The new Broadway musical Shuffle Along, Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, which has been in previews since March 15, takes a planned hiatus starting March 28 so the creators can do rewrites and some restaging. The show is scheduled to resume performances April 1, en route to its planned April 28 opening night.
All available seats for that newly-added Friday, April 1 performance have been priced at $40. All revenue from the April 1 performance will be donated to The Actors Fund.
Producers issued a statement March 28 explaining that they “are offering this low-priced ticket as a thank you to the musical’s enthusiastic fans who lined up outside the Music Box Theatre’s box office from Monday, March 21 to Thursday, March 24 for the chance to purchase same-day $40 rush tickets, but who were unable to do so since those performances were cancelled as a result of the illness of Audra McDonald, one of the musical’s stars.”
Shuffle Along, which plays at the Music Box Theatre, also stars fellow Tony winners Brian Stokes Mitchell and Billy Porter, plus Tony nominees Brandon Victor Dixon and Joshua Henry. Scott Rudin is producing the show. George C. Wolfe is writing the book as well as directing, and Savion Glover is creating the choreography.
The new show is opening “cold” on Broadway, meaning without an out-of-town tryout or previous regional production. Developmental workshops were held in Manhattan in fall 2015.
The show reportedly has been running over three hours in early previews.
The backstage story recounts the making of one of the first successful all-black Broadway musical hits that was also written by African-Americans. It opened the door for black performers and writers on the stage during the 1920s Harlem Renaissance.
The new musical uses the Blake & Sissle music with an original libretto and some new lyrics by Wolfe. The show will represent the first collaboration between Wolfe and tap master Glover since their Tony-winning Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk in 1996.
Tickets are available by calling (212) 239-6200 or visiting Telecharge.com. A number of $40 preview rush tickets, limited to two tickets per person, are available on the day of performance beginning at 10 AM Monday through Saturday, at the box office of the Music Box Theatre, 239 West 45th Street. This offer will be available through Wednesday, April 27 only.
