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Overview
Synopsis
Shuffle Along centers around the upcoming mayoral election in Jimtown. Sam Peck and Steve Jenkins, partners in the local grocery store, both decide to run for mayor and make a corrupt pact. If either of them wins, they will appoint the other as Chief of Police. Supported by Tom Sharper, a dishonest campaign manager, Steve wins the election and makes good his promise to Sam. However, their arrangement clearly will not last, as their constant bickering gets the better of them and they come to blows in a comical ballet-fight. All is not lost however, as their virtuous opponent, Harry Walton, has a mysterious ally. Detective Jack Penrose is a stranger in town, but he decides that Steve and Sam’s corrupt jurisdiction must come to an end. Exposing their cheating ways, he removes them from office and installs Harry as the rightful mayor of Jimtown. Harry’s upstanding character is rewarded and he also gets to keep the undying devotion of his beautiful fiancee, Jessie Williams.
Shuffle Along was the first musical on Broadway in ten years to be entirely produced, written, and performed by an all African-American cast, and to feature a sophisticated love story rather than a frivolous, comedic plot. Although some of the characters may come across as questionable stereotypes by today’s standards, the success of the musical in 1921 marked a major break-through for African-American musical theatre performers.
Show Information
- Book
- Flourney Miller , Aubrey Lyles
- Music
- Eubie Blake
- Lyrics
- Noble Sissle
- Category
- Musical
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 1921
- Genres
- Comedy, Romance
- Settings
- Period, Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- Jimtown, USA, 1921
- Cast Size
- large
- Orchestra Size
- Medium
- Dancing
- Heavy
- Licensor
- None/royalty-free
- Ideal For
- College/University, Diverse Cast, Community Theatre, Large Cast, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Young Adult, Adult, Mature Adult, Elderly, Late Teen Characters
Context
This guide is based on the original 1921 production of Shuffle Along, not the 2016 musical Shuffle Along, or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed.
The show contains a series of jazz standards from the 1920s, which have subsequently been recorded and transposed for a variety of different singers. As such, they are flexible as there is no set key for any of the songs.
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Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone, Bass-Baritone, Bass |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone, Bass-Baritone, Bass |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone, Bass-Baritone, Bass |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone, Bass-Baritone, Bass |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone, Bass-Baritone, Bass |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone, Bass-Baritone, Bass |
|
|
Ensemble |
Female |
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto |
|
|
Ensemble |
Either Gender |
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass, Bass-Baritone |
Songs
Act One
- “* Election Day” - Ensemble
- "* I'm Simply Full of Jazz" - Ruth Little and Syncopation Steppers
- "Love Will Find a Way" - Jessie Williams and Harry Walton
- "Bandana Days" - Uncle Ned and Tom Sharper
- "Uncle Tom and Old Black Joe" - Uncle Tom and Old Black Joe
- "* (In) Honeysuckle Time (When Emmaline Said She'd Be Mine)" - Tom Sharper
- "Gypsy Blues" - Jessie Williams, Ruth Little and Harry Walton
- “Love Will Find a Way [reprise]” - Jim Williams, Ruth Little, Jessie Williams, Harry Walton, and Ensemble
Act Two
- "* Shuffle Along" - Ensemble
- "* I'm Just Wild About Harry" - Jessie Williams and Syncopation Sunflowers
- "Sing Me to Sleep, Dear Mammy" - Harry Walton
- "Everything Reminds Me of You" - Jessie Williams and Harry Walton
- "Good Night Angeline / Ain’t It a Shame" - Four Harmony Kings (Ensemble)
- "If You Haven't Been Vamped by a Brownskin, You Haven't Been Vamped at All" - Sam Peck
- "* Oriental Blues" - Tom Sharper
- "I Am Craving for That Kind of Love"/ "Daddy (Won't You Please Come Home)" - Ruth Little
- “A Few Minutes with Sissy and Blake” +
- "* Baltimore Buzz" - Tom Sharper and Jimtown's Jazz Steppers
-
"African Dip" - Ensemble
-
In the original production Eubie Blake left the pit at this point to join Noble Sissle onstage to lead selections from their standalone performance repertoire, especially songs from their military band days. The individual numbers and their order could change nightly, but “Gee, I’m Glad That I’m from Dixie” usually opened this set, and “On Patrol in No Man’s Land” usually closed it. Of the other songs here, “Pickaninny Shoes” and “The Low-Down Blues” were included most frequently.
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
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Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher