04 The Coon Can

When Bert and George on bombing on vaudevill, Bert, on a whim and despite George’s protestations, decides to don blackface, blacks up, goes onstage, and performs a hit number playing the white-invented caricature of Blackness, the “coon.” 

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05 Say Goodbye

It’s 1896 and George comes over to Bert’s apartment with the news that he fired their manager who doesn’t support their dream of performing in the New York vaudeville scene. Bert is irate until George reveals that he already found new representation and they have tickets in hand for New York. 

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NOTE: Please prepare the dialogue and song. 

06 We’re Gonna Fly

Sung immediately after the abrupt end of “Say Goodbye,” in this song, George and Bert arrive at a large Vaudeville theatre and are stunned into silence, but they summon their courage and commit to risking it all for the chance to make it big.

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09 Every Pullman Porter

After a white mob attacks George during a race riot, Bert visits George in the hospital. Bert tries unsuccessfully to encourage George to join him in taking solace in books, sharing his well-worn copy of John Ogily’s history of the African continent and its people. Bert claims that the book proves that “Every Pullman Porter” is descended from a king.

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NOTE: THIS SONG HAS BEEN SUBSTANTIALLY REWRITTEN. THIS CONTAINS OUTDATED LYRICS.

10 Williams & Walker Montage

Bert and George go on to a dizzying string of successes, represented by a montage of songs performed around the world, including repurposing the opening song Bert sang at medicine shows into a comedic song for “Hansen’s Magical Oil,” which can lighten the skin, thereby improving the fortunes of People of Color. Bert sings the song, “Jonah Man,” playing the role of the unluckiest man around, and it becomes his signature song.

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12 I Keep Them Laughing

Bert gets called into Ziegfeld’s office to learn that several members of the Follies cast have revolted against a Black man performing in the Follies, with Charlie at the fore. They threaten to leave the show if Bert isn’t fired. Ziegfeld calls their bluff, saying that Bert’s the only performer in the show who’s irreplaceable. Bert is made to witness the exchange and when the white cast members file out, stunned, Bert and Ziegfeld alone. Ziegfeld exits after the others, saying to Bert, “You better be worth it, boy.” Charlie is leaving the theatre, stunned at this turn of events, is convinced Ziegfeld is making a mistake that will tarnish the good name of the Follies. Bert is shaken, but ultimately recommits to using humor to advance the cause of racial uplift. 

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NOTE: There’s an error on this recording in Bert’s melody, measures 66-67. Please follow the score/rehearsal track; not what’s on here.

14 We’re Gonna Fly – Reprise

Bert gives a eulogy for George, identifying him as a man of uncompromising vision and business sense, where he felt he had too little of either. 

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NOTE: Please prepare the monologue and song. 

15 You’ll Find Ol’ Dixieland in France

It’s 1917, and the writers are arguing about sketches for Bert, trotting out the same old stereotypes of people of color. Bert is hardly given a voice in the room. In the 1917 Follies show, Bert performs a patriotic number during wartime about all of the Black soldiers who were quick to enlist. 

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16 You Want Rags

In 1922, well into his tour, Bert is backstage trying to sleep off a bad cold that’s hung on for four weeks before that evening’s performance. A reporter, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, knocks and says she wants to sell him rags for his ragman costume. Bert directs her to the costumer, but she insists he’ll want to see them himself. She reveals that all of the rags were torn from the bodies of Black men who were lynched. She’s been traveling the country chronicling their stories. She blames Bert for perpetuating racial stereotypes and supporting a dehumanized vision of People of Color.

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17 This is How It’s Done

Later that evening, Bert is in bad shape. He’s feeling much sicker, both physically and spiritually, after his confrontation with Ida. His lawyer is there and tells him not to go on, but the theatre owner insists and Bert agrees. He’s left alone to black up and prepare to go on, but is now questioning his choices and his own culpability for potentially contributing to racism in America.

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18 Jonah Man – Reprise

Bert is so ill by the end of his show, he collapses backstage, while the audience chants for an encore. Despite his friend’s protestations, Bert decides to do the encore and stumbles onto the stage. While performing his trademark number, “Jonah Man” (Reprise), he staggers and sweats profusely, removing much of the blackface as he blots his face with a handkerchief. The audience thinks this is part of the bit and, even as Bert collapses to his knees, they laugh hysterically.

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19 I Keep Them Laughing – Reprise

Lottie is by Bert’s side in a hospital room. Lottie tries to get Bert to hold on, but he’s too far gone. He dies with her at his side, as an offstage chorus sings. (“I Keep Them Laughing – Reprise”). Projected images of the next 100 years of Black struggles and triumph fill the stage around Bert.

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01 Johnson’s Mystical Oil

The show opens on a medicine show in 1890, where a charismatic Young Bert Williams is serving as barker and successfully convincing the crowds to buy a snake oil cure-all.

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14 We’re Gonna Fly – Reprise

Bert gives a eulogy for George, identifying him as a man of uncompromising vision and business sense, where he felt he had too little of either. 

Hear the Demo Here:

NOTE: Since you’ll be matching the other singers, it’s probably best to rehearse with the Music Minus One or demo track rather than the accompaniment track.

19 I Keep Them Laughing – Reprise

Lottie is by Bert’s side in a hospital room. Lottie tries to get Bert to hold on, but he’s too far gone. He dies with her at his side, as an offstage chorus sings. (“I Keep Them Laughing – Reprise”). Projected images of the next 100 years of Black struggles and triumph fill the stage around Bert.

Hear the Demo Here:

NOTE: Since you’ll be matching the other singers, it’s probably best to rehearse with the Music Minus One or track rather than the accompaniment track.