When Broadway Was Black: The Triumphant Story of the All-Black Musical that Changed the World

by Caseen Gaines

The triumphant story of how an all-Black Broadway cast and crew changed musical theatre―and the world―forever. "This musical introduced Black excellence to the Great White Way. Broadway was forever changed and we, who stand on the shoulders of our brilliant ancestors, are charged with the very often elusive task of carrying that torch into our present."― Billy Porter, Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winning actor "The 1920s were the years of Manhattan's Black Renaissance. It began with Shuffle Along ." ― Langston Hughes If Hamilton , Rent , or West Side Story captured your heart, you'll love this in-depth look into the rise of the 1921 Broadway hit, Shuffle Along , the first all-Black musical to succeed on Broadway. No one was sure if America was ready for a show featuring nuanced, thoughtful portrayals of Black characters―and the potential fallout was terrifying. But from the first jazzy, syncopated beats of composers Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, New York audiences fell head over heels. When Broadway Was Black is the story of how Sissle and Blake, along with comedians Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles, overcame poverty, racism, and violence to harness the energy of the Harlem Renaissance and produce a runaway Broadway hit that launched the careers of many of the twentieth century's most beloved Black performers. Born in the shadow of slavery and establishing their careers at a time of increasing demands for racial justice and representation for people of color, they broke down innumerable barriers between Black and white communities at a crucial point in our history. Author and pop culture expert Caseen Gaines leads readers through the glitz and glamour of New York City during the Roaring Twenties to reveal the revolutionary impact one show had on generations of Americans, and how its legacy continues to resonate today. Praise for When Broadway Was Black : "A major contribution to culture."―Brian Jay Jones, New York Times bestselling author of Jim Henson: The Biography "With meticulous research and smooth storytelling, Caseen Gaines significantly deepens our understanding of one of the key cultural events that launched the Harlem Renaissance."―A Lelia Bundles, New York Times bestselling author of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker "Absorbing..."― The Wall Street Journal Previously published as Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Theatre, Audiobook, Music, Art, American History

512 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 2023

Reviews

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This appears to be the same book as Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way. There may be changes, but the parts I checked were identical.

[Olga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though it took some time to finish the book, it is hands down, one of the best nonfiction history books I’ve read so far this year!

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 4 out of 5]

The making and legacy of Broadway's first truly all-Black musical, Shuffle Along.

I really, really enjoyed this piece of Broadway theater, and how Gaines put into context the reality of life on the stage in the early 1900s for Black actors, writers and crew.

Minstrelsy features heavily, and it's curious how the history of blackface and racism has been, if not erased, then heartily forgotten, from the collective memory of American pop culture.

Anywho, I enjoyed this book, particularly with how Shuffle Along both reflected and refracted many of the racist norms of the time, and both influenced and hampered future productions and opportunities for Black creators.

It's an important work on the history of Broadway and stage performances in the US.

[Donald Butchko · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really fun, engrossing, and insightful deep dive into a forgotten blockbuster. And if it inspires you to seek out a recording of “I’m Just Wild About Harry,” please note that it will be stuck in your head for ever more.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for American Theatre students

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok well now i’m upset hamilton was up for tony noms the same year as the shuffle along revival - cast album NOW !!

[Joel Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very well researched and full of historical information, but also very readable and well written.

This was an in depth look at the 1921 Broadway smash hit "Shuffle Along", which you probably think you've never heard of even though the song "Wild About Harry" is still known today. Four men put together the first all black musical that treated black characters like people instead of caricatures, putting the creative energy of the Harlem Renaissance onstage for all to see. Gaines delves into the backgrounds of the primary artists, writers, actors, and dancers, putting this story in context and highlighting how it still resonates today.

This book was excellent.

[Moira Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible research and information put into an easily readable book. You learn how Josephine Baker got her start, how what they anticipated wasn’t always the result, and the likelihood of this musical making a return in the world of theatre in the near future.

[Mary Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific book. I learned so much. I am not really a fan of musicals but this would be a great musical to see. I so appreciate that this history has been uncovered.

[Con · Rating 3 out of 5]

No writer is responsible for what his publisher puts on his book's jacket, but this title doesn't live up to the claim on the cover that it is "A Never-Before-Told Story of Broadway, The Harlem Renaissance." In addition to "Reminiscing With Sissle and Blake" by Kimball and Bolcom (which he borrows heavily from but cites), there are sources dating back to Tom Fletcher's 1954 "100 Years of the Negro in Show Business," which he does not cite (among others). The assertion in the Introduction that "Shuffle Along" was "repressed in our collective memory" is also a big stretch; there was a 2016 Broadway musical about Shuffle Along that ran for 100 performances and was memorialized that year by an award-winning CD.

