History of revisions

The original production ran four-and-a-half hours during tryouts but was trimmed to just over three by the time it got to Broadway. During previews, four songs, "Mis'ry's Comin' Aroun", "I Would Like to Play a Lover's Part", "Let's Start the New Year" and "It's Getting Hotter in the North", were cut from the show. "Mis'ry's Comin' Aroun" was published in the complete vocal score^[7] and fragments of it are also heard in the scoring, notably in the original 1927 overture and in the miscegenation scene. The song "Be Happy, Too" was also cut after the Washington, D.C., tryout.^[8] "Let's Start the New Year" was performed in the 1989 Paper Mill Playhouse production.

Two songs, "Till Good Luck Comes My Way" (sung by Ravenal) and "Hey Feller!" (sung by Queenie), were written mainly to cover scenery changes. They were discarded beginning with the 1946 revival, although "Till Good Luck" was included in the 1993 Harold Prince revival of the show. The comedy song, "I Might Fall Back On You," was also cut beginning in 1946. It was restored in the 1951 film version and several stage productions since the 1980s. On record, "Hey Feller!" appears only on the 1988 EMI album. Kern and Hammerstein wrote two new songs for revivals and three more for the 1936 film version.

The Harold Fielding production in London in the early 1970s claimed to use the entire original score, but it omitted "Hey, Feller!" and "In Dahomey", among others. This cast album broke ground in being the first two-LP version of Show Boat ever released.

The score also includes four songs not originally written for Show Boat: "Bill" was originally written by Kern and P. G. Wodehouse in 1917 and was reworked by Hammerstein for Show Boat. Two other songs not by Kern and Hammerstein, "Goodbye, My Lady Love" by Joseph E. Howard and "After the Ball" by Charles K. Harris, were included by the authors for historical atmosphere and are included in revivals.^[9] The New Year's Eve scene features an instrumental version of "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight".

Some of the following numbers have been cut or revised in subsequent productions, as noted below (the songs "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", and "Bill" have been included in every stage and film production of Show Boat):

