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    The Musical  
Key Figures
The Story
The Musical: Part I
The Musical: Part II
Lyrics
Works Cited

 

 

Yet Show Boat is not distinctly a musical comedy or an operetta. Nor is it simply a conglomeration of all the existing theatre genres of the Twenties. It is truly a product of its time, as it incorporated elements of all the genres, yet kept with the progressive spirit of the age in pulling in outside cultural influences. In the creation of Show Boat, Kern and Hammerstein wanted to parlay the broad national atmosphere of Ferber's novel into the show on the stage. Thus they combined existing cultural forces, such as jazz and film (in regards to its narrative presentation), with the existing theatre styles of spirituals, opera and vaudeville. The very nature of the story allowed it to do this, in that the plot allowed characters to sing in a variety of situations that would acknowledge the standards of the day. In addition to including two popular period/contemporary pieces "After the Ball" and "Good Bye my Lady Love" which were written by others, the songs are written to cater to a variety of styles and audiences. Thus the slaves could sing their spirituals, made so popular in minstrel shows and African-American musicals, such as "Ol' Man River." The lovers could sing their operatic falling in love songs like "You Are Love" and "Make Believe" and the actor characters could perform their vaudevillian routines with songs such as "I Might Fall Back on You" and "Life Upon the Wicked Stage." These styles were all carried by an undercurrent of experimental jazz and popular music forms, creating hits such as Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," "Bill," and "Why do I Love You." Each of these songs played revolutionary role in the musical, as many of them acted as specific plot devices and established character without dialogue. When Julie sings "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" earlier in the show, it serves to expose her mixed heritage, as Queenie, the slave cook, is instantly suspicious, knowing that that is a song known only in the black community. This shows the racial climate of the Twenties, illustrating the intent of segregation and self-defined cultures, when in reality the two cultures cannot help but mix into one another. It even represents the phenomenon of the Harlem Renaissance, as the art produced by the black community in an effort to define their own culture was adopted into mainstream white society. This is furthered artistically by Kern and Hammerstein's use of jazz and in the story, as the song becomes Magnolia's swan song at the end of the show when she returns to the stage. The song continues to serve its plot function as Julie hears it and recognizes Magnolia, and understands her situation: namely that her husband has abandoned her, forcing her to work, yet she still "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man."

Speaking of that man, Gaylord Ravenal's opening number, "Who Cares if my Boat goes upstream/I Float Along with my Fancy" proved to be a revolutionary way to introduce his character, motivations and situation all neatly through the same song. A model perhaps for the later developed musical's songs, such as "Soliloquy" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's hit "Carousel."

Yet the most novel and famous number of the show is undoubtedly Ol' Man River." In it, the worker Joe comments on the harsh reality and inequality of life and his, and all people's, helplessness in the hands of fate. While Hammerstein claimed that he never intended the song to be an "anthem of racial protest," (which may or may not be believable, especially considering his later anti-racist songs such as South Pacific's "You've Got to be Carefully Taught") he and the audience could immediately understand it being taken as such. His original conception for the song was reportedly to recreate the images of the river that Ferber projected in the novel, and to give it a similar function to unify the characters, setting and events in the musical. Yet he must have had some inkling that it would have tremendous thematic power, as he sought cast a genuine African-American in the role, despite the fact that it was controversial to cast an actual black person on the mainstream Broadway stage in a leading role. The man he had initially selected for this was Paul Robeson, who was already a controversial and distinguished singer and actor. Although Robeson was unavailable for the original New York production, he did create a buzz in the 1928 London production. Yet despite Show Boat's progressiveness in this arena, it did reflect the backward minstrel tradition, as they cast a white woman, Tess Gardella, as Queenie. Tess Gardella was a popular vaudevillian, who performed in blackface under the name of "Aunt Jemima." In this sense Show Boat failed to progress completely in its casting, as the cast was basically chosen to cater to big names, such as Helen Morgan, Eva Puck and Sammy White, Charles Winninger, and Norma Terris. This, however, does further illustrate the conflicted atmosphere of the Twenties.

