This week we’re going back to 2016 to celebrate some ground-breaking musical theatre of the 1920s. This week’s TONY Tuesday is:

‘Broadway Blues’ from Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. 

Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed is a 2016 musical, using the original 1921 musical of Shuffle Along as its basis. Shuffle Along is a 1921 musical that was written by four African American vaudeville veterans: Eubie Blake, Noble Sissle, Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles, as their first venture into creating a show. Shuffle Along struggled financially throughout its initial tour before Broadway as, due to the ever-raging ignorance of white America, producers were hesitant to invest in a show created by people of colour. However, upon finding the money, the show proved to be a hit, spawning several tours and launching the careers of many Vaudeville legends. The show’s success broke ground by bringing all races together and helped to unite White Broadway and African American jazz communities to improve race relations in America. Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed shows the challenges of mounting the original 1921 production and the effect that it had on race relations. The libretto of the new production is written by George C. Wolfe, based on Miller and Lyles original book, and focuses heavily on the relationships between the four writers and how it changed over the years with the success, legacy of the show and its fade into obscurity. Shuffle Along was performed with an all-black cast, however, Wolfe’s production included a white actor to embody the comments of white critics and outsiders during the time of the show. 

The production had two industry workshops through the year of 2015, with a decision made to take the show straight to Broadway rather than follow the traditional route of trying it out-of-town first. The show was directed by Wolfe himself and choreographed by Savion Glover. It starred Brian Stokes Mitchell as F.E Miller, Billy Porter as Aubrey Lyles, Brandon Victor Dixon as Eubie Blake, Joshua Henry as Noble Sissle and Audra McDonald as Lottie Gee. The production opened for previews on 15 March 2015 and the show closed on 14 July 2016. The reviews of the show were glowing and it garnered ten 2016 TONY award nominations, however, it failed to win any. 

Besties, if you haven’t listened to this amazing show, please do!

Cast recording available on streaming services. 

FACTS:

Music: Eubie Blake, Noble Sissle
Lyrics: Eubie Blake, Noble Sissle
Book: George C. Wolfe, Flournoy Miller, Aubrey Lyles
Theatre: The Music Box Theatre
Run: 15 March 2016 – 24 July 2016 (38 previews and 100 regular performances) 

TONYS:

(NOMINATED) Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical – Goerge C. Wolfe, Best Featured Actor in a Musical – Brandon Victor Dixon, Best Featured Actress in a Musical – Adrienne Warren, Best Scenic Design of a Musical – Santo Loquasto, Best Costume Design of a Musical – Ann Roth, Best Lighting Design of a Musical – Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, Best Direction of a Musical – George C. Wolfe, Best Choreography – Savion Glover, Best Rrchestrations – Daryl Waters.