'Shuffle Along' Changed Musical Theater 100 Years Ago
Though much of it is unwatchable today " it contains blackface and other minstrelsy " Shuffle Along brought jazz to Broadway and was the first African American show to be a smash hit.
Today is Sunday, May 17, 2026 Opening: The 70th Drama Desk Awards Broadway Baby Birthdays: Michael Trent Reznor David Eigenberg Michael Mastro Kathy Rich Jennifer Butt Bob Saget Jerry Lanning Peter Gerety Dennis Hopper Frederick Neumann David Vaughan Lidija Franklin Bob Merrill Gordon McDonald Buster Brown Maureen O'Sullivan Horace McMahon Elliot Norton Ruth Donnelly Byron Russell Conway Tearle Bertram Marburgh Bertha Kalich Ellis Jeffreys Tom Lewis Alice Barnett Jane Robertson Sandy Rochelle John Patrick Ioana Alfonso Armand Schultz Al White Taj Mahal Raymond Gerome Zinka Milanov Ferdi Hoffman