Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
August 27, 2023
Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed is a musical with a score by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle and a libretto by George C. Wolfe, based on the original book of the 1921 musical revueShuffle Along, by Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. The story focuses on the challenges of mounting the original production of Shuffle Along and its effect on Broadway and race relations.
Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
Playbill cover of the original Broadway production
When Blake, Sissle, Miller and Lyles decided to collaborate on Shuffle Along, they were all Vaudeville veterans, but none of them had ever written a musical or appeared on Broadway.[2] After finding a small source of funding, Shuffle Along toured through New Jersey and Pennsylvania. However, with little funding, it was difficult to meet travel and production expenses, and the cast rarely got paid. The show came back to New York about a year later, during the Depression of 1920–21. The production owed $18,000 and faced strong competition in a Broadway season full of spectacles, such as Sally – a Ziegfeld musical – and another edition of George White's Scandals. It was only able to book a remote theater on West 63rd Street.[2][3]
Wolfe's book includes a white character who embodies the comments by white critics and other outsiders on Shuffle Along.[4]
SynopsisEdit
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2016)
Flournoy "F. E." Miller and his vaudeville partner Aubrey Lyles conceive the show that was to become Shuffle Along. They meet fellow vaudevillians Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake and decide to team up to create the all-black production. They tour the show, playing one-night stands in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, packing the cast into cheap motels and selling their personal possessions to pay for train fare. A romance develops between the married Eubie Blake and the show's leading lady, Lottie Gee, a veteran vaudeville performer who finally got her chance to star in the show. The creatives discuss whether or not to include a love song and embrace between the two black leads, a controversial experiment that had been received with tar and feathers in the few instances where it had been tried before; fortunately, the audiences accept it. Arriving in New York during the Depression of 1920–21, Shuffle Along is deep in debt and struggles to raise money. It faces stiff competition on Broadway in a season that includes surefire hits from Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. and George White, and it was relegated to a remote theater on West 63rd Street with no orchestra pit. Opening night is a hit!
Shuffle Along becomes a long-running success, with popular songs like "I'm Just Wild About Harry".[6][8] The partners do not have the same success during the following years and argue about royalties. Lyles announces that he is moving to Africa, and the creators go their separate ways. The romance between Blake and Gee ends. Everyone wants to be remembered for having done something important, but over the decades, the show fades into obscurity.
The show was given two workshops in the fall 2015; there was no out-of-town tryout.[10] The production began previews on Broadway on March 15 and opened officially on April 28, 2016, at the Music Box Theatre, directed by Wolfe, with choreography by Savion Glover.[11] The two worked together two decades earlier, with great success, on Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk.[4]Shuffle Along closed on Broadway on July 24, 2016, after 38 previews and 100 regular performances.[1][12]
Opening night reviews were mostly positive, especially with respect to the songs and dancing, with nearly all reviewers giving Audra McDonald rave notices. Ben Brantley of The New York Times calls it an "intoxicating and sobering concoction", writing: "Often you sense that Mr. Wolfe has a checklist of historic points he must, but must, cover. ... The clunky, shoehorned-in exposition doesn't overwhelm the sweeping grace of "Shuffle Along" whenever it sings or dances."[15]
Terry Teachout, reviewing for The Wall Street Journal, wrote: "The first half of ... Shuffle Along is to 2016 what Hamilton was to 2015: It's the musical you’ve got to see. ... The cast, led by Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Billy Porter, is as charismatic as you’d expect, and Savion Glover's near-nonstop choreography explodes off the stage with the unrelenting impact of a flamethrower. But then comes intermission, and what had looked like a masterpiece goes flat and stays that way."[16]
