Collier, Charles

Description

Letter from Charles Collier, white owner of the traveling tent show The Original Silas Green from New Orleans, based in Macon, Georgia, to the manager of the Douglass Theatre, probably Ben Stein, owner and manager of the Douglass Theatre from 1927 to 1929, dated March 19, 1928, regarding plans for a show at the Douglass Theatre. Collier recalls that according to a verbal agreement, he will play the Douglass Theatre on March 31. He affirms that the manager can begin to advertise for that date and lists prices for seating. Collier describes his troupe as fifty-four people with a sixteen-piece band and sixteen girls. He advises that their agent will visit in order to find out the best part of town in which to post promotional bills. Collier asks that the manager have some location slips prepared for the promotional bills that read "Douglass Theatre." He stresses that proper billing should enable them to fill the house. The show, Silas Green from New Orleans, toured the South continuously from 1904 to the early 1940s. Salem Tutt Whitney wrote the original show and gave it to African American showman Eph Williams. Collier purchased a half interest in the show, and upon Williams' death, his heirs sold the remaining portion to Collier.Digital image and encoded transcription of an original manuscript, scanned, transcribed and encoded by the Digital Library of Georgia in 2005, as part of Georgia HomePLACE. This project is supported with federal LSTA funds administered by the Institute of Museum and...

Record Contributed By

Middle Georgia Archives

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia