in Richmond, Virginia, 1901-1962
June 1, 2024
Much of the information provided in the accompanying PDF about African-American performances in Richmond originated in one of several newspapers (see the end of the table for a full list of sources and abbreviations). The most important source is the Indianapolis Freeman (Indianapolis, Indiana) (IF) weekly newspaper, which billed itself as “an illustrated colored newspaper.” It was national in scope, particularly in its coverage of Black theater news. Two other sources of the performances were the New York Age (NYA) and the Chicago Defender (CD), African-American papers that covered Black entertainment news across the country in different eras. Finally, the Richmond Planet (Virginia) (RP), the local African-American newspaper, also national in scope, was a source for some of the performances; however, the RP did not cover entertainment news in Richmond until approximately 1913 with the opening of the Hippodrome, and even then was somewhat sporadic. (The focus of the RP was usually rather on political news, especially that of race issues.)
Lack of punctuation in original published news articles about African-American performances sometimes makes it difficult to discern individual acts; this may have created errors in the names of some of them as presented in the PDF list. Newspapers of the time were prone to typos, and I have corrected those where possible, trying to make the spellings of names consistent to help in searching. Name spellings themselves often were not consistent; I tried to use the most common spelling or the spelling that is commonly used today when that is known.
When speakers were sponsored at a venue, benefits, or other kinds of events, they are also on this list. When “race films,” films with Black casts intended for Black audiences, are known to have been shown, they also are listed.
The dates provided are the dates the information appeared in the original source. Sometimes, the papers provided the information in advance of an appearance, and sometimes, it appeared afterward; hence, sometimes, more than one set of acts may seem to appear for a theater for a given day. If more specificity is desired, check the original reference (provided) or contact me, and I will try to provide you with the original reference. Vaudeville shows often turned over twice a week during this time period (David Monod, Vaudeville and the Making of Modern Entertainment, 1890-1925), but in some cases (sometimes noted in the table), an act (usually that of a “company”) could stay for several weeks at a time.
The PDF consists of a list by date of the companies and performers who were documented to have appeared here in Richmond, but with the caveat that there were likely quite a few more that have been lost to history due to incomplete press coverage or failure of newspaper editions to have survived.
I am preparing a separate document providing some information about the kinds of performances these were at the Richmond venues, but it may be a while before it is loaded to this site. The curious and impatient reader is directed to search online or consult Henry T. Sampson’s excellent and encyclopedic Blacks in Blackface (BiB, complete sourcing provided at the end of this table). Please note that the BiB which is most useful is the second edition. It is out of print and difficult to obtain; likely, it will only be available to you through InterLibrary Loan. Information about many of the performers in the early 1900s is found in appendices 3 and 5 in Kathi Clark Wong (2023), Nickelodeons and Black Vaudeville: The Forgotten Story of Amanda Thorp. Much of the information about these performers in general, however, has been lost to history.
Information highlighted in yellow in the PDF is information put into the timeline which impacts the telling of the story of African American performance and Black theater attendance in Richmond.
It is noted that the Dixie Theater is not mentioned as hosting Black vaudeville before May 1909, though it very likely did so, if only small acts interspersed with the (silent) films it was showing. It was a small theater in its early years, only seating about 100 people. However, the Richmond Orient/Pekin and Globe theaters appeared to have committed heavily to vaudeville by 1909. The Orient/Pekin was the more consistent and successful of the two until the Dixie committed fully to vaudeville in about 1910. (See the separate page on this website about African-American theaters in Richmond.)
A note about orchestras: these were often small ensembles, usually three to six people, but in some of the bigger venues, they could be much larger, perhaps up to 12-20 musicians.
To address potential questions, it is noted here that Richmond natives who became famous Black vaudevillians and actors, notably Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and Charles Sidney Gilpin, had left Richmond to make their fortunes in New York and other large cities before this time period. They are not known to have performed in the Richmond venues listed. The same is true for Aida Overton Walker who is sometimes claimed to be from Richmond, although my research seems to indicate that she was not (I believe her mother was, however). These and other very well-known Black stars did perform at White venues in Richmond, but they are not listed here, as the focus of this information is entertainment that was accessible to Black Richmonders in separate theaters before 1962 (although African Americans may have been able to attend some performances at the White venues seated in segregated galleries).
There seem to have been three major eras for Black performances for Black patrons in Richmond. The first was the vaudeville era, from the early 1900s to about 1919. Vaudeville was a variety-type show, perhaps comparable in today’s terms to America’s Got Talent, except it wasn’t a competition. Three to four unrelated acts with separate performers (always in pairs or more) would appear on stage; these acts would be repeated for about three days straight and then move on to separate venues in other cities. A few big tent shows came to Richmond with a great variety of acts during the early 1900s as well. The second era was from about 1920 to 1928 when the Hippodrome and the Rayo were basically the only venues sponsoring Black performers for Black patrons. These two theaters brought in stock shows almost exclusively. Stock shows were comprised of several acts that traveled together from place to place under a single name. They would stay for longer periods of time – weeks usually – and the performers would change up the acts in order to entice patrons to return to the show multiple times. The third major era was the 1950s, when the Hippodrome brought in a large number of R&B performers, many of whom were nationally known.
This table goes only through September 1962, as that is when the last Black performance for Black patrons in a separate theater could be identified in Richmond. The 1964 Civil Rights Act ended segregation, meaning that African-American Richmonders technically could attend any theater they wanted.
The website author welcomes additions and corrections to this information. Please contact her through the contact form.
Click here for the PDF of African-American Performance in Richmond (37 pages).
If you have any questions, please contact me by using the contact form below.
Richmond Narratives 