Show Boat is a landmark in the history of American musical theater. The musical opened in 1927 with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II. The story about life on the Mississippi River from the late 1880’s to 1927 was based on the novel Show Boat (1926) by the American writer Edna Ferber.
Show Boat was a revolutionary departure from the light musicals and operettas of its day. The show dealt seriously with unhappy marriages and race relations. Its heroes and heroines were flawed, and their lives did not all end happily. The music was integrated into the stories more realistically than the typical song-and-dance shows of the 1920’s.
The heart of the musical is the showboat Cotton Blossom. The boat steams up and down the Mississippi River, presenting shows at river towns. The leading characters are the gambler Gaylord Ravenal and Magnolia, the daughter of Cotton Blossom skipper Cap’n Andy Hawks. Other characters include Cap’n Andy’s sharp-tongued wife, Parthy Ann Hawks; the mixed-race singer Julie La Verne, and the Black boat hand Joe.
Kern’s score contains some of the most popular songs in American musical theater. They include “Ol’ Man River,” “Make Believe,” “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man,” “Why Do I Love You?,” “You Are Love,” and “Bill (with lyrics by Hammerstein and P. G. Wodehouse).”
Show Boat has been revived several times on the stage, notably in a lavish 1994 Broadway production directed by Harold Prince. The musical has also been filmed in 1929, 1936, and 1951.