• Overture – The original overture, used in all stage productions up to 1946 (and heard on the three-disc EMI/Angel CD for the first time in nearly 50 years), is based chiefly on the deleted song "Mis'ry's Comin' Aroun", as Kern wanted to save this song in some form. The song was restored in the Harold Prince 1994 revival of the show. The overture also contains fragments of "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", and a faster arrangement of "Why Do I Love You?" The overtures for the 1946 revival and the 1966 Lincoln Center revival consist of medleys of songs from the show. All three overtures were arranged by the show's orchestrator, Robert Russell Bennett, who orchestrated most of Kern's later shows.
• "Cotton Blossom" – This number is performed in all the stage productions, and shorter versions were used in the 1936 and 1951 film versions.^[10] It was not used in the 1929 film version.
• "Where's the Mate for Me?" – Ravenal's first song; heard in all stage versions, partially sung in the 1936 film version, and sung complete in the 1951 film version. Not sung in the 1929 film version.
• "Make Believe" – Performed in all stage versions, and in the 1936 and 1951 film versions, but not the 1929 film version.
• "Life Upon the Wicked Stage" – This comic song is usually included in stage versions but is heard in the 1936 film only in the orchestral score. Not included in the 1929 film, it is sung and danced in the 1951 film version.
• "Till Good Luck Comes My Way" – Kern and Hammerstein cut it from the 1946 revival, but it was reinstated in the 1971 London stage revival. It is performed instrumentally in the 1936 film and is omitted altogether in the 1929 and 1951 films.
• "I Might Fall Back on You" – This was usually cut after 1946, but it has been reinstated in revivals beginning in 1966. It was absent from the 1929 and 1936 films but included in the 1951 film.
• "C'mon Folks (Queenie's Ballyhoo)" – Always included in the show, it was sung in the prologue to the 1929 film version,^[11] It was omitted from the 1936 film and performed instrumentally in the 1951 film.
• "Olio Dance" – This is rarely performed now, since it was composed simply to cover a change of scenery. It is an orchestral piece that partially uses the melody of "I Might Fall Back on You" and can be heard on the EMI 3-CD album (as "Villain Dance"). The 1936 film substituted the new Kern-Hammerstein number "Gallivantin' Around", performed as an olio by Irene Dunne (as Magnolia) in blackface. It was omitted from the 1989 PBS Paper Mill Playhouse production. Some modern productions move the song "I Might Fall Back on You" to this spot.
• "You Are Love" – Kern considered this popular waltz to be the score's weakest song: he tried unsuccessfully to eliminate it from the 1936 film version. It has never been cut from any stage production. It was shortened, and the introductory section was omitted, in both the 1936 and the 1951 films. It was not performed in the 1929 film.
• "Act I Finale" – This was shortened in the 1936 film and omitted from the 1929 and 1951 films. Its midsection, banjo-dominant, buck-and-wing dance theme became a repeating motif in the 1951 film, played onstage during the backstage miscegenation scene, and later as a soft-shoe dance for Cap'n Andy and granddaughter Kim.
• "At the Chicago World's Fair" – Used in all stage productions except for the Harold Prince 1994 revival, it was omitted from all the film versions, but an instrumental version was performed in the 1936 film.
• "Why Do I Love You?" – Used in all stage versions, this number was sung during the exit music to the 1929 film;^[11] it was performed only as background music for the 1936 film and was sung in the 1951 film version. In the 1994 Hal Prince revival, it was sung by Parthy.
• "In Dahomey" – This was cut from the score after the 1946 Broadway production and has not been revived as it is viewed as racially offensive as well as unnecessary to the plot. It is sung at the Chicago World's Fair by a group of supposedly African natives. They chant in a supposed African language before breaking into modern English, singing about how glad they are to return to their apartments after the day's performance. It was not used in any film version of the show but was included in the complete 1988 EMI recording and in a 1993 studio recording on the Jay label of the 1946 score.
• "Goodbye, My Lady Love" – This is used only in American productions. It is included in the 1936 film, but not in the 1929 or 1951 films.
• "After the Ball" – Performed in all stage productions and in both the 1936 and 1951 films, but not the 1929 one.
• "Hey, Feller" – Used in nearly all stage productions up until 1946, and sung in the prologue to the 1929 film.^[11] Not used in the 1936 film, but used as background score in the 1951 film during the opening post-credits scene as the show boat arrives.

Additional numbers have been included in films and revivals as follows:

• "Mis'ry's Comin' Aroun" – Though this was cut from the original production, Kern ensured that it was published in the complete vocal score.^[4] The 1988 album reinstated it, and it was also included in the 1994 Hal Prince revival.
• "I Would Like to Play a Lover's Part" – Cut from the original production but performed on the 1988 album.
• "Let's Start the New Year" – Cut from the original production but performed on the 1988 album and in the 1989 Paper Mill Playhouse production.
• "It's Getting Hotter in the North" – Cut from the original production but performed on the 1988 album.
• "Dance Away the Night" was written by Kern and Hammerstein for the 1928 London West End production, to be sung in the spot where Kim usually sings a reprise of "Why Do I Love You?" (the spot originally intended for "It's Getting Hotter in the North").
• "I Have The Room Above Her" is a romantic duet written by Kern and Hammerstein for Ravenal and Magnolia in the 1936 film. It was included in the 1994 Broadway revival.
• "Gallivantin' Around" is a cakewalk-style number written by Kern and Hammerstein for Magnolia for the 1936 film.
• "Ah Still Suits Me" is a comic duet written by Kern and Hammerstein for the 1936 film and sung by the characters Joe and Queenie (Paul Robeson and Hattie McDaniel). The number was also included in the 1989 Paper Mill Playhouse production.^[12]
• "Nobody Else But Me" was written by Kern and Hammerstein for the 1946 Broadway revival, to be sung by Kim in the spot previously occupied by her reprise of "Why Do I Love You?" or by "Dance Away the Night". This was the last song Kern ever wrote; he died shortly before the 1946 production opened.^[13] In the 1971 London stage revival, the song was sung by Julie, in a new scene written especially for that production. It is not sung in any film version of the show but was frequently heard in stage revivals up until about the 1980s.
• "Dandies on Parade" is a dance number arranged for the 1994 Broadway production by David Krane, largely from Kern's music.

