May 23 - BlackFacts.com Black History Minute

BlackFacts.com: Learn/Teach/Create Black History

BlackFacts.com presents the black fact of the day for May 23.

Shuffle Along, the 1st black hit musical, opened at the 63rd St. Music Hall in New York City.

The show was developed by black comedians Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles and featured music by Eubie Blake and lyrics by Noble Sissle.

Based loosely on Miller and Lyles’ vaudeville act “The Mayor of Dixie,” the show told the story of a heated mayoral election in Jimtown, Dixieland.

Lively dancing and memorable songs—including “I’m Just Wild About Harry” and “Love Will Find a Way”—contributed to the musical’s great popularity with audiences.

The show ran a total of 504 performances and helped widen opportunities on Broadway for black musicians and performers.

During its long run, the show introduced three entertainers whose later careers would be notable: Paul Robeson, Florence Mills, and Josephine Baker.

It was the first Broadway musical to feature a sophisticated African-American love story, rather than a frivolous comic one.

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