Hi, my name is Olivia and I’m in my fourth year of Sociology.
Today I will be talking about the musical, ‘the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed’ from the New York Times Magazine article “’Shuffle Along’ and the Lost History of Black Performance in America.”
In early American theatre and much of the 19th century, African-American people were not allowed to perform onstage because, the physical stage itself had power in it. Blackface, a minstrel show practice, where white and (later) black performers applied burnt cork to darken their complexion. Black people who did black face to perform on stage, but had to hide their blackness behind a darker blackness. As white people placed boundaries for what black performers could express on stage, putting enormous pressure on black people go appear behind a mask previously worn by white performers. A mask which only mocked themselves, their own race, while at the same time giving up power all in order to entertain and please white audiences.
‘Shuffle Along’ reinforced the original purpose of blackface of mocking African Americans, through the continual use of burnt cork on performers faces. As a blacks-in-blackface production, the blackface mask prevented black people from being their own selves. However, it challenged the taboo black sexuality because, it made white people uncomfortable if black people indulged in too much lovemaking. ‘Shuffle Along’ also challenged the typical rhythms in musical theatre, through the the use of ragtime (by mixing European forms, harmony and textures with African-inspired syncopation) and jazz into the American musical. While the Chorus lines’s song-and-dance style to the syncopated and jazz songs, popularized songs such as “Love Will Find A Way,” “Bandana Days” and “In Honeysuckle Time” within the musical setting; which shifted the meaning of blackness, allowing the faces behind the blackface mask to gain some recognition as a performer.
Among the music in ‘Shuffle Along’, the song which remains the most well-known is “I’m Just Wild About Harry” which was written and composed by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle. Although it was originally a love song, I had never heard of it before taking this course. It is a song that has since been recorded and performed by many different artists.
Here is one version of “I’m Just Wild About Harry” sung by Judy Garland:
“Patting Juba” is an African dance where the performer drums on their body, by slapping their chest and knees and the soles of their feet. By wearing hard-soled shoes on a wooden floor, it created a drum which could be used during the dance. Patting Juba was seen as a black thing, so it was performed in blackface. The second Juba dancer referred to as ‘Juba’ was a young black kid was the best in the world. His story is included, because he too based on his ‘race’ and skin colour could not find success with a broad white audience unless he was painted with blackface. Titled as the first great American tap dancer, his real identity will forever remain a mystery because, he was never able to be his true self. His image, painted in the only way ‘others’ could accept him; in a blackface mask. Juba’s image will always remain indistinguishable from the others, from the white men because, they are all painted the same. Only a caption can tell us which is him.
Among the claims of historical significance, “Shuffle Along” has often been called the first successful black broadway show. However, ‘success’ split less than two years after its opening on Broadway because its creators disagreed with the show’s profit as most was earned from the written songs of Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle. However, credit should be given to William and Walker productions like their 1907-9 show “Bandanna Land” which played in a more legitimate “broadway” house unlike the Sixty-Third Street Music Hall and attracted large white audiences before “Shuffle Along” came along. “Shuffle Along” has also been called the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance, an artistic movement deeply tied to and influenced by jazz, musical theatre and other popular styles of music at the time. A show based on past forms of stage entertainment of Minstrelsy and Vaudeville; “Shuffle Along” only introduced syncopation in the American Musical. So “Shuffle Along”, did not start but was a part of the Harlem Renaissance.The true beginning of the Harlem Renaissance should be the Great migration which occurred after the Civil War where African-Americans migrated from the south to northern cities such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit. The Great Migration allowed writers, musicians and artists to artistically express their culture and political, social, and economic conditions of being black in America to achieve equality and civil rights in American society.
The concept of the 2016 show was a transformation of black entertainment. Not doing “Shuffle Along” but what led to the making of “Shuffle Along.” By telling the story of the original creators and cast of the 1821 shows to show how they pulled it off, along with various white outsider perspectives who commented on the original show. Here are highlights from the 2016 show:
Prior to reading this article, I had no knowledge about the conditions and challenges faced by early African American performers. The physical stage itself had power in it. Blackface was the only way for black performers to be accepted in front of white audiences. Always under criticism for what they lack and no set expectations of ‘true acceptance’ by society, prevents black performers to be who need to be.
The textbook does not give a fair perspective on blackface in America because it only defines what is as a minstrel show practice of darkening their skin complexion with burnt cork. The text primarily focuses on white performers and briefly mentions African American performers. It never describes the context behind blackface and why it became a popular form of stage entertainment for white people or what blackface meant for black performers.
Sources:
Campbell, Michael. Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes On. 4th ed.* Boston: Schirmer/Cengage Learning, 2013.
History.com Staff. “Great Migration.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, www.history.com/topics/black-history/great-migration.
History.com Staff. “Harlem Renaissance.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/black-history/harlem-renaissance.
Reign, April. “Broadway Black History: Shuffle Along.” Broadway Black, T&L Productions Andrew Shade, 14 May 2015, broadwayblack.com/shuffle-along/.
Sullivan, John Jeremiah. “’Shuffle Along’ and the Lost History of Black Performance in America.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Mar. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/magazine/shuffle-along-and-the-painful-history-of-black-performance-in-america.html?mcubz=1.
