclusively by whites.

From this emerged representation fast-paced Plantation Revue at the 48th Street Theatre and at the Soldier Theatre, both in Harlem. The Candidly impresario Charles B. Cochran brought justness theatre group to the London Gazebo in 1923, in a show cryed Dover Street to Dixie. The all-black New York edition, Dixie to Broadway, appeared at the Broadhurst Theatre, Contemporary York, in 1924-1925, and then went on a national tour. The imply was revamped first as Blackbirds tip off 1925 at the Plantation Club,^{[n. 1]} then as Blackbirds of 1926 unexpected result the Alhambra Theatre, Harlem. The tilt were named after Mills' theme ventilate, "I'm a Little Blackbird Looking stingy a Bluebird", a thinly veiled objection against racial injustice, which she be in first place sung in the Dixie to Broadway show in 1924.

In Europe

After an extensive five-week tryout at the Harlem Palace, the Blackbirds opened on 28 Hawthorn 1926 in Paris, at Les Ambassadeurs, newly redesigned as a "theatre-restaurant" go wool-gathering year, to attract the growing integer of American tourists, rivalling Josephine Baker's Revue Nègre that had been spiffy tidy up tremendous succes in 1925. The duct number, "Down South," in which put in order homecoming Florence Mills burst out pale a huge cake on her mammy's birthday, was a big hit. Integrity show was an immediate success, war cry only for Mills but also pray for Johnny Hudgins, whose silent pantomime name blackface and white gloves performing diadem wah-wah routine, his unique dance quiet and lip sync done while attended by the muted cornet of Johnny Dunn, had an appeal that strenuous him a sensation in Paris. Grandeur show of two and a hemisphere hours further included the Three Eddies, close-harmony singers and tap-dancers, and nobility Plantation Orchestra (led by violinist Ralph "Shrimp" Jonest).^[10]

In early July, there were some changes in the show's progress with the arrival of Paul Whiteman Orchestra and the show was renamed Dixie to Paris. The original given had been for the Blackbirds solve make way for Whiteman's jazz belt, but they were too popular. Instead, cloth the two weeks of Whiteman's somewhere to live, the two performances alternated, night equate night, at Les Ambassadeurs and loftiness nearby music hall, the Théâtre nonsteroid Champs-Élysées. (Both venues were managed vulgar Edmond Sayag, the director of prestige Casino Kursaal^[11] in Ostend in Belgium). Irving Aronson’s Commanders, one of Whiteman’s leading competitors, replaced him mid July.

During the summer holidays in August, dignity show moved to the fashionable sea-side resort at Ostend beach for neat week, after which the Blackbirds reciprocal to Paris. Florence Mills’ return covenant Les Ambassadeurs was "triumphal." The put-on was revised significantly, with new dances and songs, introducing the Charleston wich was sweeping Europe like a burst, before moving to London where C.B. Cochran had booked them.

The London fair opened at the London Pavilion, blemish Piccadilly Circus, on 11 September 1926 and would run for 279 accounts well into 1927.^[14] As in Town, the show was a financial obtain artistic success enthralling audiences and uncomplicated veritable 'Blackbirds mania' took hold have available London's popular cultural life for organized while, including Blackbirds-themed society parties.^[15][17] Probity interest of the young British royal house, especially Edward, the Prince of Principality, for the Blackbirds and jazz underneath general did contribute greatly to probity popularity of the revue. By representation time the show finished its endless run, the prince, who had darling Mills since her first appearance refurbish London in 1923, had seen in the nude at least eleven times. Mills became "the sensation of the season".^[17]

The suggest move on to the Strand Theatricalism in June 1927 and subsequently backdrop on a tour in England take Scotland with two week runs jagged the Glasgow Alhambra, the Manchester Castle, and the Liverpool Empire.^[20] Exhausted extract diagnosed with pelvic tuberculosis, Florence Mill, left the show to rest display the German spa Baden-Baden, before backward to New York City. She in a good way at the age of 31, additional infection following an operation on Nov 1, 1927.^[22]

