I absolutely love Broadway, and I was thrilled for the opportunity to learn more about the African American influences on such an important cornerstone of US culture.

This was such a well researched book that focused on the creative minds behind the hit show Shuffle Along. Covering from before any of the writers or composers or musicians met each other, we start in the childhoods of severalof these individuals and follow them as they all discover passions for music and performance. Stretching through the Harlem Renaissance, through the great Depression, and World War II, this book extensively relates the major influences of such creative minds as Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake.

The writing style is engaging and personable while also being exceptionally informative. It was easy to read and made for an enjoyable lesson on the trials that African American creatives and performers dealt with, and still deal with to this day, the racism, the poverty, and disenfranchisement

I smiled every time I recognized an artist mentioned, like Josephine Baker and Florence Mills, and when I didn't recognize an artist, I started making a list of people whose works I needed to look up, like Paul Robeson. I would highly recommend this to anyone that has an interest in musical and theater history in the United States.

My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this arc.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this book incredibly interesting the author really kept me hooked until the end. very well written I highly recommend.

This was a fascinating and well-researched dive into Broadway history and black history. Thoroughly recommend

Little is known about the history of Black performers on Broadway from the beginning of the 20th century. Caseen Gaines does a magnificent job in dissecting the business of vaudevilles, cabarets, speakeasies and theaters where Black performers rose to fame only for so many to be forgotten by history.

“The musical comedy Shuffle Along was: “ a fast – moving syncopated jazz score with snappy lyrics, beautiful brown dancers, political satire, and a book that challenged the notion of what was socially taboo while also harkening back to America’s familiar, albeit increasingly antiquated, tradition of minstrelsy.”

Shuffle Along opened on West 63rd Street in New York City in 1921. It was created by four African American men who were already successful performers, Noble Sissle, Flournoy Miller, Aubrey Lyles and Eubie Blake. The creators didn’t know how this all African American production would be received, but the show turned into a huge hit with audience members of all colors who loved the music, laughed at the jokes and appreciated the dancing girls (each of whom was required to be light skinned). This was a good thing, since construction of the theater was not yet finished and the production was out of money.

This book traces the development of this innovative musical and the obstacles faced. It also describes the careers of the creators, including their vaudeville experiences and their WWI military service. The book has photos and it’s jarring to see pictures of some of the performers in blackface. After the show left New York it moved on to other cities and finally ended on the road in 1923. The author obviously did extensive research to describe all of the many attempts to bring back Shuffle Along in one form or another. None of the subsequent iterations met with commercial success, although a version created to entertain troops overseas was popular. The participants squabbled, the book became dated and there was competition from other African American shows. This part of the book felt repetitive, probably because the creators were just repeating themselves rather than producing something new. The book has photos and it’s jarring to see pictures of some of the performers in blackface.

In 2015 I saw a Broadway musical called Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. I had never heard of Shuffle Along before then, and neither had most of the cast members of that new musical, which looked at the story surrounding the production of the original and its aftermath. The new musical retained much of the music from the original (including I’m Just Wild About Harry) but the book was new and omitted aspects of the original (like blackface and racial stereotypes) that would not have gone over well today. Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell were two of the many talented actors. I loved the show but it closed early when McDonald had to leave the show and they didn’t recast her role. I was glad to have had the opportunity to learn more about the origins of Shuffle Along. This book should appeal to people interested in theater history and social history.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

This book is extremely detailed and would be a valuable resource for anyone interested in Broadway history, especially in regards to "Shuffle Along" and its contributions in bringing Black creativity to main stream America.
The author's writing style made a complex and comprehensive narrative enjoyable to read even for an unknowledgable person like myself. I enjoyed following up my reading with searches on YouTube and google to see more photos and videos of those persons mentioned in the book.

