Le monde des musicals

Musical (2016)

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Musique: Eubie Blake • Noble Sissle •
Paroles: Eubie Blake • Noble Sissle •
Livret: George C Wolfe •
Production à la création:

"Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed" is a musical based on the original book of the 1921 musical revue "Shuffle Along", by Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. The story focuses on the challenges of mounting the original production of Shuffle Along and its effect on Broadway and race relations.

In May 1921, Shuffle Along, a new musical conceived by Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles with music and lyrics by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, became the unlikeliest of hits, significantly altering the face of the Broadway musical as well as that of New York City. In April 2016 - 95 years later - Shuffle Along, Or, The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, will be a backstage musical telling the story of the creation of this transformative but now forgotten show.

When Blake, Sissle, Miller and Lyles decided to collaborate on Shuffle Along, they were all Vaudeville veterans, but none of them had ever written a musical or appeared on Broadway. After finding a small source of funding, Shuffle Along toured through New Jersey and Pennsylvania. However, with little funding, it was difficult to meet travel and production expenses, and the cast rarely got paid. The show came back to New York about a year later, during the Depression of 1920–21. The production owed $18,000 and faced strong competition in a Broadway season full of spectacles, such as Sally – a Ziegfeld musical – and another edition of George White's Scandals. It was only able to book a remote theater on West 63rd Street.

Nevertheless, Shuffle Along was a surprise hit, running for 504 performances, turning a substantial profit and spawning tours and spin-offs. The show introduced several innovations; launched or greatly boosted the career of cast members including Josephine Baker, Paul Robeson, Florence Mills, Fredi Washington and Adelaide Hall; and the song "I'm Just Wild About Harry" became a popular standard. The show's energetic dancing and catchy jazz score drew enthusiastic repeat audiences of all races, and celebrities such as George Gershwin, Fanny Brice, Al Jolson, Langston Hughes and critic George Jean Nathan, helping to unite the white Broadway and black jazz communities and improve race relations in America.

Wolfe's book includes a white character who embodies the comments by white critics and other outsiders on Shuffle Along.

The show was given two workshops in the fall 2015; there was no out-of-town tryout.
The production began previews on Broadway on March 15 and opened officially on April 28, 2016, at the Music Box Theatre, directed by Wolfe, with choreography by Savion Glover. The two worked together two decades earlier, with great success, on "Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk".
Shuffle Along closed on Broadway on July 24, 2016, after 38 previews and 100 regular performances.

Acte 1
"Broadway Blues" – Company
"Affectionate Dan" – Noble, Eubie
"Sellin' the Show" – Eubie, Noble, F.E., Aubrey
"Introducing Sam" – Sam, Eubie, Noble, F.E., Aubrey
"Makin' a Show" – Company
"I’m Simply Full of Jazz" – Gertrude, Jimtown Flappers
"Honeysuckle Time" – Lottie, Eubie
"Swing Along" – F.E., Company
"Campaign Songs" – Company
"Bandana Days" – Jazz Jasmines
"Love Will Find a Way" – Lottie
"If You’ve Never Been Vamped by a Brownskin" – Harmony Kings
"You Got to Git the Gittin' While the Gittin's Good" – Noble, Noble's Shadows
"Ain't It a Shame" – Company
"Pennsylvania Graveyard Shuffle" – Dancin' Kids
"Daddy, Won’t You Please Come Home" – Lottie
"(I'm Just) Wild About Harry" – Lottie, Gertrude, Li'l Baby C
"Act One Finale" – Company

Acte 2
"Dance Around the One" – Dancin' Kids, Harmony Kings
"Shuffle Along" – Lottie, Dancing Waiters
"Struttin'" – Noble, Eubie, F.E., Aubrey
"I’m Cravin' That Kind of Love" – Florence, Lottie
"Till Georgie Took 'Em Away" – Harmony Kings, William Grant Still
"The Broadway Buzz" – Izzy, Company
"Rang Tang/Chocolate Dandies" – The Dancin' Kids
"It’s Getting Dark on Old Broadway" – Mr. Broadway, Mr. Broadway's Girls
"The Comedy Chorus Gal" – Freda, Baker Boys
"Uptown Noir" – Harmony Kings
"You're Lucky to Me" – Lottie, Eubie
"Low Down Blues" – Aubrey
"Shuffle Along" (reprise) – F.E.
"Musical Selections with Sissle and Blake" – Eubie, Noble, Harriet, Avis
"Memories of You" – Lottie
"The Original Broadway Rag" – Carlo, Company
"Shuffle Off" – Florence, Lottie, F.E., Aubrey, Eubie, Noble

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Shuffle Along

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Shuffle Along