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Shuffle Along Gets Behind-the-Scenes Treatment on CBS

CBS’s “Sunday Morning,” with Maurice DuBois, gave those of us anxiously awaiting previews for Shuffle Along a little sneak peek to hold us over until March.

In this divine union of Black Broadway brilliance, Shuffle Along, Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed is the reimagining of the classic 1921 musical.  The star-studded cast, including Audra McDonaldBrian Stokes Mitchell and Billy Porter, chatted with “Sunday Morning” about the process and the progress.

“I actually threw some tap shoes on a few months back just to see what would happen, and my timing was very awful, you know,” joked Mitchell.  “But it came back after a while!”

Now, Shuffle Along is back, nearly 100 years after becoming one of the first hit musical comedies starring, written and directed by African Americans.  For all of the strides and successes it made in its time, its significance remained unearthed for decades following its closing.

“And then history stepped in and said, ‘Thank you — and maybe we’ll remember you, and maybe we won’t,” said Tony Award-winning director George C. Wolfe.

The all-star team is lead by Wolfe and his Jelly’s Last Jam protegé, famed choreographer Savion Glover. By all accounts, Glover’s unique tap style is less than old hat for the Broadway Vets.

“I learned how to tap traditionally… I can say this: I learned how to tap from the white folks!” Porter cackled.  “I was at a ballet bar. It was very technical. Now, it’s like learning a whole ‘nother language.”

Even the seemingly flawless Ms. McDonald is still trying to find her groove.

“Because Savion doesn’t necessarily say, ‘This step is a left flap-ball-change-shuffle.’ He goes, Ba-da-da ba-da-da … it’s just call-and-response with him. That’s how he teaches.”

But in true professional fashion, each of the players are up to the challenge.

“I’ll say, like, ‘Oh, I can simplify that for you.’ And they say, ‘No, give me the harder one. I wanna learn that,'” Glover said. “That makes me feel great!”

Glover and Wolfe have been successfully working together for 23 years, since Glover was a teenager.  Wolfe directed the piece in which Glover earned his first Tony award for choreography, Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk.  

“In our early years of working together, I was there, I was present, but the need to want to learn more wasn’t there,” Glover said of his younger experiences. “Versus this time, I’m learning as we’re working.”

Now, the duo is working together to retell this backstage story about the making of one of the first all-Black Broadway musical hits.  The original production, which launched the careers of greats including Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson, made fans of then New York City shakers George Gershwin, Fanny Brice, Al Jolson, and Langston Hughes.

The large cast of 30, which also includes Brandon Victor Dixon, Joshua Henry, Felicia Boswell, Amber Iman and Adrienne Warren, begins official rehearsals in January and we’re not sure who’s more excited, them or us!

“It is such an honor and such a gift to be able to actually exist inside of your dreams,” Porter told DuBois. “This is actually the dream. I am living the dream. It’s extraordinary; it really is.”

Written By

www.broadwayblack.com

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