SHUFFLE ALONG - EUBIE BLAKE and NOBLE SISSLE
A Video slideshow of Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle's SHUFFLE ALONG.
Photos of the Broadway production of Eubie and "Shuffle Along" productions 1921/2019.
Photo: Julieta Cervantes
Music - Shuffle Along (Overture) Eubie Blake
- Rick Benjamin's Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
EDUCATIONAL- NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED
DALE SHIELDS
Iforcolor.org
Shuffle Along is a musical with music and lyrics by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, and a thin revue-style connecting plot about a mayoral race, written by Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles.
The piece premiered on Broadway in 1921, running for 504 performances – an unusually long run during that decade. It launched the careers of Josephine Baker, Adelaide Hall, Florence Mills, Fredi Washington, and Paul Robeson, and became such a hit that it caused "curtain time traffic jams" on West 63rd Street. It had brief revivals in 1933 and 1952.
Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed is a musical adaptation based on the original book of the 1921 musical, focusing on the challenges of mounting the original production of Shuffle Along and its effect on Broadway and race relations.
The four writers were African-American Vaudeville veterans who first met in 1920 at an NAACP benefit that was held at the newly opened Dunbar Theatre in Philadelphia. None of the four had ever written a musical or even appeared on Broadway. Promoters were skeptical that a black-written and produced show would appeal to Broadway audiences. 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. When 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 on Broadway in a season that included Florenz Ziegfeld's Sally and a new edition of George White's Scandals. It was only able to book a remote theater on West 63rd Street that had no orchestra pit. In the end, however, the show earned $9 million from its original Broadway production and three touring companies, an unusual sum in its time.
The show premiered on Broadway at the Daly's 63rd Street Theatre on May 23, 1921, and closed on July 15, 1922, after 504 performances. It was directed by Walter Brooks, with Eubie Blake playing the piano. The cast included Lottie Gee as Jessie Williams, Adelaide Hall as Jazz Jasmine, Gertrude Saunders as Ruth Little, Roger Matthews as Harry Walton, and Noble Sissle as Tom Sharper. Gertrude Saunders was replaced by Florence Mills. Josephine Baker, who was deemed too young at the age of 15 to be in the show, joined the touring company in Boston and then joined the Broadway cast when she turned 16. Bessie Allison's first professional performance was in Shuffle Along. The orchestra included William Grant Still and Hall Johnson. The musical toured successfully throughout the country up to 1924.
The show was revived at the Mansfield Theatre, New York City, from December 26, 1932, to January 7, 1933, starring Sissle, Blake, Miller, Lyles, Mantan Moreland, and Bill Bailey. This production was unsuccessful and closed after 17 performances.
During World War II, Sissle and Blake adapted and performed Shuffle Along for USO shows, with an ensemble that included pianist and vibraphonist Sylvester Lewis.
A 1952 revival, starring Sissle and Blake, Avon Long, and Thelma Carpenter and choreographed by Henry LeTang, was also unsuccessful. It opened at the Broadway Theatre on May 8, 1952, and closed after four performances, but was recorded in an abridged form by RCA Victor, combined with selections from Blackbirds of 1928.
An excerpt of Shuffle Along, the musical fight between the two leading characters, was made into a short talkie film by Warner Bros in the early 1930s. It, and another similar short featuring Miller and Lyles, were found in the Warner Bros archives in 2010, where they had been misfiled. The titles are "The Mayor of Jimtown" and "Jimtown Cabaret".
A stage adaptation, titled Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, featured the original music from Shuffle Along and other songs by its creators, with a book written by George C. Wolfe based on the original by Miller and Lyles and historical events. The show focuses on the challenges of mounting the 1921 Broadway production of Shuffle Along, its success, and its aftermath, including its effect on Broadway and race relations. The production opened on Broadway in April 2016 at the Music Box Theatre, directed by Wolfe, and choreographed by Savion Glover. The cast starred Audra McDonald as Lottie Gee, Brian Stokes Mitchell as Miller, Billy Porter as Lyles, Brandon Victor Dixon as Blake, and Joshua Henry as Sissle. The adaptation received ten 2016 Tony Award nominations but won none. The production closed on July 24, 2016.
