Shuffle Along NYC Reviews and Tickets

"George C. Wolfe's combination of putting-on-a-show story and history lesson about the groundbreaking contributions of the 'Shuffle Along' team to musical theater has so many riches that it's easy to forgive its somewhat disappointing execution of the 'All That Followed' second act...Brilliantly choreographed by Savion Glover with a large, to-die-for, top-to-bottom cast...'Shuffle Along' is a most enjoyable, invigorating new look at a savory and worth thinking about slice of musical history."
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"Witnessing the struggles and victories of the principal characters in 'Shuffle Along' is exciting, not to mention mind-bogglingly entertaining...The collaboration of Wolfe and choreographer Savion Glover is inspired, although even they and their craft can’t quite relieve the heavy-handed story line and moralizing...The choreography is simply superb, not only recreating the era’s cheery virtuosity, but giving it a fresh, contemporary spin, performed by an expert, youthful cast."
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“The drive of Act One left Act Two with little to no destination in mind...A lot of time is wasted on material that just doesn’t have the drive or the passion that vibrated off the stage during Act One...Throughout the whole show, I have never seen such powerful tap dancing in my life...but at the three hour mark, we are all a bit ready to step outside and rejoin the current Broadway’s sparkling lights and excitement.”
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"The first act is pretty much pure joy from start to finish...It is chock-full of dancing, song, dazzling costumes, and you could probably leave at intermission and feel totally satisfied…George C. Wolfe is a more dazzling director than succinct writer. You can almost feel the energy dissipating as we get near the end, but the performers just keep keeping on…It’s not perfect and it’s not the game changer the original was. But I hope it stays put for a long time."
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"A history lesson wrapped in a vivid theatrical entertainment wrapped in a rebuke...It may be too much, but you most definitely don’t want to live without it!...Wolfe stunningly recreates numbers from the show onstage and backstage, with the invaluable help of the magnificent tap choreography of Savion Glover...The show’s second act fares slightly less well, as it gives us more of a paint-by-numbers recap of the fates of these characters...Get tickets while they last."
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“It is cataclysmically entertaining...Glover’s thrilling choreography is enough alone to make the show worth seeing...Wolfe’s ambition to tell the story behind the musical...quickly starts feeling as if he were a PhD student defending his thesis about the significance of this 'sadly neglected' musical...Luckily, Wolfe the savvy showman often wins out over Wolfe the pedant, and there are moments of ‘Shuffle Along’ that are as electrifying and sublime as any this season on Broadway.”
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“A sometimes inspired and sometimes listless exploration of a path-breaking theatrical work...Despite the excellence of the leads, it comes to seem as much a lecture-demonstration as a drama. This 'Shuffle Along' is sometimes edifying and sometimes entertaining, but rarely do these twin aims coincide...It’s only when the feet are tapping, the fringe is swaying and the voices of the leads and chorus are celebrating the thrill of syncopation that the musical lives again.”
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“A very didactic approach, but whenever their words threaten to turn into a Wikipedia entry, Wolfe the writer hands the reins to his better half: Wolfe the director, with an assist from Savion Glover the choreographer. Both have no equal on Broadway this season. In a year of pandering, corn-pone musicals, ‘Shuffle Along’ exudes elegance and intelligence at every turn. While it’s big in its ambitions, theatrical thrills, and the emotions it stirs, Wolfe achieves much in very small ways.”
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