The musical comedy Shuffle Along opened at the Howard Theatre in Washington, DC in 1921. It featured an all-black cast. The show proved to be such a hit, two months later it made its premiere at the Sixty-third Street Theatre in New York City. The plot involves two men running for mayor. The musical includes the song “I’m Just Wild about Harry” which President Harry S. Truman used as his campaign slogan in 1948. Shuffle Along was revived in 1932, 1952, and in 2016, with a new libretto by George C. Wolfe and choreography by Savion Glover.
Actress Adrienne Warren is nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical. She deserves it because she’s talented and because she plays two roles – Gertrude Saunders and Florence Mills, the actress who replaces Saunders. Saunders is the one who sings “I’m Just Wild about Harry.” Warren is known for her role as head cheerleader in Bring It On: The Musical, and for her guest roles on Orange Is the New Black (Dina), and Blue Bloods (Rachel Manning). Shuffle Along is up for a total of 10 Tony Awards. The ceremony will be televised on Sunday, June 12 at 8pm on CBS.
