A 1911 promotional photograph that appeared in the Harrisburg Daily Independent, April 8, 1911, for an upcoming performance of the Jack Wilson Trio, nationally known black-face entertainers, who were appearing at the Orpheum Theatre, Harrisburg, the following week.
The caption for the photo stated the following:
JACK WILSON, CELEBRATED COMEDIAN, ON ORPHEUM BILL NEXT WEEK
Ever since they left us, we’ve been wondering when we were going to get the Jack Wilson Trio here again, those three clever black-face entertainers who call their disconnected nonsense, “An Upheaval in Darktown.” This week they are presenting their side-splitting hit at the Alhambra Theatre in New York City, and several days ago, the news reached the Orpheum box office that they were to grace next week’s bill as the added headliner with Joseph Hart’s most successful headliner, a comedy playlet called, “A Night in a Turkish Bath,” with ten capable players.
But Jack Wilson will be remembered as the comedian who came on the boards and sent the house into convulsive laughter with original nonsense and funny business that he burlesqued from all the acts that went before him. He wore an extreme cut of a sheath gown and other extreme feminine fashions and since then he has been declared by critics to be the fashion plate black-face comedian. Jack will probably wear a “harem” skirt this time. If you want to see the latest spring styles, girls, you’ll want to look over Jack’s outfit. He’s up-to-date, both as a dresser and a comedian. And if you want a good laugh, too, you’ll want to see Jack, for they say he’s better than ever.
The Harrisburg newspaper were widely available in the Lykens Valley area and the residents there had the convenience of multiple round trip trains available daily to the county seat and State capital. Black-face minstrel show were well established in the Lykens Valley area, but were mostly put on by “local talent,” so these Harrisburg shows gave the aspiring locals a chance to witness national talent and copy the routines.
White men and women, who blackened their faces, and performed in the local shows, emphasizing negative stereotypical behavior that they attributed to African Americans, for the purpose of getting laughs were often the most prominent people in the community.
This post is part of a series in which news articles, photographs and other “memorabilia” are presented to show how “black-face” was infused into the culture of the Lykens Valley area. Readers are invited to submit photos and recollections on how long this offensive “entertainment” lasted and what locals thought of it as part of the culture of the area.
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News articles from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.