Composer

:

Jerome Kern

Genre

:

Musical Theatre

Style

:

Musical Theater

Compose Date

:

1927

First Performance

:

Dec 27, 1927

Average_duration

:

107:46

Show Boat is a musical composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Hammerstein and based on the novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The musical premiered on December 27, 1927, at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. The plot of Show Boat follows the lives of the performers, stagehands, and dock workers on the Cotton Blossom, a Mississippi River show boat, from 1887 to 1927. The story explores themes of racial prejudice, love, and the changing times. The musical features several subplots, including the love story between Magnolia Hawks and Gaylord Ravenal, the struggles of Julie LaVerne, a mixed-race performer, and her husband Steve Baker, and the relationship between Joe, a black dock worker, and Queenie, the boat's cook. The musical is divided into two acts and includes several memorable songs, including "Ol' Man River," "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," and "Make Believe." The music is characterized by Kern's use of syncopation and jazz-inspired melodies, which were groundbreaking for musical theater at the time. Show Boat was a critical and commercial success, running for 572 performances on Broadway and spawning several revivals and adaptations. The musical is also notable for its progressive portrayal of race relations, with Hammerstein and Kern challenging the racial stereotypes prevalent in American culture at the time. Overall, Show Boat is a landmark musical that broke new ground in terms of its music, storytelling, and social commentary. Its enduring popularity and influence on musical theater continue to be felt today.

More....