If Everybody Knew, Episode 1: “about the black musical that disappeared forever, twice”

December 6, 2021

What if everybody knew… about the 1921 all-Black Broadway musical Shuffle Along, and its lasting impact on contemporary musical theater? Host and producer Dexter L. Thomas Jr. explores the show’s lost history with pop culture historian Caseen Gaines, Broadway actor Amber Iman, and Princeton lecturer Catherine M. Young, who will teach a Spring 2022 course in Humanistic Studies (HUM 321, Excavate/Illuminate: Creating Theater from the Raw Material of History) delving into the history of documentary theater and the Tulsa Race Massacre. Learn more about HUM 321: and listen to the first episode of “If Everybody Knew” on the Humanities Council website or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.


“If Everybody Knew” is a new podcast brought to you by the Humanities Council at Princeton University. Each episode highlights innovative research, new ideas, and untold stories in the humanities at Princeton and beyond. Monthly episodes will be available on the Humanities Council podcast page, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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