The Philadelphia performance went ahead. Black patrons sabotaged the performance. During a scene in which characters are shown enjoying slavery, a man hurled an egg at the stage and a police riot erupted. “Two or three policemen was instantly upon him knocking him senseless with the first blow,” reported a journalist with the Broad Ax newspaper. “And there upon the seat, helpless, these angels of hell vied with each other to see which could wield his club fastest and hardest … I am informed [they] beat him as they were carrying him out. This display of brutality was no doubt intended as a
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