Show Boat (film)
"Show Boat" is a landmark musical film based on the 1927 stage production, known for seamlessly integrating musical numbers with a dramatic narrative, thereby shaping the modern musical genre. The story is set on a Mississippi riverboat and explores themes of racial prejudice and social issues in the early 20th century. Central to the plot are the characters of Magnolia Hawks and Gaylord Ravenal, whose love story unfolds against the backdrop of societal constraints. Notably, the character Joe, who performs the iconic song "Ol' Man River," was initially intended for the renowned African American singer Paul Robeson, highlighting the racial dynamics of the era.
The film captures significant moments, such as the struggles faced by the mixed-race character Julie LaVerne, and delves into the challenges of African American performers in a racially segregated society. Its influence on American musical theater is profound, having replaced earlier forms of entertainment like comic operettas. Over the years, "Show Boat" has seen multiple revivals and adaptations, further cementing its status in cultural history and showcasing the evolution of representation in the arts. The song "Ol' Man River," in particular, has become an enduring symbol of the African American experience and has been reinterpreted in various contexts, including civil rights movements.
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Subject Terms
Show Boat (film)
Identification: Stage musical about the performers aboard the Mississippi riverboat Cotton Blossom between the years 1880 and1927, based on the eponymous novel by Edna Ferber
Authors: Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II; music by Jerome Kern
Date: 1927
The first production to combine musical numbers with a dramatic libretto, Show Boat pioneered the genre of the stage musical, an improvement on the comic operettas and revues that had become popular during the 1890s. The plot deals with racial prejudice, and the score features the song “Ol’ Man River,” which became an American classic.
The role of the African American dockworker Joe, who performs “Ol’ Man River,” was written for singer Paul Robeson, who was unable to appear in the 1927 American production. The role was instead portrayed by Jules Bledsoe, in a cast including Norma Terris, Howard Marsh, Helen Morgan, Charles Winninger, Edna Mae Oliver, and Tess Gardella, a white actor who played the role of Queenie in the conventional blackface of the era.
Act I opens in Natchez, Mississippi, where Cap’n Andy Hawks presents his theatrical company to an eager crowd. When Pete, the boat’s engineer, accosts Julie LaVerne, wife of leading man Steve Baker, a scuffle ensues. Meanwhile, Andy’s daughter, Magnolia “Nolie” Hawks, becomes smitten with compulsive gambler Gaylord Ravenal. During a rehearsal, the sheriff arrests Steve and Julie, a mulatto, for violating an antimiscegenation law. Steve slices Julie’s hand and sucks a bit of her blood, claiming that he now has mulatto blood as well. Although supported by the troupe, they depart, because African Americans were not allowed to appear on stage at that time. Andy fires Pete and hires Gaylord as leading man. Nolie and Gaylord fall in love and are married.
Act II opens in 1893. Gaylord, Nolie, and their daughter, Kim, now live in a boarding house. Gaylord abandons them, but they meet Frank and Ellie, performers from their showboat days. Nolie auditions at the Trocadero nightclub and is hired for her friend Julie’s old job. Andy and Parthy visit Chicago and rally the crowd during Nolie’s performance on New Year’s Eve. She becomes a major star but retires in 1927, to be succeeded by Kim. Reunited with Ravenal, Nolie returns to the showboat, where Joe again sings “Ol’ Man River.”
Impact
Show Boat had an enormous influence on American musical theater, creating a genre replacing the comic revues and “follies” of the early twentieth century. In 1928, Paul Robeson’s success in the British version forever identified him with “Ol’ Man River,” which he sang in stage revivals, a 1936 film adaptation, and countless concerts, and for which he rewrote the lyrics to use in his fight for civil rights. The late 1920s stage phenomenon of Show Boat has been revived in award-winning adaptations over the ensuing decades.
Bibliography
Block, Geoffrey Holden. Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from “Show Boat” to Sondheim. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Kreuger, Miles. “Show Boat”: The Story of a Classic American Musical. Da Capo Press, 1990.