In her review for Variety, Marilyn Stasio wrote that the show "is to die for" and is "ebullient", and that an "incoherent book" is a "small price to pay for the joy of watching Audra McDonald cut loose."[17]
^ abcSullivan, John Jeremiah. "Shuffle Along and the Lost History of Black Performance in America", The New York Times Magazine, March 24, 2016
^Zoglin, Richard. "Broadway Shuffle", Time magazine, May 23, 2016 issue, pp. 42–45
^ abMcBride, Walter. "Up on the Marquee: Shuffle Along", BroadwayWorld, February 4, 2016
^Chary, EllaRose. "Black History Month – Innovative Musical Contributions: Eubie Blake", Music Theatre International, February 27, 2012, accessed March 22, 2016
^Cox, Gordon. "Audra McDonald to Star in Broadway Musical Produced by Scott Rudin", Variety, March 12, 2015
^ abOpening night theatre program, Music Box Theatre, March 15, 2016
^Viagas, Robert. "The Verdict: Critics Review Broadway’s Shuffle Along", Playbill, April 28, 2016
^Ali, Rahim. "Audra McDonald to Star in New Broadway Musical With Savion Glover", bet.com, March 13, 2015, accessed June 7, 2015
^Paulson, Michael. "‘Shuffle Along’ Decides It Can’t Go on Without Audra McDonald", The New York Times, June 26, 2016
^"Onstage", ShuffleAlongBroadway.com, accessed March 14, 2016
^Purcell, Carey. "Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald Will Reunite on Broadway in Shuffle Along, Billy Porter Joins Them", Playbill.com, August 9, 2015
^"Review Roundup: Shuffle Along Opens on Broadway – All the Reviews!", BroadwayWorld.com, April 28, 2016
^Teachout, Terry. "Shuffle Along Review: Half of Perfection", The Wall Street Journal, April 28, 2016
^Stasio, Marilyn. "Broadway Review: Shuffle Along", Variety, April 28, 2016
^"See Full List of 2016 Tony Award Nominations", Playbill, May 3, 2016
^Viagas, Robert. "'She Loves Me' Leads Drama Desk Nominations", Playbill, April 28, 2016
^"Shuffle Along and The Humans Win NY Drama Critics’ Circle Awards", Playbill, May 5, 2016
Sources
Glass, Barbara S. (2012). African American Dance, an Illustrated History. Jefferson, North Carolina: MacFarland & Company. ISBN978-0-7864-7157-7.
Further reading
Williams, Iain Cameron (2003). Underneath a Harlem Moon: The Harlem to Paris Years of Adelaide Hall. Continuum. ISBN0826458939.
Wintz, Cary D., ed. (2007). Harlem Speaks: A Living History of the Harlem Renaissance. Naperville: Sourcebooks. ISBN978-1-4022-0436-4.
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Shuffle Along or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed is a musical with a score by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle and a libretto by George C Wolfe based on the original book of the 1921 musical revue Shuffle Along by Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles The story focuses on the challenges of mounting the original production of Shuffle Along and its effect on Broadway and race relations Shuffle Along or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That FollowedPlaybill cover of the original Broadway productionMusicEubie Blake Noble SissleLyricsEubie Blake Noble SissleBookGeorge C WolfeBasisShuffle Along by Eubie Blake Noble Sissle Flournoy Miller Aubrey LylesPremiereApril 28 2016 2016 04 28 Music Box TheatreProductions2016 BroadwayAwards2016 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical 2016 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best MusicalThe musical played on Broadway in 2016 and starred Audra McDonald Brian Stokes Mitchell Brandon Victor Dixon and Billy Porter The initial critical response was mostly positive with special praise from many critics for McDonald s performance The production was nominated for ten Tony Awards but did not win any it won four Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Musical Shuffle Along closed on July 24 2016 after 38 previews and 100 regular performances 1 Contents 1 Background 2 Synopsis 3 Musical numbers 4 Productions 4 1 Characters and original cast 5 Critical response 6 Major awards and nominations 7 References 8 External linksBackground EditWhen Blake Sissle Miller and Lyles decided to collaborate on Shuffle Along they were all Vaudeville veterans but none of them had ever written a musical or appeared on Broadway 2 After finding a small source of funding Shuffle Along toured through New Jersey and Pennsylvania However with little funding it was difficult to meet travel and production expenses and the cast rarely got paid The show came back to New York about a year later during the Depression of 1920 21 The production owed 18 000 and faced strong competition in a Broadway season full of spectacles such as Sally a Ziegfeld musical and another edition of George White s Scandals It was only able to book a remote theater on West 63rd Street 2 3 Nevertheless Shuffle Along was a surprise hit running for 504 performances turning a substantial profit and spawning