I am so glad I read this book -- it shines a light on Black artists who had unsung accomplishments in the history of Broadway - including musicals and comedy. The title is very accurate -- these outstanding writers and performers have only been a footnote in history yet were very influential on theatre yet did not get the credit they so deserved. As outlined in the book, there are cases of white producers appropriating the work or copying and repackaging the work to make it their own. I never knew that the song "I Am Just Wild About Harry" and the dance "The Charleston" were created by Black artists as a part of the show "Shuffle Along." Who knew that Josephine Baker got her start in this show! Eubie Blake was one of the creators of this show and I think the only reason I had heard about him before was because of the Tony Award- winning show on Broadway called Eubie! from the late 1970's. Gaines' book is meticulously researched and we get great insights into the making of the show, the behind-the-scenes lives of the major players as well as the context of what was happening in the theater industry and the world at that time.

I highly recommend this book!

I'm a huge Broadway fan, and one of my favourite birthday gifts was the book 'ShowTime' by Larry Stempel. The book mentions a musical called 'Shuffle Along', that was a sensation in Broadway in 1921- an all-Black cast, with Black creatives, that was responsible for kickstarting the careers of many stalwarts of the stage, among others, Paul Robeson, Florence Mills and Josephine Baker. I couldn't find more information about it though, in as much detail as I wanted, and this book is perfect for that. It's a lot more than a book about this particular musical though which makes it perfect for anyone with a passing interest in history as well-it's an exploration that centres Black performers, both theatre and musical performers, as they grappled with restrictive race laws, dangerous working conditions and mindsets that refused to accept art beyond a narrow paradigm. For instance, he considers the heart-breaking work compulsions that forced successful Black vaudevillians to don blackface, and the important parts they played in slowly and gradually working to reduce stereotyped portrayals of African -Americans on stage. While I've heard about James Reese Europe, for instance, I loved that this book gave me a lot more detail about his position as a foundational musician who mentored so many more, though he died tragically too young. The Harlem Renaissance played a vital part in inspiring the musical, so the book explores that as well, and how all of these works of art were and performers were inspiring and influencing each other. 'Shuffle ALong' isn't just important for its astounding popularity ( more than 500 performances on Broadway), it was also a pioneer in many ways, specially noted for its choreography, that emphasised the skills of the dancers. Contemporary revues like the Ziegfield Follies also had dances, but they were more inclined to the spectacle side of it, rather than the dances of Shuffle Along that were intricately choreographed, where the dance “number” itself was the highlight of the show, and not an addition. 'Shuffle Along' was a collaboration between Miller and Lyles, a popular comedy duo, who wrote the book for the musical, and Blake and Sissle, musicians who frequently collaborated, and composed the music. Gaines delves into the backgrounds of each of them, and the unbelievable grace under pressure they displayed to make careers for themselves in a systemically racist society. He also gives you a great insight into all the effort required to put a show together, from choosing appropriate theatres to fund-raising. It wasn’t without its problems though-many of the female performers complained of colourism in the auditions. It’s important to recognise the many achievements of the show, though, while acknowledging that it wasn’t perfect.
The Great Depression of 1929, however, ended this brilliant run, as it did for theatres across Broadway. While the creative forces behind ‘Shuffle Along’ tried other musicals, none ran for as long as this did, though they had moderate successes with other musicals like Runnin’ Wild, famous for popularising the Charleston. They went on to have successes in their careers, though they didn’t work together again. Gaines points out, it’s also very unfair that ‘Shuffle Along’ doesn’t rank up there among the greatest American musicals, despite a song from it being used in Harry Truman’s re-election campaign. A far more lasting achievement though, of all these musicals backed by Black creative and Black actors, was to work towards diverse portrayals of Black life in America. Though it seems obvious now, it’s sad to think that it was considered radical for ‘Shuffle Along’ to have a romantic relationship onstage, that didn’t either end in slapstick comedy or tragedy, for the African-American protagonists. It opened the doors to the idea of stories that weren’t only about plantation life, and more importantly, it showcased the talents of the performers for their skills as singers, dancers and actors, and not merely as novelties onstage (as the prevailing attitudes were). It’s sad to think that the creators were hoping to achieve all of this way back in the 1920s when they haven’t been entirely solved even in the 2020s. It’s ultimately a great story though, a perfect union of genius and hard work coming together, that has influenced so many others. This book will ensure that ‘Shuffle Along’ isn’t merely a footnote in the Great American Songbook.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
If you are like me, you enjoy seeing new Broadway shows coming out and can identify the “big” names. However, anyone who hasn’t been deemed “big” by the media has been left behind. Footnotes changes that and brings a group of pioneering performers into the spotlight.

