Shuffle Along, Or, The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed

…and Aubrey Lyles to produce Shuffle Along, the first all-Black Broadway show to turn its back on minstrel traditions and to play for full Broadway prices. The musical opened on May 23, 1921, and became a groundbreaking long-running production, closing after some 500 performances.

Sissle and Blake cocreated Shuffle Along, the 1921 musical comedy that broke from the caricatured imagery of blackface minstrelsy to restore authentic Black artistry to the American stage. The production was a landmark of the Harlem Renaissance. Sissel also became, in 1937, the first president of the Negro Actors…

…member in the benchmark revue Shuffle Along at the 63rd Street Theatre. Featuring Florence Mills, Josephine Baker, and Paul Robeson, the musical helped establish African American show business. Hall later appeared in Runnin’ Wild before launching a 1926 European tour as the star of Chocolate Kiddies. After returning to the…

…role in the Broadway musical Shuffle Along by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle. The show was an instant hit, in large part because of Mills’s commanding stage presence. Though delicate in appearance, she mesmerized the audience with her uninhibited dance, hauntingly high voice, and flair for comedy. In 1922 she…