Some of the claims aren't supported by the sources cited: The assertion that a portrayal on the stage of romantic love between a Black man and woman in 1921 "could give way to an all-out race war" turns out, when you look up the passage in Kimball and Bolcom (p. 93), to be the risk that someone would boo or throw tomatoes and rotten eggs--hardly an all-out race war. Even this was a remote prospect; audiences wouldn't have known about the romance on opening night so as to bring their rotten produce to the theater.

A wealth of information is provided, but it's a slog at 400 pages which a tougher editor could have trimmed down substantially.

[Kathy Allard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars
The fact that this author published the same book twice under different titles makes me want to rate this one star for chicanery. I mean really. Leaving that aside, another issue is the author's outrage that the Broadway show Shuffle Along has been unjustly forgotten ... then why did I know about it? I'm not a "theater educator" as he supposedly is. So I went into this book with some serious side eye going on and was able to get past it b/c the story Mr Gaines tells about putting on a show in the 1920s is so interesting.

Some of the info was mind blowing. I'm old enough to (fondly) remember Eubie Blake's tv appearances in the late 1970s ... the fact that both of his parents were slaves is just, I don't know how to say it other than mind blowing.

This book is ostensibly the story of four men, but I fell in love with the women who appeared on stage and in the book -- Florence Mills, Lottie Gee, Fredi Washington, and mixed feelings about the notorious Josephine Baker. They had to fight for everything, professionally and personally. Respect!

Now on the hunt for any available audio or video of the stars of Shuffle Along, especially the ladies.

[BookBrowse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel this would be a good book for book clubs and especially those who enjoy reading about social justice issues (Ariel F). I am glad that Caseen Gaines wrote this book. It should be read, reviewed by the media and talked about on the radio and TV. These Black artists deserve to be better known and appreciated (Nancy Kelley). I would highly recommend it to those who enjoy reading engaging history and to those who wish to examine racial injustice and the impact it had on developing musical careers. I believe it would add some lively conversation to book clubs. This deserves a spot on your nonfiction shelf (Deborah H). I liked the book very much, as the author made the entertainers come alive. The history was there, but it was not just a history lesson. As a fan of Broadway musicals, I found this book a revelation and highly recommend it (Amy E).
-First Impressions Reviewers

Read the full review at: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/review...

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a thoughtful and well informed survey of the lives of the creators of Shuffle Along (particularly following songwriters Sissle and Blake). As advertised, this is also a history of the musical and what came after (I didn't know that Josephine Baker was in Shuffle Along!). Per the author's website, this is "the expanded and revised edition of Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way", which I wish was clearer on the GR summary (it does say this on Hoopla, which I borrowed this from). If you care about theater at all, I would recommend picking this up.

Read for the Around the Year prompt: A book with ONE of the five "W" question words in the title

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book and an immediate follow-up to Gaines's previous book about the history of the musical, "Shuffle Along," which was groundbreaking. So many people had not heard of that musical, staged in 1921, in the context of a recovery period after the Spanish flu pandemic. "Shuffle Along" was the first Broadway show with an all-Black cast, with Black showrunners. Both white and Black audiences attended (segregated). It launched the careers of such performers as Josephine Baker. This book follows up on the careers of Blake, Sissle, Noble, and the other Black men who were instrumental in making this show come to life. They also performed in blackface and some of the song titles are definitely problematic by today's standards, especially for Black performers like Billy Porter who was in the 2016 Broadway play based on the making of 'Shuffle Along.' Fans of Gaines's first book will definitely want to get their hands on this one.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of course you know the title is hyperbole. I admit, the all-black musical "Shuffle Along" is an important American touchstone, and the songs did enter the public consciousness and influence other songs. But I would say it did no more of that then say, "Meet Me in St. Louis" (which I would argue was more influential in the world of musicals.)
The hyperbole extends to "when Broadway itself was Black" but this is all pinned on the success of 'Shuffle Along" and of that musical alone. Shuffle Along did not open a flood gate or create a renaissance of Black theatre. Sadly, in the 100 plus years of musical theatre there are probably only four significant shows which highlight a black cast (Porgy and Bess, Shuffle Along, The Wiz and Hamilton.) As a biography or the musical, this is a great book. Well researched. Great anecdotes. As proof of 'Shuffle Along's impact and influence? Here it falls short and oversells itself.

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

12h 5m

"The 1920s were the years of Manhattan's Black Renaissance. It began with Shuffle Along."―Langston Hughes

A landmark in African-American musical theater, Shuffle Along, was one of the most well-known all-Black popular Broadway productions and is said to have served as an inspiration for the 1920s and the 1930s Harlem Renaissance. It sparked the careers of Paul Robeson, Adelaide Hall, Florence Mills, Fredi Washington, and Josephine Baker. It was so well-liked that it created "curtain time traffic jams" on West 63rd Street.

