Question about Shuffle Along

[musicaltheatreman2]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 12:58am

I saw Shuffle Along tonight and enjoyed the show! I have two questions. 

Audra is very pregnant and is already showing and is still doing a lot of dancing, but I noticed in the act one finale of "I'm just wild about Harry" she left the stage after her solo part in the song and the rest of the cast danced, so before she was pregnant did she remain on stage and dance through out that entire number?  It just seems like she should have been the lead dancer in that number, but because she is pregnant they restaged the number?

Also there was no song list in the playbill. I have copy of playbill from when the show was in previews and it has a song list. I find it odd that since the show has already open and is locked why there is not a song list. Was there a song list in the playbill after the show opened and maybe they took it out just in case songs are added or deleted? 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 1:34am

Maybe there were too many people checking the Playbill to see how many songs were left instead of watching the show  

[musicaltheatreman2]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 1:00pm

[RogerMoore]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 1:34pm

Yes, she went back to the house part of the set, then danced some more with the other principals and was definitely there when the curtain came down. She wasn't a lead dancer though, that was more Adrienne Warren, if I remember correctly.

[musicaltheatreman2]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 2:04pm

Thank you, that makes sense. What about the song list in the playbill? 

[RogerMoore]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 2:48pm

The first time I saw it, early in previews, there was a 2 page song list. I've seen it many times since, each subsequent playbill has no song list. They cut and added so much during previews, it made sense. Don't know why there is no list after opening, but there isn't. Maybe they're changing stuff for Savion? 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 6/11/16 at 3:28am

My question is different but it felt silly to start a new thread with the same title. I was distracted when Sissle (Joshua Henry) was telling the story about how he worked regimental/infantry (?) band. Could anyone explain what he talks about in that scene?

 

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I caught that someone attacked someone else and that person was killed. And before he died that person made Sissle make some kind of dying promise but I missed the specifics.

 

[Smaxie]

Posted: 6/11/16 at 8:05am

Sissle is talking about James Reese Europe, the founder of several large symphonic bands in the early part of the 20th century featuring African American musicians.  During a concert, Europe criticizes one of his musicians, a drummer named Herbert Wright.  Sissle explains that Europe was pushing him to be better, when the rest of the world sees you as "less than," but Herbert did not seem to understand this.  Herbert Wright attacks and kills Europe with a pen knife. Sissle then says that as Europe lays dying, he whispers to him to carry out the rest of the program. Sissle takes this to mean to provide the opportunities for African American performers started by Europe. In other words, Sissle sees it as his responsibility to continue to see Shuffle to its fruition, even as obstacles come their way. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/12/16 at 1:48pm

I didn't want to start a new thread just for this, but Audra is out of the matinee because she is ill.

[FlySkyHigh]

Posted: 6/12/16 at 4:22pm

bwayphreak234 said: "I didn't want to start a new thread just for this, but Audra is out of the matinee because she is ill."

On all the Tony coverage I saw via Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter she was definitely at Tony rehearsal this morning. So she should be performing tonight. And she's been tweeting all morning about the Orlando massacre. She doesn't seem sick.  But maybe it's becoming difficult for her to get through long days. Pregnant woman are capable of doing almost anything but she seems pretty far along and it's probably getting really tiring to be in such a dance heavy show. 

Updated On: 6/12/16 at 04:22 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/12/16 at 6:47pm

Well I saw this for the second time today. As I mentioned earlier, Audra was out, but her understudy was just fine and sounded a lot like her. I strongly disliked the show when I saw the second preview. It was bloated, messy, confusing, and too long.

 

The show has definitely been tightened since the first preview. The first act is much more solid and focused than it was before. Sadly, the same can't be said for act two. While it is shorter and trimmed down, it is still just all over the place and is very hard to follow. It plods on and on at a glacial pace. 

 

I absolutely hate the ending with each character saying "I died in this year... etc". It just does not work. While I definitely had a better experience with the show the second go round, this still remains one of the biggest disappointments of the season for me, and I really can't recommend it except for the glorious choreography which is the true star of the show.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 1:28am

Thank you, Smaxie.

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 3:23am

I guess mine must be such a discombobulated and confusing life that when I see a show that is deemed "confusing" by some, it makes sense to me.

I just didn't find SA all that confusing….first act, second act, none of it.  And I saw it very early on too.

Could it have been tightened up here and there? Okay, maybe.  That would have been fine.

But confusing?  A mess?  Not even.  At least not IMHO.