If you know me at all, you probably know me as, “that guy who does Black History on Facebook” or “that guy I did a musical with this one time.” These are both enormous passions of mine, so what better day than Valentine's Day to merge my two loves together and present to you the story of Jesse A. Shipp, part of the first Black company to see their show on Broadway.
Jesse was born in 1864 in Cincinnati, Ohio. After graduating from high school Jesse formed a musical quartet of singers who performed at dinner halls for white folks. Jesse would join a minstrel show in these early years but left after three weeks. I can’t imagine these shows were very artistically fulfilling. So instead of rolling with that, he took his quartet on the road where they ended up performing for seven years!
In 1894 Jesse became an actor, traveling throughout the country with a performance troupe. It was at this time that he discovered his love for writing. In 1908 Shipp would find work as the resident playwright for the Pekin Stock Company of Chicago. The only problem was that by 1910 motion pictures had drastically changed the face of entertainment in America. Jesse now had to compete for theater space, as many theaters were opting to screen films rather than live theater.
Jesse stayed working in theater, directing many Black written works, as well as standards and new musicals of the time. A 1913 production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado’ earned him extra fame and attention. He would continue his successful theater career and in 1921 would establish his own theater company: "The Dressing Room Club." The entire mission statement of this theater was to showcase and elevate Black theater. As one of the most acclaimed Black Theatermakers of the 1920s, Shipp was involved as a stage manager with the production of the musical farce: “The Lucky Sambo”…damn, dude, being involved with one of the first Black productions to see Broadway is an amazing achievement but…The Lucky Sambo? …Word?
Shipp’s magnum opus, “In Dahomey”, was one of the first shows in the Black theatrical canon to be widely recognized outside of the Black community. The show was one of the first to feature an entirely Black cast and was instrumental in shifting the idea of Black theater away from the minstrel shows that preceded it. "In Dahomey" was first produced in 1903 at the New York Theater and was revived several times, even enjoying a run overseas in England in that same year.
Jesse passed away in 1934 and is buried in Astoria, Queens. This man’s legacy is so important to me cuz I can tell you firsthand how hard it is to break in and be taken seriously in a historically white field like Musical Theater. In an era where minstrel shows and Blackface were mainstream, Jesse said, “nah.” And I can only hope that in 2021 and beyond when I face adversity in theater this Jesse will say, “Nah!” too! Thank you, Jesse A Shipp! Thank you!
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