The Hyers Sisters, Anna Madah (ca. â€" ) and Emma Louise (ca. â€" ),
were singers and pioneers of black musical theater. With Joseph
Bradford and Pauline Hopkins, the Hyers Sisters produced the "first
full-fledged musical plays... in which African Americans themselves
comment on the plight of the slaves and the relief of Emancipation
without the disguises of minstrel comedy." Their first play was Out of
Bondage (also known as Out of the Wilderness).Their father, Samuel B.
Hyers, came west to Sacramento, California with their mother, Annie E.
Hyers (née Cryer), after the Gold Rush. He made sure his daughters
received both piano lessons and vocal training with German professor
Hugo Sank and later opera singer Josephine D'Ormy and they performed
for private parties before making their professional stage debut on
April , at Sacramento’s Metropolitan Theater. Anna was a soprano
and Emma a contralto. Under their father’s management, they embarked
on their first transcontinental tour in . On August , , they performed
in Salt Lake City to much acclaim.They were later called "a rare
musical treat" by Saint Joseph, Missouri’s Daily Herald and earned
equal praise in Chicago, Cleveland, and New York City. Their tour
reached Worcester and Springfield, Massachusetts, as well as New Haven
and Providence. They visited Boston, which was known to be extremely
critical of new acts, and were also well-received, performing in the
World Peace Jubilee which was one of, if not, the first integrated
major musical production in the country.
were singers and pioneers of black musical theater. With Joseph
Bradford and Pauline Hopkins, the Hyers Sisters produced the "first
full-fledged musical plays... in which African Americans themselves
comment on the plight of the slaves and the relief of Emancipation
without the disguises of minstrel comedy." Their first play was Out of
Bondage (also known as Out of the Wilderness).Their father, Samuel B.
Hyers, came west to Sacramento, California with their mother, Annie E.
Hyers (née Cryer), after the Gold Rush. He made sure his daughters
received both piano lessons and vocal training with German professor
Hugo Sank and later opera singer Josephine D'Ormy and they performed
for private parties before making their professional stage debut on
April , at Sacramento’s Metropolitan Theater. Anna was a soprano
and Emma a contralto. Under their father’s management, they embarked
on their first transcontinental tour in . On August , , they performed
in Salt Lake City to much acclaim.They were later called "a rare
musical treat" by Saint Joseph, Missouri’s Daily Herald and earned
equal praise in Chicago, Cleveland, and New York City. Their tour
reached Worcester and Springfield, Massachusetts, as well as New Haven
and Providence. They visited Boston, which was known to be extremely
critical of new acts, and were also well-received, performing in the
World Peace Jubilee which was one of, if not, the first integrated
major musical production in the country.
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