I was fascinated by Shuffle Along, and the creatives behind it. Black performers have always had a complex place in the theatre, and Footnotes doesn’t shy away from that. The lasting impact of slavery was still very really in the US, and the team took a massive risk producing their show. I couldn’t put this book down, and I think that Gaines has done an incredible job of not only sharing the show’s history but placing it in a much wider context. He skilfully examines the show in relation to slavery, the Harlem Renaissance, and even Black soldiers and performers in Europe in the First World War.

And I felt like I didn’t only learn about the featured four figures. By following Sissle, Blake, Miller, and Lyles, we are introduced to countless other Black performers and musicians in New York in the early twentieth century. There are so many Black members of the theatre community who have long been ignored and largely lost in Broadway history, and Gaines is bringing them to the forefront. While this book is thorough, it is by no means dry, and is an entertaining and lively read.

With the theatre industry taking a long overdue look at itself and the prevalent racism still in place today, the role of Black performers and creatives is finally starting to be recognised. And as audience members, we have a role to play in that process as well. Footnotes is a must-read for any theatre or performing arts fans.

Fantastic read perfect for anyone who loves theater also perfect for theater classes.a story of a group of dancers who ushered in the Harlem renaissance.A group of talented people a book Ibreally enjoyed.#netgalley#sourcebooks

What a phenomenal book, and such an important story to tell! Footnotes is a necessary addition not only to every theatre lover's collection, but to every history lover's collection, too. Shuffle Along was such a pivotal moment in the history of musical theatre in the United States and this is an exhaustively researched and very well written account of the production. I have no criticism--I can't wait for my hard copy to arrive, and I very much hope Caseen Gaines is at work on another project.

Read if you: Want an engrossing and moving account of the first all-Black Broadway production.

Librarians/booksellers: This is not just an overview of the show's history; it's also a sobering and unflinching look at the brutality of inequities faced by African-Americans during that time. It is also an entertaining look at the show's legacy.

Many thanks to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I found Footnotes to be an incredibly compelling read! I would highly recommend this to any theatre lover. I didn't know any of the stories in this book, and I hope this book becomes mandatory in any theatre class. Major thank you to Netgalley and SOURCEBooks for allowing me to read and review Footnotes ahead of its release!

Footnotes is the remarkable true story of the Black artists behind the unlikely Broadway sensation, Shuffle Along, that brought jazz into the mainstream and helped usher in the Harlem Renaissance—in the aftermath of a World War, decimated economy, worldwide pandemic,and the most violent period of racial violence since the Civil War.Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

Trigger Warnings: racism, mention of lynching (chapter 1), mentions of shooting (chapter 1), mentions of death (chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5), mentions of blackface, slavery, mentions of whipping (chapter 2), mentions of physical abuse, use of the n word, mentioned death of a parent (cancer, chapter 3), mentions of the military and war, mentions of hanging (chapter 3, chapter 5), stabbing (on page, chapter 5), mentions of alcohol and drinking, mentions of adultery, mentions of sexual assault (chapter 8), colorism, mentions of mental illness (chapter 10), mentions of surgery

I absolutely loved this book. While I know a lot about the history of musical theatre, I did not know any of the things in this book, which I think is such a shame as it clearly is such an important part of theatre history. A must-read for all theatre fans!