In May 1921, the new musical Shuffle Along became the unlikeliest of hits, significantly altering the face of the Broadway musical as well as that of New York City. By the time Shuffle Along stumbled into town after a back-breaking pre-Broadway tour, it was deeply in debt and set to open at a remote Broadway house on West 63rd Street. In a season full of spectacles, such as Sally - a Ziegfeld musical - and another edition of George White's Scandals, Shuffle Along's failure was almost a foregone conclusion. New York City was still in the throes of the Depression of 1920. And despite being celebrated vaudeville performers, Miller and Lyles and Sissle and Blake had never performed on Broadway, much less written a musical. But with an infectious jazz score and exuberant dancing, Shuffle Along ignited not just Broadway but all of New York City. George Gershwin, Fanny Brice, Al Jolson, Langston Hughes, and famed critic George Jean Nathan were among the many fans who repeatedly flocked to West 63rd Street to see a cast which - during its run of 504 performances - featured such incipient luminaries as Josephine Baker, Paul Robeson, Florence Mills, Fredi Washington, and Adelaide Hall. Because of Shuffle Along, Uptown and Downtown met and became one.
Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Billy Porter, Brandon Victor Dixon, and Joshua Henry will star in SHUFFLE ALONG Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, a striking new production that presents both the 1921 musical itself, and additionally details the events that catalyzed the songwriting team of Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, and librettists F.E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles to create this ground-breaking work.
SHUFFLE ALONG will have a new book by George C. Wolfe, will be choreographed by Savion Glover, and directed by Mr. Wolfe. SHUFFLE ALONG marks the first time that the writer/director and choreographer will have worked together since their 1996 hit Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk.
The new Broadway musical 'Shuffle Along' dazzles like no other show this season -- but it also disappoints...When the cast is singing and tearing up the floor with choreographer Savion Glover's muscular and thrilling tap-dancing it's pure unmitigated heaven. But between numbers, biographies are sketched out and behind-the-scenes blow-by-blows are shared. The narration turns entertainment into dull lecture hall...Mitchell, Porter, Dixon and Henry are terrific. But the ace in the hole -- and in tap shoes -- in this enterprise is Audra McDonald. The six-time Tony winner delivers her patented magic in the role of Lottie Gee, a Jazz Era star with a silver voice and acid tongue. McDonald is funnier, friskier and more light-footed than ever...Even though the narration lacks drama, the tap-happy new show gleams with ambition and topnotch talent.
Whether old or new, it is a hot mess of the highest caliber - a dazzling and dizzying documentary mixed with star turns, syncopated rhythms, stylish attire, fierce tap-dancing and weak subplots...For nearly three hours, 'Shuffle Along' throws at its audience nonstop sound and fury and historical detail. It's like climbing aboard a rocket that doesn't stop spinning...But the storytelling is chaotic and choppy, and the characters are painted in broad strokes. The second act, set after the show has become an overnight sensation, comes off as superfluous...McDonald plays it up as an over-the-top diva, while Stokes once again proves himself to be an outstanding leading man...It should come as no surprise that something so experimental and ambitious needs more development.
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