| 1879 | The Brook; or, A Jolly Day at the Picnic. First performed by the Salsbury Troubadours of San Francisco, led by Nate Salsbury. The play, depicting a group on a picnic who entertain themselves with song, dance, and comic turns, initiates the genre of farce-comedy, an early form of the musical that is regarded as the beginning of modern American musical theater. Salsbury was the general manager of William F. Cody's Wild West Show from 1883 until his death. |
| 1895 | Black America. Salsbury produces an elaborate stage show, featuring three hundred African American performers to showcase black culture. |
