‘Footnotes’ Explores The Historic All-Black Cast And Creative Team Of 1921 Broadway ‘Shuffle Along’
One hundred years ago, Broadway saw the premiere of “Shuffle Along,” the first show of its kind with an all-Black cast and creative team. It was a momentous event that would have a lasting impact on American musical theater, but the controversies of the musical, and the continuing complexities of the feelings it still stirs today, might help explain why it isn’t a household name for many. Nevertheless, author and cultural historian Caseen Gaines, in his new book “Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way,” assures us that “Shuffle Along” is well worth remembering. He joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes via Zoom to talk about the historic musical, and the seismic shift in Black representation in American theater that it created.
Interview highlights:
An unprecedented all-Black comedic musical marvel:
“So much of what made ‘Shuffle Along’ a success – in terms of integrating the orchestra section of an audience, having syncopated, swinging music in a Broadway score, having a women’s dancing and singing chorus, even just having Black people on stage in the legitimate theater – so much of that was co-opted by other shows over time, where in 1921 it was quite novel, but over time it became just a part of the DNA of musical theater,” said Gaines.
“The plot is based on a three-way mayoral race… But in comedic fashion, [two candidates] are dishonest, unscrupulous, and they know the other person is as well. So they both hire a private detective to make sure that the other person isn’t stealing money to fund their campaign,” recounted Gaines. “But of course they hire the same private detective. And so the comedy ensues from there.”
Realistic characters in a time of minstrel shows and the ‘Mammy’ stereotype:
“One of the things that I think is the most significant contribution for ‘Shuffle Along,’ is that it put Black women on stage, just as Black women, in terms of the main roles. And there is a character who just expresses genuine love for another character, and sings the song ‘I’m Just Wild About Harry,’” said Gaines. “And there were thoughts that this scene might actually give way to full-on race riots because white audiences would not be able to accept seeing Black women on stage expressing emotion unless it was for comedic effect.”
“W.E.B. Du Bois, I think, said it best… White audiences would accept this show, and accept that Black people were capable of doing more than providing entertainment and being laughed at; but they could be celebrated for their wit, their writing, their musical contributions, their talent,” said Gaines. “However… the major theater owners would not book ‘Shuffle Along’ because it was an all-Black musical. And Du Bois said, there are two different kinds of racial prejudice. One is based in ignorance when you just haven’t had the ability to be exposed to people of color. And the other is when… you are a gatekeeper that prevents other white people from being exposed.”
On the wide range of reactions to ‘Shuffle Along’:
“While it was quite progressive in terms of its music, it was regressive in some ways, in terms of the use of Blackface comedy. So over time, there were some very prominent members of the Black community who felt like ‘Shuffle Along’ was something that should have been relegated to the annals of history, put in the vault, not remembered,” said Gaines.
“Certainly the [1921 massacre] in Tulsa had an effect on Blacks that were living in New York. And it seems sort of contradictory, but Noble Sissle, one of the creators of the show, says that perhaps because the Black community was experiencing so much pain, not only in Tulsa but throughout the United States, that’s actually why ‘Shuffle Along’ was so successful. Because people needed escapism, and they provided an opportunity for Black joy to be celebrated on stage.”
“I think that Langston Hughes saying that [‘Shuffle Along’] kickstarted the Harlem Renaissance is about as good as it gets,” said Gaines.
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