History

• The Broadway premiere of "Show Boat" was held at the Ziegfeld Theatre on December 27, 1927. It ran for 572 performances and has been performed in revival four times. Broadway producer and director Hal Prince produced the latest and most successful revival of "Show Boat" in 1994. Several film versions have also been made; most notable was a 1951 version starring Howard Keel and Ava Gardner.
  
  

Storyline

• Based on a novel of the same name by Edna Ferber, "Show Boat" tells the story of the Hawks family, owners of the Cotton Blossom show boat, and their troop of actors. The story, spanning almost 50 years, touches upon topics that were unusual, perhaps alarming, for the time it was written---gambling, racial prejudice, interracial relationships and unhappy marriages.
  
  

Significance

• The morning after opening night, "New York Times" drama critic Brooks Atkinsom called "Show Boat," "the most beautifully blended music show in the country." According to a 1994 "New York Times" article by Theatre critic Vincent Canby, "Show Boat" went on to become a "seminal work that forever changed the American musical theatre." It was the first Broadway score to have a coherent plot and integrated songs. It was also one of only three musicals Oscar Hammerstein II collaborated on without Richard Rodgers.
  
  

Famous Songs

• Three of the most well-known were the first three songs in act one: "Make-Believe," "Ol' Man River" and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man."
  
  

Fascinating Fact

• Oscar Hammerstein II not only created the song lyrics for "Show Boat," but also the libretto of the story, which is all of the words that are spoken by the actors.