Wikipedia®
Photos of the Broadway production of Eubie and "Shuffle Along" productions 1921/2019.
Photo: Julieta Cervantes
Music - Shuffle Along (Overture) Eubie Blake
- Rick Benjamin's Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
EDUCATIONAL- NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED
DALE SHIELDS
Iforcolor.org
Shuffle Along is a musical with music and lyrics by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, and a thin revue-style connecting plot about a mayoral race, written by Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles.
The piece premiered on Broadway in 1921, running for 504 performances – an unusually long run during that decade. It launched the careers of Josephine Baker, Adelaide Hall, Florence Mills, Fredi Washington, and Paul Robeson, and became such a hit that it caused "curtain time traffic jams" on West 63rd Street. It had brief revivals in 1933 and 1952.
Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed is a musical adaptation based on the original book of the 1921 musical, focusing on the challenges of mounting the original production of Shuffle Along and its effect on Broadway and race relations.
The four writers were African-American Vaudeville veterans who first met in 1920 at an NAACP benefit that was held at the newly opened Dunbar Theatre in Philadelphia. None of the four had ever written a musical or even appeared on Broadway. Promoters were skeptical that a black-written and produced show would appeal to Broadway audiences. 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. When 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 on Broadway in a season that included Florenz Ziegfeld's Sally and a new edition of George White's Scandals. It was only able to book a remote theater on West 63rd Street that had no orchestra pit. In the end, however, the show earned $9 million from its original Broadway production and three touring companies, an unusual sum in its time.
The show premiered on Broadway at the Daly's 63rd Street Theatre on May 23, 1921, and closed on July 15, 1922, after 504 performances. It was directed by Walter Brooks, with Eubie Blake playing the piano. The cast included Lottie Gee as Jessie Williams, Adelaide Hall as Jazz Jasmine, Gertrude Saunders as Ruth Little, Roger Matthews as Harry Walton, and Noble Sissle as Tom Sharper. Gertrude Saunders was replaced by Florence Mills. Josephine Baker, who was deemed too young at the age of 15 to be in the show, joined the touring company in Boston and then joined the Broadway cast when she turned 16. Bessie Allison's first professional performance was in Shuffle Along. The orchestra included William Grant Still and Hall Johnson. The musical toured successfully throughout the country up to 1924.
The show was revived at the Mansfield Theatre, New York City, from December 26, 1932, to January 7, 1933, starring Sissle, Blake, Miller, Lyles, Mantan Moreland, and Bill Bailey. This production was unsuccessful and closed after 17 performances.
During World War II, Sissle and Blake adapted and performed Shuffle Along for USO shows, with an ensemble that included pianist and vibraphonist Sylvester Lewis.
A 1952 revival, starring Sissle and Blake, Avon Long, and Thelma Carpenter and choreographed by Henry LeTang, was also unsuccessful. It opened at the Broadway Theatre on May 8, 1952, and closed after four performances, but was recorded in an abridged form by RCA Victor, combined with selections from Blackbirds of 1928.
An excerpt of Shuffle Along, the musical fight between the two leading characters, was made into a short talkie film by Warner Bros in the early 1930s. It, and another similar short featuring Miller and Lyles, were found in the Warner Bros archives in 2010, where they had been misfiled. The titles are "The Mayor of Jimtown" and "Jimtown Cabaret".
A stage adaptation, titled Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, featured the original music from Shuffle Along and other songs by its creators, with a book written by George C. Wolfe based on the original by Miller and Lyles and historical events. The show focuses on the challenges of mounting the 1921 Broadway production of Shuffle Along, its success, and its aftermath, including its effect on Broadway and race relations. The production opened on Broadway in April 2016 at the Music Box Theatre, directed by Wolfe, and choreographed by Savion Glover. The cast starred Audra McDonald as Lottie Gee, Brian Stokes Mitchell as Miller, Billy Porter as Lyles, Brandon Victor Dixon as Blake, and Joshua Henry as Sissle. The adaptation received ten 2016 Tony Award nominations but won none. The production closed on July 24, 2016.
Wikipedia®