Original 1927 production

Scene from the original Broadway production

Ziegfeld previewed the show in a pre-Broadway tour from November 15 to December 19, 1927. The locations included the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., the Nixon Theatre in Pittsburgh, the Ohio Theatre in Cleveland, and the Erlanger Theatre in Philadelphia.^[25][26] The show opened on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Theatre on December 27, 1927. The critics were immediately enthusiastic, and the show was a great popular success, running a year and a half, for a total of 572 performances.

The production was staged by Oscar Hammerstein II.^[27] Choreography for the show was by Sammy Lee. The original cast included Norma Terris as Magnolia Hawks and her daughter Kim (as an adult), Howard Marsh as Gaylord Ravenal, Helen Morgan as Julie LaVerne, Jules Bledsoe as Joe, Charles Winninger as Cap'n Andy Hawks, Edna May Oliver as Parthy Ann Hawks, Sammy White as Frank Schultz, Eva Puck as Ellie May Chipley, and Tess Gardella as Queenie. The orchestrator was Robert Russell Bennett, and the conductor was Victor Baravalle. The scenic design for the original production was by Joseph Urban, who had worked with Ziegfeld for many years in his Follies and had designed the elaborate new Ziegfeld Theatre itself. Costumes were designed by John Harkrider.^[28]

In his opening night review for the New York Times, Brooks Atkinson called the book's adaptation "intelligently made", and the production one of "unimpeachable skill and taste". He termed Terris "a revelation"; Winninger "extraordinarily persuasive and convincing"; and Bledsoe's singing "remarkably effective".^[29]

Paul Robeson

The character Joe, the stevedore who sings "Ol' Man River", was expanded from the novel and written specifically by Kern and Hammerstein for Paul Robeson, already a noted actor and singer. Although he is the actor most identified with the role and the song, he was unavailable for the original production due to its opening delay. Jules Bledsoe premiered the part. Robeson played Joe in four notable productions of Show Boat: the 1928 London premiere production, the 1932 Broadway revival, the 1936 film version and a 1940 stage revival in Los Angeles.

Reviewing the 1932 Broadway revival, the critic Brooks Atkinson described Robeson's performance: "Mr. Robeson has a touch of genius. It is not merely his voice, which is one of the richest organs on the stage. It is his understanding that gives 'Old Man River' an epic lift. When he sings ... you realize that Jerome Kern's spiritual has reached its final expression."^[30]

North American revivals

Opening title from the 1936 film version

After closing at the Ziegfeld Theatre in 1929, the original production toured extensively. The national company is notable for including Irene Dunne as Magnolia. Hattie McDaniel played Queenie in a 1933 West Coast production, joined by tenor Allan Jones as Ravenal.^[31] Show Boat was revived by Ziegfeld on Broadway in 1932 at the Casino Theatre with most of the original cast, but with Paul Robeson as Joe^[32] and Dennis King as Ravenal.

In 1946, a major new Broadway revival was produced by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II at the show's original home, the Ziegfeld Theatre. The 1946 revival featured a revised score and new song by Kern and Hammerstein, and a new overture and orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett. The show was directed by Hammerstein and Hassard Short and featured Jan Clayton (Magnolia), Charles Fredricks (Ravenal), Carol Bruce (Julie), Kenneth Spencer (Joe), Helen Dowdy (Queenie), and Buddy Ebsen (Frank). Kern died just weeks before the January 5, 1946 opening, making it the last show he worked on. The production ran for 418 performances and then toured extensively. Its cost was reportedly $300,000, and a month before the Broadway closing, it was reported as still $130,000 from breaking even.^[33]

Additional New York revivals were produced in 1948 and 1954 at the New York City Center. The Music Theatre of Lincoln Center company produced Show Boat in 1966 at the New York State Theater in a new production. It starred Barbara Cook (Magnolia), Constance Towers (Julie), Stephen Douglass (Ravenal), David Wayne (Cap'n Andy), Margaret Hamilton (Parthy) and William Warfield (Joe). It was produced by Richard Rodgers, and Robert Russell Bennett once again provided a new overture and revised orchestrations.

