Jazz Age star Florence Mills has been called “the Beyonce of that time.” Gertrude Saunders, her peer, was Bessie Smith’s husband’s mistress, which led to a public brawl.
Actress Adrienne Warren plays both stars in “Shuffle Along, Or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed,” which begins previews on Tuesday at the Music Box. The show re-creates that pioneering all-black Jazz Age revue. It also goes backstage to imagine what went on behind the scenes among the creators and cast.
Warren, previously on Broadway in “Bring It On,” talks about creating Saunders and Mills, a process that begins, she says, “with posture.” And listen in to hear Saunders warble the period tune, “I’m Craving for That Kind of Love.”
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Produced by: Joe Dziemianowicz
Edited by: Frank Posillico
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