Eubie Blake's 1921 Musical SHUFFLE ALONG Now in Print

One of the most significant musicals of the 20th Century, "Shuffle Along" was a rarity, written, produced, and acted wholly by African Americans. For the first time racially diverse audiences celebrated the uniqueness of this musical together.

The New York Times praised Eubie Blake "swinging and infectious score," but it panned the rest of the production "as extremely crude-in writing, playing and direction." That didn't matter. New Yorkers, including George Gershwin and Fanny Brice, flocked to it and it soon became the most popular production of the season with record breaking sales. Its influences were felt throughout the 1920s when "Shuffle Along" type musicals became all the vogue.
While the musical's vocal score was published at the time, the book by Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles had only been available in manuscript. As part of Theatre Arts Press "Historical Libretto Series" which preserves musical theatre history by publishing the librettos to classic, noteworthy and neglected musicals, the complete book and lyrics to "Shuffle Along" is now available in a new published edition.

For more information on the published edition, visit www.musicallibrettos.com.

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