tours and spin offs 2 3 4 The show introduced several innovations 5 launched or greatly boosted the career of cast members including Josephine Baker Paul Robeson Florence Mills Fredi Washington and Adelaide Hall and the song I m Just Wild About Harry became a popular standard 6 The show s energetic dancing and catchy jazz score drew enthusiastic repeat audiences of all races and celebrities such as George Gershwin Fanny Brice Al Jolson Langston Hughes and critic George Jean Nathan helping to unite the white Broadway and black jazz communities and improve race relations in America 2 3 7 Wolfe s book includes a white character who embodies the comments by white critics and other outsiders on Shuffle Along 4 Synopsis EditThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it March 2016 Flournoy F E Miller and his vaudeville partner Aubrey Lyles conceive the show that was to become Shuffle Along They meet fellow vaudevillians Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake and decide to team up to create the all black production They tour the show playing one night stands in Maryland Washington D C and Pennsylvania packing the cast into cheap motels and selling their personal possessions to pay for train fare A romance develops between the married Eubie Blake and the show s leading lady Lottie Gee a veteran vaudeville performer who finally got her chance to star in the show The creatives discuss whether or not to include a love song and embrace between the two black leads a controversial experiment that had been received with tar and feathers in the few instances where it had been tried before fortunately the audiences accept it Arriving in New York during the Depression of 1920 21 Shuffle Along is deep in debt and struggles to raise money It faces stiff competition on Broadway in a season that includes surefire hits from Florenz Ziegfeld Jr and George White and it was relegated to a remote theater on West 63rd Street with no orchestra pit Opening night is a hit Shuffle Along becomes a long running success with popular songs like I m Just Wild About Harry 6 8 The partners do not have the same success during the following years and argue about royalties Lyles announces that he is moving to Africa and the creators go their separate ways The romance between Blake and Gee ends Everyone wants to be remembered for having done something important but over the decades the show fades into obscurity Musical numbers EditAct I 9 Broadway Blues Company Affectionate Dan Noble Eubie Sellin the Show Eubie Noble F E Aubrey Introducing Sam Sam Eubie Noble F E Aubrey Makin a Show Company I m Simply Full of Jazz Gertrude Jimtown Flappers Honeysuckle Time Lottie Eubie Swing Along F E Company Campaign Songs Company Bandana Days Jazz Jasmines Love Will Find a Way Lottie If You ve Never Been Vamped by a Brownskin Harmony Kings You Got to Git the Gittin While the Gittin s Good Noble Noble s Shadows Ain t It a Shame Company Pennsylvania Graveyard Shuffle Dancin Kids Daddy Won t You Please Come Home Lottie I m Just Wild About Harry Lottie Gertrude Li l Baby C Act One Finale Company Act II 9 Dance Around the One Dancin Kids Harmony Kings Shuffle Along Lottie Dancing Waiters Struttin Noble Eubie F E Aubrey I m Cravin That Kind of Love Florence Lottie Till Georgie Took Em Away Harmony Kings William Grant Still The Broadway Buzz Izzy Company Rang Tang Chocolate Dandies The Dancin Kids It s Getting Dark on Old Broadway Mr Broadway Mr Broadway s Girls The Comedy Chorus Gal Freda Baker Boys Uptown Noir Harmony Kings You re Lucky to Me Lottie Eubie Low Down Blues Aubrey Shuffle Along reprise F E Musical Selections with Sissle and Blake Eubie Noble Harriet Avis Memories of You Lottie The Original Broadway Rag Carlo Company Shuffle Off Florence Lottie F E Aubrey Eubie NobleProductions EditThe show was given two workshops in the fall 2015 there was no out of town tryout 10 The production began previews on Broadway on March 15 and opened officially on April 28 2016 at the Music Box Theatre directed by Wolfe with choreography by Savion Glover 11 The two worked together two decades earlier with great success on Bring in da Noise Bring in da Funk 4 Shuffle Along closed on Broadway on July 24 2016 after 38 previews and 100 regular performances 1 12 Characters and original cast Edit Character Cast 13 14 Lottie Gee Audra McDonaldF E Miller Brian Stokes MitchellAubrey Lyles Billy PorterEubie Blake Brandon Victor DixonNoble Sissle Joshua HenryAl Izzy Mr Broadway Carlo Brooks AshmanskasGertrude Saunders Florence Mills Adrienne WarrenCritical response EditOpening night reviews were mostly positive especially with respect to the songs and dancing with nearly all reviewers giving Audra McDonald rave notices Ben Brantley of The New York Times calls it an intoxicating and sobering