 Deeter is credited with convincing the playwright to cast a black actor, Charles Sidney Gilpin, in the lead role of Brutus Jones in "The Emperor Jones".The play marked the first time that a major black role in a New York production was not performed by an actor in blackface.Deeter left New York as frictions between members of the company arose as a result of what many saw as a commercialization of the plays produced by the Provincetown Players.