The Policy Players Williams, Bert performer Walker, George performer Theatrical Performance 1899-10-16 Star Theater The plot centered on a get-rich-quick scheme that is the brainchild of Happy Hotstuff, a cocky man-about-town. To put across his idea he enlists Dusty Cheapman, a not-as-dumb-as-he-seems gambler, newly in the money, to pass himself off among the cream of black society as a former president of Haiti. The show had the lively dancing, the gutsy singing, and the still-fresh brand of comedy that quickly came to be perceived as the signature of black shows. More importantly it introduced two black entertainers to most white audiences. Happy was played by George Walker, while Dusty was the creation of Bert Williams. Walker was credited with the book and Williams with the songs. The basic types they portrayed in "The Policy Players" would be the types they would assume for the rest of their careers though of course, with practice, the delineation became more brilliantly honed. Many would come to see Bert Williams as the finest comedian of his era. In turn-of-the-century parlance, policy players were people who bet on the numbers. Performing Arts Encyclopedia http://www.loc.gov/performingarts Bordman, Gerald: American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle. New York: Oxford University Press (1992). Tap Dance America http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/tda/tda-home.html tda IHAS 151216 loc.music.tda.353