Primrose and West

They later went into the business of minstrel troupe ownership with a refined, high-class approach that signaled the final stage in the development of minstrelsy as a distinct form of entertainment.

They formed their own company, which largely copied Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels with its elaborate sets and visual spectacle.

Primrose and West adopted Hague's techniques of ultra-refinement: Ballet and high-class music played by a large orchestra replaced low comedy and African American-themed song and dance as the main focus, and sets and costumes came to mimic fancy European powdered wigs and eveningwear.

Minstrelsy in silk stockings, set in square cuts and bag wigs is about as palatable as an amusement as a salad of pine shavings and sawdust with a little salmon, lobster, or chicken.

[3]Nevertheless, Primrose and West's approach caught on, and the blackface act continued only with minor troupes and as a regular fixture of vaudeville.