The Impact of Shuffle Along

It was one of the most significant musicals of the 20th century: a show written and performed entirely by African Americans; a show with exuberant songs by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle (including the mega-hit “I’m Just Wild About Harry”); the show that brought the Harlem Renaissance to the musical stage; and the first show that allowed black theatergoers to watch from the orchestra after so many years of segregated seating. George Gershwin, Fanny Brice and other luminaries of white musical theater gathered at Shuffle Along to see what they could learn from its ragtime music and spirited dancing, and