Shuffle Along
Shuffle Along is a musical composed by Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle and a book written by the comedy duo Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. One of the most notable all-Black hit Broadway shows, it was a landmark in African-American musical theater, credited with inspiring the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and '30s.
| Shuffle Along | |
|---|---|
Sheet music for "Love Will Find a Way", a song from the show | |
| Music | Eubie Blake |
| Lyrics | Noble Sissle |
| Book | F. E. Miller Aubrey Lyles |
| Productions | 1921 Broadway 1933 Broadway sequel 1952 Broadway sequel 2016 Broadway adaptation |
The show premiered at the 63rd Street Music Hall in 1921, running for 504 performances, a remarkably successful span for that decade. It launched the careers of Josephine Baker, Adelaide Hall, Florence Mills, Fredi Washington and Paul Robeson, and was so popular it caused "curtain time traffic jams" on West 63rd Street.
A 2016 adaptation, Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, focused on the challenges of mounting the original production as well as its lasting effects on Broadway and race relations.