Shuffle Along: The First Broadway Show Produced, Written, Scored, and Starring an All-Black Cast

The logo for Shuffle Along that appeared in the show's advertisements and on its sheet music covers did not show the performers' Black faces, just a line of dancing feet.

Shuffle Along was the first show written, scored, produced, and acting by Blacks aiming to find success on Broadway.  It opened in May 1921 to rave reviews, and ran for over 500 performances, an unusual achievement for any show of the period.  While there had been previous all-black shows produced in New York, none had appeared on Broadway--which was limited to white patrons.  

The show's creators, l to r: Aubrey Lyles, Eubie Blake, Noble Sissle, and Flournoy Miller.  

The show's creators had long hoped to bring their work to Broadway.  Lyricist Noble Sissle and composer Eubie Blake had been touring white vaudeville since 1919; they had refused to don blackface and always appeared on stage in formal dress.  On the other hand, comedians/authors Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles portrayed stereotypical figures, in blackface, and speaking in a "Negro dialect," on stage.  However, like Sissle and Blake, they performed exclusively for white vaudeville audiences, which was unusual for a Black act at the time.  Although Miller and Lyles sported blackface and ragged costumes on stage, the shows creators always appeared dressed in tuxedos in publicity photographs for the show--in both the Black and white press.

Florence Mills, Roger Matthews, and Lottie Gee in Shuffle Along.  Note all sport contemporary clothing and appear without blackface makeup.

Shuffle Along challenged many stereotypes when it opened on Broadway.  Besides the comic characters, the lead characters and dancers all appeared in contemporary clothing without any blackface makeup.  In fact, the dancers were chosen for their light skin color--something preferred at the time by both Black and white audiences.  The show was also unique in that the dramatic characters did not speak in dialect.  The characters who were portrayed represented a range of middle-class occupations, from politicians to bankers to grocery store owners.  And the lead actress and actor, Lottie Gee and Roger Matthews, were portrayed as enjoying a real romance.  Previously, love between Black characters on stage had been limited to comic portrayals.