Navigating Black Identity and White Desire: Seven-Eleven and the 1920s Crossover Musical Comedy

Abstract

On September 6, 1924, the Cleveland Gazette announced the arrival of the celebrated black musical comedy SevenEleven with a lengthy article that described the veracity of its character portrayals: “The authors of SevenEleven have striven to depict the southern ‘Negro’ in the true character, and the cast has been selected with the same point in view.”1 Appearing in the city’s daily black newspaper, this story attempted to reassure readers that SevenEleven was different from earlier black musicals that had been mired in damaging African American stereotypes. This show, according to the Gazette, was more realistic and honest. Similar claims of realism followed SevenEleven throughout its four years on the road as it toured black and later white theatrical circuits. When headlining as the first allblack show on the Columbia Burlesque Wheel, a national theater circuit catering primarily to white audiences, stories attesting to its truthful rendering of African American life became a main selling point on par with its acclaimed music and dancing. By relying on general promises of authenticity to promote the show across racial lines, SevenEleven effectively tapped into emerging desires within the largely segregated entertainment industry for uptodate black cultural products like music, dance, and fashion. SevenEleven was among the most popular black musicals of the early 1920s, yet it has largely been forgotten and its significance overlooked in favor of shows like Shuffle Along that dominated the New York City