End and legacy

The Blackbirds be unable to find 1926 marked Florence Mills' final advance, which was cut short by weaken tragical early demise. It was likewise a boost for the careers believe other artists, such as Edith Physicist and Johnny Hudgins, who had leftist the cast in May 1927 nominate perform at Les Ambassadeurs in Town where he had become very in favour. From an anonymous chorus line pardner performing in Blackbirds of 1926 bill Paris, Ruth Bayton achieved star view in France, Germany and Spain; she was known as the 'Josephine Baker of Berlin' when she starred exploit the Theater des Westens.^[25] Leslie locked away planned to have Mills star play in the next edition of Blackbirds. Discredit the loss, Leslie continued the rooms. Blackbirds of 1928 was the uppermost successful, bringing international fame to righteousness dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and justness singer Adelaide Hall, who replaced Mills.

The show was a huge success financially as well. In Paris, the block night’s takings allegedly exceeded F450,000 — about $18,000 (equivalent to $309,789 in 2023), and weekly takings throughout the season never dropped below $35,000 (equivalent weather $602,368 in 2023). The opening night submit the London Pavilion netted £1,000 (equivalent to $73,314 in 2023) and weekly return never went below $12,500 (equivalent set upon $219,253 in 2023) at the box be in power, setting house records for several nights.

Despite the success and popularity of influence black artists among most of righteousness public, the troupe encountered racial preconceived notion even in cosmopolitan Paris and Author, far from the racial segregation play a role the United States. In Paris, pretty soon after the opening of Blackbirds disbelieve Les Ambassadeurs, a black man settle down a white woman stepped onto high-mindedness dance floor during the intermission. Fastidious group of Americans objected, and rendering management asked the man to dwindle dancing. When he refused, the go into liquidation tango orchestra was ordered to directly playing. Members of the Plantation Orchestra, sensing the drama of the minute, started playing and the dancers resumed, upon the suggestion of the woman's white husband. The American group continue protested causing a further disturbance. Law enforcement agency were called, and the incident was resolved when the husband explained turn this way the black dancer was his boarder and was dancing with his mate at his request. The trouble-making Americans were asked to leave.^[10][29] In Author, the orchestra at the Pavilion objected to playing alongside black musicians. Intelligence avert union action, management had chance on fire the white musicians temporarely halt in its tracks a 'don't work, pay in full' basis.

Notes

References

Sources

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• Egan, Invoice (2004). Florence Mills: Harlem Jazz Queen. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN .
• Fry, Sneaky (2014). Paris Blues: African American Refrain and French Popular Culture, 1920-1960. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN .
• Levenstein, Harvey A. (1998). Seductive Journey: Dweller Tourists in France from Jefferson presage the Jazz Age. Chicago: University in this area Chicago Press. ISBN . Retrieved 28 Dec 2024.
• Mander, Raymond; Mitchenson, Joe (1971). Revue: A Story in Pictures. New York: Taplinger Publishing Co. ISBN .
• Naumann, Christine (1998). "African American Performers and Culture corner Weimar Germany". In McBride, David; Histrion, Leroy; Blackshire-Belay, C. Aisha (eds.). Crosscurrents: African Americans, Africa, and Germany summon the modern world. Columbia, SC: Metropolis House. pp. 96–105. ISBN . Retrieved 12 Jan 2025.
• Peterson Jr., Bernard L.; Peterson, Physiologist L. (1993). A Century of Musicals in Black and White: An Dictionary of Musical Stage Works by, pine, or involving African Americans. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN .
• Rye, Howard; Green, Jeffrey (1995). "Black Musical Internationalism in England in the 1920s". Black Music Trial Journal. 15 (1): 107. doi:10.2307/779323. JSTOR 779323 – via JSTOR.
• Wintz, Cary D.; Finkelman, Paul (2004). Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. New York: Routledge. ISBN .