‘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.