We are finally getting dates for Broadway returning to the stage in the autumn (of 2021, if you are reading this in the future)! And other theatres and companies have already taken to the stage for socially distanced productions. So, I was thrilled to see that there is a new Broadway history book focusing on Black Broadway performers. There aren’t that many books about Broadway history, and many of that limited number focus on white performers and creators. I think that anyone who is interested in Broadway or the performing arts will love Footnotes by Caseen Gaines! Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way, Caseen Gaines
The triumphant story of how an all-Black Broadway cast and crew changed musical theatre–and the world–forever.
This musical introduced Black excellence to the Great White Way. Broadway was forever changed and we, who stand on the shoulders of our brilliant ancestors, are charged with the very often elusive task of carrying that torch into our present.–Billy Porter, Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winning actor
If Hamilton, Rent, or West Side Story captured your heart, you’ll love this in-depth look into the rise of the 1921 Broadway hit, Shuffle Along, the first all-Black musical to succeed on Broadway. No one was sure if America was ready for a show featuring nuanced, thoughtful portrayals of Black characters–and the potential fallout was terrifying. But from the first jazzy, syncopated beats of composers Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, New York audiences fell head over heels.
Footnotes is the story of how Sissle and Blake, along with comedians Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles, overcame poverty, racism, and violence to harness the energy of the Harlem Renaissance and produce a runaway Broadway hit that launched the careers of many of the twentieth century’s most beloved Black performers. Born in the shadow of slavery and establishing their careers at a time of increasing demands for racial justice and representation for people of color, they broke down innumerable barriers between Black and white communities at a crucial point in our history.
Author and pop culture expert Caseen Gaines leads readers through the glitz and glamour of New York City during the Roaring Twenties to reveal the revolutionary impact one show had on generations of Americans, and how its legacy continues to resonate today.
Why You Should Read This…
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.
And I’ve got to add, please do what you can to support the arts! They need our help and support more than ever.
Is Footnotes by Caseen Gaines on your to-read list?
Cheers,
The Historian
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