Bored playing the same score over and over, night after night, the musicians began to improvise. They improvised so much from night to night that if, at the end of the run, they had played the score exactly as written, the cast wouldn't have recognized it. Sometimes Eubie himself would add something unusual for the piano, or Still would write out something for the rest of them to try. Pianist, Verna Arvey
The pit band of Shuffle Along always drew comment because it played without music, having committed the entire score to memory. We did that because it was expected of us. People didn't believe that blacks could read music - they wanted to think that our ability was just natural talent. Eubie Blake
| Y/M/D | Association | Description | Place | Locale | Food | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921/05/23 | Paul Robeson | Chorus | The premiere of 'Shuffle Along' at the Cort 63rd Street Theatre, 22 W 63rd St, NYC (razed) begins a runs of 504 performances. | ||||
| 1921/05/23 | Josephine Baker | Dancer | The premiere of 'Shuffle Along' at the Cort 63rd Street Theatre, 22 W 63rd St, NYC (razed) begins a runs of 504 performances. | ||||
| 1921/05/23 | Eubie Blake | Composer | The premiere of 'Shuffle Along' at the Cort 63rd Street Theatre, 22 W 63rd St, NYC (razed) begins a runs of 504 performances. | ||||
| 1921/08/00 | Florence Mills | Actress | Florence Mills stars in 'Shuffle Along' at the Cort 63rd Street Theatre, 22 W 63rd St, NYC (razed), August 1921 to May 1922. | ||||
| 1921/09/07 | Langston Hughes | Audience member | And as soon as I could, I made a beeline for Shuffle Along, the all-colored hit musical playing on 63rd Street in which Florence Mills came to fame. - LH | ||||
| 1921/11/00 | Blanche Calloway | In Baltimore, Blanche Calloway joins the touring company of Shuffle Along |
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