Shuffle Along was one of the first all-black musical comedies on Broadway. Opening in 1921, it combined the talents of composers Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake with two of the stars on the vaudeville circuit, Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. Miller and Lyles wrote the book, using a play they’d already written with some of their popular routines, while Sissle and Blake provided the songs, including Breakout Hit “I’m Just Wild About Harry.” It was an unprecedented success that ran on Broadway for over a year before embarking on an equally successful nationwide tour.
In later years, the team would revive Shuffle Along twice, first in 1933 and a second time in 1952. The 1933 show featured some of the same characters and songs, but had an entirely different plot. In the 1952 revival, only the songs remained the same. Neither was successful, and Shuffle Along began to fade into obscurity.
Then, in 2016, a new show hit Broadway, created by George C. Wolfe, entitled: Shuffle Along, or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. This Shuffle Along, as the title implies, depicts the creation of the show and the impact that it had on Broadway and African American entertainment. It received ten Tony nominations but ultimately lost all of them due to a certain other musical about American history coming out the same year.
The original show tells the story of a mayoral election taking place in Jimtown, USA between three candidates: Steve Jenkins, Sam Peck, and Harry Walton. The first two are co-owners of a local grocery store and both are out to steal the election from each other. Hilarity Ensues. Meanwhile, Harry is a honest politician who hopes to marry Jessie Williams, the daughter of a local hotel owner. But her father makes it clear that he won’t approve of their union if Harry can’t beat Sam and Steve. While the plot is mostly there to provide a framework for the songs, it was notable for featuring a romance between two black characters that was treated with the same sincerity as a white romance.
Much of the behind-the-scenes information about the original show can be found in Caseen Gaines' book, ''Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way,''
and a libretto can be accessed here.
The 1921 show provides examples of:
- 0% Approval Rating: Though Steve Jenkins and Sam Peck are both corrupt, Sam is notable for having only three supporters in the opening number, including his wife and himself.
- Corrupt Politician: Steve Jenkins and Sam Peck, as well as Steve’s campaign manager, Tom Sharpe. Harry Walton averts this trope.
- Everytown, America: Where the show takes place
- Excuse Plot: So much so that the revival shows had entirely different plots, and the 2016 show is about the making of the musical rather than the musical itself. The plot mostly exists to provide a framework for both Sissle and Blake’s songs and Miller and Lyles’ jokes.
- "I Am" Song: “I’m Just Simply Full of Jazz,” sung by Jessie’s friend, Ruth, when asked why she has no interest in getting married
- I Resemble That Remark!: Both Steve and Sam suspect that the other is cheating him out of the election and hire the same private investigator to prove it. Said investigator reveals at the end that they were both cheating on each other.
- The Ingenue: Jessie Williams, Harry’s fiancé
- That Reminds Me of a Song: As was typical of most Broadway productions at the time, most of the songs fall under this trope. It's easier to name the ones that don't.
- Title Drop: The opening song in Act 2
The 2016 show provides examples of:
- The Greatest Story Never Told: Both in and out of universe; despite the groundbreaking nature of the 1921 musical, it has largely been forgotten today, which is addressed in the 2016 show.
- Show Within a Show: Besides featuring songs from the original show, the musical depicts how the original Shuffle Along came to Broadway