Part One: The Way There
Chapter 1: The Blacker the Bait (1885 - 1915)
Chapter 2: Know Your Audience (1915)
Chapter 3: High Society (1915 - 1917)
Chapter 4: No Man's Land (1917 - 1919)
Chapter 5: The Red Summer (1919)
Chapter 6: Partnered (1919 - 1921)

Part Two: Making It
Chapter 7: Black Bohemians (1921)
Chapter 8: Nevertheless, They Succeeded (1921 -1922)
Chapter 9: Vamped by a Brown Skin (1922 - 1923)

Part Three: Holding On
Chapter 10: Partial Ownership (1923 - 1924)
Chapter 11: Better than Salary (1924 - 1925)
Chapter 12: Another Second Chance (1925 - 1933)
Chapter 13: White Folks Follow (1933 - 1952)
Epilogue: Encores

[Russell Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow I missed it. I saw the description of Caseen Gaines’s When Broadway Was Black and nowhere on the front cover did it say it was a reprint of Gaines’s previous book Footnotes. I read the book, and constantly I kept telling myself I’d read this information before. The “previously published” thing is not prominent on the Amazon listing, so I feel not only a little stupid for not seeing it and a little duped for purchasing this book when I already had the other one. That being said, the book is imminently readable, exhaustively researched, and a wonderfully important look at the contribution of Black performers and writers to the Broadway lexicon, Under either title, I highly recommend this book.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating history of Black-led musicals of the 1920’s and 30’s, primarily focusing on the watershed SHUFFLE ALONG. Gaines paints empathetic portraits of writer-performers Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, the outdated but hugely influential comedy team Miller and Lyles, chanteuse Florence Mills, and of course the genuinely iconic Josephine Baker, whose moxie as an auditioning teenager showed glimpses of her future star power. Sometimes suffers from lack of a narrative thrust, with a description of one event leading to the next like a Wikipedia summary, but the passion for the subject matter is present, the art described is memorable and vivid, and the history is very important. A moving description of the final filmed performance of Blake and an ailing Sissle towards the end of the book is representative of the underlying subtext, that art can uplift and heal.

[Amal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad to be a part of acknowledging and remembering Shuffle Along and the struggle for the creators, Noble Sissle, Eubie Blake, Aubrey Lyles and Flournoy Miller, to bring it onto the Broadway stage. The last chapter really brought it home for me by naming that direct relationship between Shuffle Along and more current shows like Hamilton. The writing style sometimes got me confused, but overall would highly recommend. I'm excited to look more into Caseen Gaines books.

[Kaylyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

From slavery, to segregation, to modern racial injustices. This story details the hard and long journey of Sissle and Blake, along with comedians Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. How they overcame poverty and racism to go on to create the first all black musical.

This book was definitely a hard/heavy read but super important to read!

[David Brimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining and informative deep dive into Sissle & Blake and the show they conceived: The first all-black musical, “Shuffle Along.” Of interest to those who love the black renaissance of the early twentieth century, or Broadway history in general.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never heard of the original production of Shuffle Along until tuning into the 2016 Tony Awards and I was really excited to stumble across this book. It is well researched and well written and shared a part of history that many were not aware of.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve owned this book for some time and would always get too distracted to finish, but this is an incredible story that reiterates that we have always been here, every industry making our mark. There’s pride in that!

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting historical book shedding insight into a musical that I had absolutely no clue about. It was fascinating to learn the background of "I'm Just Wild about Harry" and seeing just what famous name would appear next in their connection to Shuffle Along.

[Calvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so grateful to have been taken through a 100-year journey over the past month of breathlessly flipping through this book.
It's going to be my 10-year anniversary soon of finding my love of Broadway, regional theater, and all that follows and lifts up these institutions. I've always felt like there's an elephant in the room - some historical element I'm definitely missing, especially post-Hamilton. And here it is! Noble Sissle, Eubie Blake, Flournoy Miller, Aubrey Lyles. Folks that brought Black culture and histories to the main stages, however intentional or not, and paved the way for the future of theater.
I rarely get into a non-fiction title, and certainly not something as solid as a nearly 500-page history from the early 1900s to 2021. This was a wild ride and I can't wait to research more from here and follow along with whatever Caseen Gaines creates next.

[Quinn Calcote · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important read to supplement the historical context of musical theatre.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black theater is not a well known area of broadway history. It plays a much bigger part than I expected. Anyone interested in theater history will enjoy the book as well as learn a lot!