May 22, 1921.

New York, New York. 63rd Street Theater.

Shuffle Along was the first successful Broadway musical written by and starring a cast of all people of color. The music was written by Eubie Blake, who was one of the leading composers of popular American songs in the 20th century. His composition Shuffle Along was one of the most popular shows of the 1920s. The lyrics were by Noble Sissle, and the script was written by F.E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles. Its first performance took place on May 22, 1921, at the 63rd Street Theater in New York City. The musical centers on a make-believe town that was holding an election for mayor, and the story follows the town’s disagreements and eventual resolution after electing a mayor. 

According to a review in the New York Times, the first night of the premiere was by invitation, and the second, which was perhaps the real “premiere,” was open to the public. The premiere of Shuffle Along came early in the Harlem Renaissance, which was an important context for much art of that period. Sociologist Robert L. Boyd described the Harlem Renaissance as an era of new “art, literature, music, and entertainment for black, white, and racially mixed audiences.” This musical was representative of the Harlem Renaissance spirit of innovation and creation. According to Richard Carlin and Ken Bloom, it helped kick off many performers careers, made Black entertainers seem safe for white audiences, and introduced “popular song and theatre” and a “jazzy new sound” that Broadway hadn’t seen before. 

Shuffle Along helped bring African American sounds to Broadway, also known as “The Great White Way” because of its brilliant lighting, but the nickname could also represent the under-representation of people of color in the theatre world.  The music of this show is a mix of jazz and ragtime, with an influence of Vaudeville; in fact, many of the songs were borrowed from Sissle and Blake’s Vaudeville acts. 

Shuffle Along garnered positive reviews from various papers. For example, the African American newspaper The Cleveland Gazette reported that it “amazes anyone who has endured the languid efforts of ordinary Broadway musical affairs.” From the July 23, 1921, issue of the paper, Patterson James raved about the singing, dancing, and comedy, and James remarked that Blake also conducted the orchestra, which the paper praised as “excellent.” An article in Variety from May 27, 1921, by Ibee (only the author’s surname is provided) ridiculed the book and the production but praised the music, saying it was “worthy of a real production.” No one knew in the social context of the time whether such a work using black actors would be accepted and favored by white audiences, and this was one topic in the 2016 revival of the show by George C. Wolfe. As Shane Breaux has written of this revival, “In Wolfe's book, the original Shuffle Along star Lottie Gee (Audra McDonald) pleads with the show's creators to post-pone her first performance of the tune in Baltimore out of fear of retaliation from the white audience” (pp. 667–68).

Although the show contains many famous tunes, one of the best known is “I’m Just Wild About Harry,” which is sung as Harry begins to rally people behind him to win the election for mayor of the town. At the premiere, this song was performed by Lottie Gee, according to the Cleveland Gazette. The song features a relatively simple melody that is both catchy and easy to sing, as heard in this recording, performed by Ruth Williams. The melody is syncopated over the accompaniment, which has a steady duple meter feel, connecting it to ragtime. In this version, the piano gets a solo between verses, taking over that hopping rhythm from about 1:01 to 1:30. Overall, the song has a happy, lively feel, and it is not hard to imagine that members of the audience at the premiere might have found themselves tapping their feet during the number. This short piano section in this recording certainly sounds like a dance, and if performed this way at the premiere, it might have been used for a dance break before returning the melody back to the soloist. 

Questions for Classroom Discussion

1. According to Richard Carlin and Ken Bloom, the song “I’m Just Wild About Harry” was originally written as a waltz until singer Lottie Gee asked Sissle to change it. Why do you think she wanted to change it? Would it change the meaning of the song if Sissle had never altered the meter? 

2. How did Shuffle Along play a role in the Harlem Renaissance? 

3. Shuffle Along has been revived twice on Broadway, the most recent one altering the plot. Would it be better to keep the original show as performed in 1921 or change it for a modern audience? 

4. How did newspapers respond to the premiere of this musical? Did the response differ between white and Black newspapers? Why? 

5. Can you think of another piece of music or musical written by a non-white person that had a similar impact on art and culture? 

Bibliography/Further Reading

Primary Sources

Barron, Bill. "Eubie Blake." Interview. WNYC. December, 1971. 

"Musical Comedy: New Plays: 'Shuffle Along.'" The Billboard, Cincinnati 33 no. 28 (June 4, 1921): 30, 34. 

"On Broadway: Shuffle Along." Los Angles 62, no. 14 (May 27, 1921): 28-9.

"'Shuffle Along' Premiere: Negro Production Opens at Sixty Third Street Music Hall." New York Times (May 23, 1921): 20.

"'Shuffle Along' Remarkable Testimony to That Great 'Broadway Success.'" Cleveland Gazette (July 23, 1921): 1.

Secondary Sources

Bloom, Ken and Richard Carlin. Eubie Blake: Rags, Rhythm, and Race. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.

Boyd, Robert L. "The Harlem Renaissance and Blacks' Employment in Cultural Expression Occupations." Journal of African American Studies 25, no. 1 (2021): 82.

Cook, Susan C. "Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake: Shuffle Along." Journal of the Society for American Music 16, no. 2 (May 2022): 235-8.