Black Patti Troubadours at the Grand Theater

In 1905 the Black Patti Troubadours appeared in Sandusky at the Grand Theater (on Water and Jackson Streets, originally known as the Sandusky Opera House). The Black Patti Troubadours were a group of African American performers who performed musical comedy. They traveled throughout the United States between 1896 and 1915. The group was centered around a talented performer, Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones. 

Image from the Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/images/at0155.2s.jpg

Madame Jones (as she was commonly identified) had a trained operatic voice, and the local press of her day compared her to the well known opera singer Adelina Patti. Madame Jones was the first African American performer at Wallack's Theatre in Boston in the late 1880’s, and sang at the White House for President and Mrs. Harrison in 1892. She sang in concerts in the United States, South America, and in Europe.  After facing racial discrimination, Madame Jones formed her own entertainment troupe known as the Black Patti Troubadours.

Looney Dreamland was the name of the show in 1905. Voelckel and Nolan were the managers of the Black Patti Troubadours at that time. The show, staged by Robert Cole, was advertised as “a musical visit to Dreamland.”

Madame Jones sang “My Dear Southern Home,” “At  Home,” and “Old Man Moon” in the second act. She performed the leading role in the final act of the evening, a condensed opera performance.

The Black Patti Troubadours also had appeared in Sandusky on November 1, 1898. The performance, at the same location (then called the Nielsen Opera House), featured comedy, songs, a cake walk, and operatic masterpieces. An article in the November 1, 1898 issue of the Sandusky Star reported that the Troubadours had “irresistible and fascinating charm” during their stage performance. The Black Patti Troubadours were considered “one of the marvels of the metropolis” during their 1898 run in New York City.

To learn more about Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones, you can read or listen to an NPR story from 2007.

Opera at Cedar Point

An article in the “Twenty Five Years Ago” feature of the Sandusky Star Journal of February 26, 1932 featured an announcement which had appeared in the February 26, 1907 issue of the Star Journal. Bradford Mills, after conferring with G.A. Boeckling, signed a contract to provide eight weeks of comic opera for the 1907 summer season. Mr. Mills was the director of the Toledo Conservatory of Music at that time. On August 16, 1907, the newspaper stated that “The Colonial Opera Company, under the direction of Bradford Mills of the Toledo Conservatory of Music will close a most successful engagement at the Cedar Point Theater.” One of the comic operas performed at Cedar Point in 1907 was Lecocq’s Girofle-Girofla. The opera was about the twin daughters of the governor of a Spanish province who was in financial difficulties. Miss Juanita Rush of Toledo, Ohio portrayed both the daughters. Costumes for the production were supplied by the Toledo Conservatory of Music, and the piano used at Cedar Point was supplied from the Starr Piano Company of Toledo. Opera didn't last very long at Cedar Point, however, because people were more interested in vaudeville at that time.