If the structure of Show Boat laid the cornerstone for the modern musical, the plot did just as well. Although there were attempted adaptations from literary sources, they were either unsuccessful (i.e. The Three Musketeers) and/or highly unfaithful (i.e Topsy and Eva). In the 1920's, a mainstream musical comedy, or operetta for that matter, that featured such serious self-conscious treatment of topics such as racism, alcoholism, gambling, broken marriage, and miscegenation was absolutely unheard of.

So how did audiences of the 1920's respond to Show Boat? When the curtain (finally) fell on the world premiere at Washington D.C's National Theater, the audiences were stunned. They neither responded nor applauded to any of the show the entire night. Yet perhaps this could be due not only to their utter bewilderment, but that they were just sore and tired for sitting in the seats for over four hours. The producer, the Jazz Age's icon of Broadway Florenz Ziegfeld, could not even bear to watch the performance, feeling that this gamble would undoubtedly ruin his illustrious career. Kern and Hammerstein held their breath for the next morning's reviews.

But the critics were very kind. They raved about the production, acknowledging that it was like nothing that had ever been done before, and a show that "will probably live a long time in the memory of those who saw it." Ziegfeld personally certainly had nothing to worry about, as that same Washington Post critic repeatedly gave all the artistic and directorial credit to his "master hand," oddly never mentioning once either Kern, Hammerstein or any specific actor. Nevertheless, the reviews in other preview cities and finally New York were equally approving. Ads came out in the New York Times hailing it as "the greatest musical comedy ever produced in the history of the world." Others regarded it as a "New American Musical" seemingly ready to usher in the new genre.

In fact, the musical version of the novel was so popular, thanks to the success of the Broadway production, subsequent tours and the radio, that Universal, (who had secured the rights to the movie version almost immediately after publication) realized that their silent film, which was based solely on the novel, would not be accepted if it did not incorporate elements of the musical. Thus Carl Laemmle, veteran film producer and founder of the Universal Film company, eventually had to buy the rights to the musical from Ziegfeld, Kern and Hammerstein. He opened the 1929 film with performances by some of stars of the stage production, such as Helen Morgan and Tess Gardella. This broadened the scope of the musical's appeal, as people around the country could familiarize themselves with the songs. In recognizing the need for the musical numbers, they obviously realized that the audiences would expect sound in other parts of the film as well, and re-shot parts of the film with dialogue and spirituals. They even found a way to incorporate the musical's "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" into their version, as Magnolia sings the song on stage after becoming a star, only to have her estranged and ruined husband in the audience, weeping as he listens to her. Although the film was not widely successful, it was possibly the familiarity of the musical in London that made Universal decide to use the film as one of the test reels for a television broadcast to London in 1929. This, yet again, proves how much in tune this "old" story was with the progressive, experimental nature of the 1920's.

Despite this revolution, the Show Boat phenomenon did not succeed in transforming the musical world as a whole until the Forties, when Rodgers and Hammerstein would evolve the art form into Oklahoma. The failure of other shows to follow Show Boat's tracks, or in this case, wake, was seemingly due to timing. Theaters filled with less successful shows closed in the year following Show Boat, disabling producers to endorse similar expensive new productions. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 had a great deal of influence on this failure, as the general attitude of the Thirties audiences needed merry, whimsical entertainment and flashy, even if superficial productions. Yet Show Boat, as a particular production still remained strong, and when it opened again in 1932 it enjoyed immense success, even though it was still being altered to fit the needs of the time and culture, as it has continued to do throughout the Twentieth century.

Although the story of Show Boat set itself apart from the Roaring Twenties by recreating a bygone era and by presenting a creation that was years ahead of its time, it was unquestionably a genuine icon of its age. Perhaps, like the new concept of buying on credit, was too much, too soon. In both book and musical form, Show Boat offered a broader definition of America, by encompassing different cultures and styles that made up a more complete description of the national identity. As a musical, Show Boat revolutionized not only the world of musical theatre, but it played an important part in the entertainment industry as a whole, permeating all available mediums, literary, stage, music, film, television, and art; acting as a mirror and a vehicle for stylistic and thematic change 1920's society.

Further Reading (Bibliography)

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Tess Gardella (Vaudeville's "Aunt Jemima") as Queenie

 



 

Jules Bledsoe as Joe

 


 

 

 

 

Universal's 1929 Movie Ad

 

 

Poster from the most recent revival production

© 2002 Patricia Searl