concoction writing Often you sense that Mr Wolfe has a checklist of historic points he must but must cover The clunky shoehorned in exposition doesn t overwhelm the sweeping grace of Shuffle Along whenever it sings or dances 15 Terry Teachout reviewing for The Wall Street Journal wrote The first half of Shuffle Along is to 2016 what Hamilton was to 2015 It s the musical you ve got to see The cast led by Audra McDonald Brian Stokes Mitchell and Billy Porter is as charismatic as you d expect and Savion Glover s near nonstop choreography explodes off the stage with the unrelenting impact of a flamethrower But then comes intermission and what had looked like a masterpiece goes flat and stays that way 16 In her review for Variety Marilyn Stasio wrote that the show is to die for and is ebullient and that an incoherent book is a small price to pay for the joy of watching Audra McDonald cut loose 17 Major awards and nominations EditYear Award Category Nominee Result2016 Tony Award 18 Best Musical NominatedBest Book of a Musical George C Wolfe NominatedBest Featured Actor in a Musical Brandon Victor Dixon NominatedBest Featured Actress in a Musical Adrienne Warren NominatedBest Scenic Design of a Musical Santo Loquasto NominatedBest Costume Design of a Musical Ann Roth NominatedBest Lighting Design of a Musical Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer NominatedBest Direction of a Musical George C Wolfe NominatedBest Choreography Savion Glover NominatedBest Orchestrations Daryl Waters NominatedDrama Desk Award 19 Outstanding Musical WonOutstanding Costume Design for a Musical Ann Roth WonOutstanding Lighting Design for a Musical Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer NominatedOutstanding Sound Design in a Musical Scott Lehrer NominatedOutstanding Wig and Hair Design Mia M Neal WonOutstanding Choreography Savion Glover WonNew York Drama Critics Circle Award 20 Best Musical WonFred and Adele Astaire Awards Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show Adrienne Warren NominatedOutstanding Male Dancer in a Broadway Show Phillip Attmore WonCurtis Holland NominatedKendrick Jones NominatedOutstanding Choreographer in a Broadway Show Savion Glover WonOutstanding Ensemble in a Broadway Show WonReferences EditNotes a b Hetrick Adam and Robert Viagas Shuffle Along Sets July Broadway Closing Playbill June 23 2016 a b c d Stage Tube Shuffle Along Songwriter Eubie Blake Sings Title Song on Original LP BroadwayWorld com February 7 2016 a b c Glass pp 176 179 a b c Sullivan John Jeremiah Shuffle Along and the Lost History of Black Performance in America The New York Times Magazine March 24 2016 Zoglin Richard Broadway Shuffle Time magazine May 23 2016 issue pp 42 45 a b McBride Walter Up on the Marquee Shuffle Along BroadwayWorld February 4 2016 Chary EllaRose Black History Month Innovative Musical Contributions Eubie Blake Music Theatre International February 27 2012 accessed March 22 2016 Cox Gordon Audra McDonald to Star in Broadway Musical Produced by Scott Rudin Variety March 12 2015 a b Opening night theatre program Music Box Theatre March 15 2016 Viagas Robert The Verdict Critics Review Broadway s Shuffle Along Playbill April 28 2016 Ali Rahim Audra McDonald to Star in New Broadway Musical With Savion Glover bet com March 13 2015 accessed June 7 2015 Paulson Michael Shuffle Along Decides It Can t Go on Without Audra McDonald The New York Times June 26 2016 Onstage ShuffleAlongBroadway com accessed March 14 2016 Purcell Carey Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald Will Reunite on Broadway in Shuffle Along Billy Porter Joins Them Playbill com August 9 2015 Review Roundup Shuffle Along Opens on Broadway All the Reviews BroadwayWorld com April 28 2016 Teachout Terry Shuffle Along Review Half of Perfection The Wall Street Journal April 28 2016 Stasio Marilyn Broadway Review Shuffle Along Variety April 28 2016 See Full List of 2016 Tony Award Nominations Playbill May 3 2016 Viagas Robert She Loves Me Leads Drama Desk Nominations Playbill April 28 2016 Shuffle Along and The Humans Win NY Drama Critics Circle Awards Playbill May 5 2016 Sources Glass Barbara S 2012 African American Dance an Illustrated History Jefferson North Carolina MacFarland amp Company ISBN 978 0 7864 7157 7 Further reading Williams Iain Cameron 2003 Underneath a Harlem Moon The Harlem to Paris Years of Adelaide Hall Continuum ISBN 0826458939 Wintz Cary D ed 2007 Harlem Speaks A Living History of the Harlem Renaissance Naperville Sourcebooks ISBN 978 1 4022 0436 4 External links EditOfficial website Shuffle Along at the Internet Broadway Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shuffle Along or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed amp oldid 1153385692, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
