On November 11, 1901, a musical comedy called The Cannibal King premiered in Hartford, Connecticut. Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote the lyrics in collaboration with his friend the poet James Weldon Johnson. The composer was Will Marion Cook, who also wrote the music for Paul's 1898 show Clorindy, or the Origin of the Cakewalk.
"The Cannibal King," a characteristic musical comedy, written, composed, staged and produced entirely by Negroes is the latest thing in theatricals hereabouts. It is to be presented for the first time at Hartford, Conn., Nov. 11, and later in the season will find it in New York. The authors are Paul Laurence Dunbar, the poet, and Rosamond Johnson, while the composer is Will Marion Cook, whose characteristic Negro music has been heard here in a number of Broadway productions. The plot of the comedy hinges upon the ludicrous attempts of a colored headwaiter at a fashionable Florida hotel, who has suddenly become wealthy, to elevate the tone and mend the manners of his race and make them eligible to society.
"Stage. Greater New York Notes," by J. Harry Jackson. The Freeman (Indianapolis, Indiana). November 9, 1901. Page 5.
Next month there will be produced in New York a comedy entitled "The Cannibal King." It was written by Paul Laurence Dunbar and J. W. Johnson and will be rendered by colored talent only. The fact that Dunbar and Johnson wrote it and that Bob Cole will take the leading part guarantees that it will be well-received.
"Dunbar and Johnson." The Colored American (Washington D. C.). November 9, 1901. Page 6.
Paul Laurence Dunbar and J. W. Johnson have written a comedy entitled "The Cannibal King," which was successfully produced in New York this week with Bob Cole in the leading role.
"Notes for the Afro-American." The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). November 17, 1901. Page 24.
Several versions of The Cannibal King were developed between 1898 and 1902 by Cook, Johnson, Paul and other collaborators. Some of the songs that used Paul's lyrics were "Colored Girl from Vassar," "Jes Lak White Folks," "Lit'le Gal" and "Hurrah for Captain Kidd." Years later, Johnson recalled that Paul was not very interested in the project, nor in working with Cook a second time. Long before The Cannibal King ever appeared on stage, Paul told his wife Alice that he had sold his interest in the show.
About this time Cook persuaded me to use my good offices to have Dunbar collaborate with him on another piece, a full-length opera to be called The Cannibal King. I did my best to persuade Paul to do the book and lyrics, but he was obdurate. He told me with emphasis, "No, I won't do it. I just can't work with Cook; he irritates me beyond endurance." The Cannibal King was never wholly completed. Enough was finished, however, to enable Cook to negotiate a sale to a producer for a flat cash price that gave us several hundred dollars apiece.
Along This Way, by James Weldon Johnson. The Viking Press (New York, New York). 1933. Page 175.
I know I have been long in writing but I have been rushed to death signing contracts etc. I am very much discouraged and down in the mouth. My work is perfectly odious to me now. There was nothing to do in New York except to turn over my right in Clorindy to Will Cook and sell The Cannibal King outright which I did. Two hundred cash and two hundred more on production. I am glad to get out of it.
Paul Laurence Dunbar to Alice Moore Dunbar, August 31, 1898. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).