THE HANGOVER REPORT – The overstuffed SHUFFLE ALONG brings the Broadway season to a rousing close

90Last night, the ambitious, highly anticipated Shuffle Along, or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed opened at the Music Box, closing the 2015/2016 Broadway season. There’s been a lot of mystic surrounding this musical – from its famously lengthy first preview (nearly four hours!), the irresistibly starry cast (and Audra McDonald’s summer leave of absence!), to its billing as a revival (let’s not kid ourselves, this is a new musical!), to opening cold on Broadway (no out-of-town tryout!). Well, is it any good? In short, indeed, it is. George C. Wolfe’s book chronicles the winding, treacherous path of the creation of the first all-African American Broadway tuner (the 1921 musical Shuffle Along) and its aftermath. Mr. Wolfe’s show celebrates that musical’s trailblazing accomplishments (in addition to its casting, Shuffle Along also featured the first jazz score on Broadway) while recognizing the cost to its creators, who were never able to replicate their inaugural success and were largely forgotten by history – until last night, that is.

Mr. Wolfe has ingeniously, if somewhat mechanically, incorporated the underlying Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake score – which sounds glorious, as arranged and orchestrated by Daryl Waters – into his “let’s put on a show” backstage story. The first act, which depicts the musical’s road to Broadway, is the more theatrically compelling of the two acts. The second act lays out, in unavoidably anticlimactic fashion, the subsequent lackluster careers of those involved with Shuffle Along, and in comparison feels more like a footnote or denouement to the first act. Nevertheless, this overstuffed history lesson (does this sound like another musical this season?) is served by perhaps some of the most rousing staging and performances of the season.

Mr. Wolfe and choreographer Savion Glover have re-teamed for Shuffle Along – the two created stage magic two decades ago (gosh, has it really been that long?) with their similarly-themed Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk – and the results are electric. Mr. Wolfe efficiently and fluidly keeps the episodic show moving along, but it’s Mr. Glover, in my mind, who is the true star of the show, providing muscular, complex dance numbers that both call to mind the era being portrayed yet register viscerally with contemporary audiences. His musical staging for Shuffle Along strikes me as the stuff of Broadway legend. The opening “Broadway Blues”, “Graveyard Shuffle”, the act one closer, and a second act dance-off are just a few of the musical’s thrilling choreographic highlights, and they’re breathtaking to behold in the very capable hands of the tireless ensemble, who hoof as if their lives depend on it (which mirrors these characters’ desperation, thereby creating palpable emotional heat through motion).

The cast is stellar, as you can imagine. As the show’s leading lady, six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald strikes gold again with a multi-faceted performance that’s at once extravagant yet scrappy, diva-like yet generous, strong yet vulnerable. You simply can’t take your eyes off of her. And of course, she sounded like a dream. As the show’s producers, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Billy Porter – both Tony winners – give endearing, well-worn odd couple performances. It’s a particular pleasure to hear Mr. Mitchell’s sterling baritone booming on the Great White Way again. As the competitive upstart composer and lyricists, Joshua Henry and Brandon Victor Dixon, both in fine voice, do their best with perhaps the least dramatically compelling roles in the show. I must also mention that Brooks Ashmanskas, one of our most skilled and distinctive character actors, brings his A-game to a number of miscellaneous roles.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

 

SHUFFLE ALONG
Broadway, Musical
The Music Box
2 hours, 45 minutes (with one intermission)
Open run

Categories: Broadway, Theater

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