Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way by Caseen Gaines (Sourcebooks, 2021)

—Cathy Ritchie

In 2016, I was privileged to see the Broadway show Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 And All That Followed. Regrettably, despite the starry presence of Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Billy Porter, the show soon closed. But the brief run nonetheless served to enlighten audiences about a groundbreaking Broadway production of a century ago, Shuffle Along.

Caseen Gaines offers readers a welcome “biography” of the show and its creators in Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way. In engrossing detail, he depicts Shuffle Along’s complete history from gestation to fadeout, drawing a spotlight toward this long-ago moment in American theater history.

With songs composed by Eubie Blake, lyrics by Noble Sissle and a revue-style libretto written and performed by the comedy team of Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles, Shuffle Along was the first all-Black Broadway hit and thus a revolutionary landmark in American culture. Its score included the classics “I’m Just Wild About Harry” and “Love Will Find a Way”—and the show had such impact it’s been credited with jump-starting the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and ‘30s.

Shuffle Along originally ran for over 500 performances, a remarkable accomplishment for its time, and its creative quartet rode a tidal wave of acclaim and popularity. Miller and Lyles’ comedy sketches might have been stereotypical around the edges at times, but the overall plot, the elegant tuxedoed actors, and the non-minstrel characters they portrayed represented a considerable leap forward in musical theater development and in the presentation of Black performers.

The show’s all-singing/all-dancing variety and energy were further gifts. The legendary stars who could trace professional beginnings to Shuffle Along included Josephine Baker, Florence Mills, Adelaide Hall, Paul Robeson, and Fredi Washington. Their powerful performances undeniably contributed to the production’s genuine appeal for both white and Black audiences, and  the show (especially the touring companies that criss-crossed the nation) provided an opportunity for increased desegregation of theaters.

But Shuffle Along’s massive success became a double-edged sword for Blake and his colleagues. So many companies offered “copycat” productions that potential audiences could find versions of the show everywhere—and often at lower ticket prices. Shuffle Along attempted more than one revival, but nothing quite lived up to the original.  Personal issues divided its creators, and Shuffle Along’s name recognition faded with the years.

Yet the increasing influence of Black culture and artistry in American life—in poetry, literature, drama, jazz—owes much to that early era, and to creative spirits such as Blake and Sissle, who weren’t afraid to be bold. Caseen Gaines’s homage to Shuffle Along and its pioneers is an excellent read for all theater and cultural history buffs, helping guarantee this seminal work will not be forgotten.