Carl Sandburg always found the quarter of a dollar and the time to view the minstrel shows when they paraded on Main Street and performed at the Auditorium on North Broad Street. The twenty-five cent seats were in the top gallery. Many in those seats shelled peanuts and ate them while watching the show. They were called “peanut crunchers” and they dropped their shells on the floor; hence the name “peanut gallery,” was applied to that section of the theater. Sandburg may or may not have had enough money to buy a bag of roasted peanuts to eat while he enjoyed the show.

Minstrel shows were the most popular form of entertainment during the nineteenth century. They were the beginning of American musical theater. The shows included comedy, dance, songs and stories acted on stage.

Americans went “crazy” for blackface entertainment. Minstrel shows portrayed blacks as dimwitted, lazy and superstitious. At the same time, they were deemed to be happy-go-lucky and very musical. The racial prejudice in the country was on full display in minstrel shows. Such blatant bigotry would not be tolerated today.

There were many companies which traveled on the railroads and appeared in towns across the country. Some occupied whole railroad cars with their props, instruments and performers.

The show, which consisted of three parts, was developed by Edwin P. Christy. The format was adopted by most other companies. The show opened with an overture and a medley of songs to be featured during the program. When the curtain opened, the performers were seated on chairs arranged in a semi-circle on the stage. Jokes were passed from Mr. Interlocetur, who occupied the center chair, to the end men: Mr. Tambo and Mr. Bones. Mr. Tambo had a tambourine and Mr. Bones played rhythm on a set of hollow bones to accompany the singing of songs. The standup comedian of today may be telling some of the same jokes.

The second part of the minstrel show was the olio. It was performed in front of the stage curtain so the scenery could be changed for the afterpiece. The olio might include juggling acts, comic singers, unicyclists and a stump speech on topics of the day. The afterpiece was a short play.

Sheet music of the tunes from the minstrel shows became quite popular. Thousands of copies were sold so people could play the music on their parlor pianos at home. Stephen Foster wrote many songs for minstrel shows which made his music very popular. The song “Dixie” was written by Daniel Emmett for a minstrel show and is still played today.

By 1910, minstrel shows began to lose favor and were replaced by vaudeville. In 1916 the Orpheum Theater opened in Galesburg. It was erected to be a vaudeville house. There was strong competition between the Auditorium and the Orpheum, both of which featured the new form of entertainment.