Shuffle Along - What happened? — Page 2

Just to correct/clarify some items in this thread:

- The show was doing OK but was not a sell-out hit, and as noted the advance for Audra's departure was very poor

- Audra was always planning on being out but it was going to be for a very short run (I believe 12 weeks) and not a 6 month maternity

- The show was very long in previews but changed dramatically by opening - they cut about an hour out of the show including whole characters (Josephine Baker). So those of you who only saw the first 2-3 previews didn't really see the finished product.

- The legal case on the insurance claim is still pending and the show has not recouped, here is a somewhat recent article:

http://www.fordhamiplj.org/2018/11/19/shuffle-along-down-to-the-courthouse-broadway-producers-argue-actors-pregnancy-is-an-accident-worth-14-million/

I loved Shuffle Along, and saw it for the first time toward the end of previews. I ended up seeing it a total of 4 times including the final performance. I thought the tap choreography was absolutely thrilling. How I wish a cast recording had been made, but very thankful for the few clips that are on YouTube.

givesmevoice said: "bdn223 said: "Its similar to why War Paint closed on November 5, 2017, instead of playing through its announced closing of December 30, 2017. Patti LuPone’s hip injury allowed the producers to cash in in their Key man insurance policy and recoup costs for the entire production, instead of loosing more money by risking the show without her."

To get into the semantics of it, I wouldn't refer to LuPone's hip replacement surgery as an "injury," because if there was a traumatic injury (like a break), she wouldn't have been able to perform in War Paint as long as she did. But your point still stands.

(That being said, she's getting her other hip replaced this summer, and I wonder what that would mean for Glengarry Glenn Ross. She'd need more recovery time than a summer surgery and fall opening would allow.)"

I agree that its not a traditional “injury” and I am sure the insurance broker who sold policy for Patti Lupone lost his/her job for not requiring a full physical which would of caught her hip problem. If I had to guess it was her spotty attendance in the last 2 months of the run due to her pain and its clear impact on tickets, allowed producers to cash in on the policy.

Hip replacement has a 3-6 month recovery period with the second hip normally a quicker recovery time as the patient knows what to expect. I think the real question is whether she will be doing Glengarry Glen Ross in the Fall and Company in the Spring, considering neither production has formally announced dates.

orlikethecolorpurple said: "I saw it a week or two after opening and found it THRILLING. Billy Porter and Adrienne Warren's solos alone made it all seem worth it to me. Then on top of that, you have Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Brandon Victor Dixon, Joshua Henry, etc.And the dancing!Some of the most exciting tap I've seen in a musical.

It wasn't perfectly constructed and was perhaps a bit long for some, but it was interesting, informative, entertaining,and representative. And each of those actors was giving incredible performances.In my opinion, it was far better than 4/5 shows nominated for Best Musical this year.



Cora Hoover Hooper said: "Was the show ever recorded?"

There is an 8 track live recording issued to Tony voters, but no official recording otherwise. The irony of a show about a revolutionary hit musical being lost inobscurity and then meeting the same fate again. It's still disappointing.

"I thought so. I couldn't find anything online about a recording. Too bad. I love Eubie Blake.