The Houston Grand Opera staged a revival of Show Boat that premiered at Jones Hall in Houston in June 1982 and then toured to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., and finally to the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway in 1983.^[34][35][36] The production also toured overseas to the Cairo Opera House in Egypt.^[35] The show was produced by Robert A. Buckley and Douglas Urbanski. Mickey Rooney portrayed Cap'n Andy for portions of the tour, but Donald O'Connor took over the role on Broadway. Lonette McKee (Julie) and Karla Burns (Queenie), and director Michael Kahn all received Tony Award nominations for their work.^[37] Other cast members included Ron Raines (Gaylord Ravenal), Sheryl Woods (Magnolia), Avril Gentles (Parthy Ann), Bruce Hubbard (Joe), and Paige O'Hara (Ellie).^[34]

In 1989 the Paper Mill Playhouse of Millburn, New Jersey, mounted a production which was noted for its intention to restore the show in accordance with the creators' original intentions. The production restored part of the original 1927 overture and one number discarded from the show after the Broadway opening, as well as the song Ah Still Suits Me, written by Kern and Hammerstein for the 1936 film version. It was directed by Robert Johanson and starred Eddie Bracken as Cap'n Andy. The Paper Mill production was preserved on videotape and broadcast on PBS.^[12]

Toronto (1993, later Broadway)

Livent Inc. produced Show Boat in Toronto in 1993, starring Rebecca Luker as Magnolia, Mark Jacoby as Ravenal, Lonette McKee as Julie, Robert Morse as Cap'n Andy, Elaine Stritch as Parthy, Michel Bell as Joe and Gretha Boston as Queenie. Co-produced and directed by Harold Prince and choreographed by Susan Stroman, closing in June 1995. A Broadway production opened at the George Gershwin Theatre on October 2, 1994, and continued for 947 performances making it Broadway's longest-running Show Boat to date.^[38] It starred most of the Toronto cast, but with John McMartin as Cap'n Andy. Robert Morse remained in the Toronto cast and was joined by Cloris Leachman as Parthy, Patti Cohenour as Magnolia, Hugh Panaro as Ravenal and Valerie Pettiford as Julie.

The production departed from previous iterations by tightening the book, dropping or adding songs used in or cut from various productions, and highlighting its racial elements. Prince transformed "Why Do I Love You?" from a duet between Magnolia and Ravenal to a lullaby sung by Parthy to Magnolia's baby girl, and then reprised as an up-tempo production number finale. The love duet for Magnolia and Ravenal, "I Have the Room Above Her", written by Kern and Hammerstein for the 1936 film, was added to the production. Two new mime and dance "Montages" in Act 2 depicted the passage of time through changing styles of dance and music.^[39] The production went on tour, playing at the Kennedy Center, and it was staged in London (1998) and Melbourne, Australia.

London productions

The original London West End production of Show Boat opened May 3, 1928, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and featured among the cast, Cedric Hardwicke as Capt. Andy, Edith Day as Magnolia, Paul Robeson as Joe, and Alberta Hunter as Queenie.^[40] Mabel Mercer, later famed as a cabaret singer, was in the chorus. Other West End presentations include a 1971 production at the Adelphi Theatre, which ran for 909 performances. Derek Royle was Cap'n Andy, Cleo Laine was Julie, and Pearl Hackney played Parthy Ann.^[26][41]

The Hal Prince production ran at the Prince Edward Theatre in 1998,^[42] and was nominated for the Olivier Award, Outstanding Musical Production (1999).^[43] Other notable revivals in England have included the joint Opera North/Royal Shakespeare Company production of 1989,^[25] which ran at the London Palladium in 1990, and the 2006 production directed by Francesca Zambello, presented by Raymond Gubbay at London's Royal Albert Hall. It was the first fully staged musical production in the history of that venue.^[44] Karla Burns, who had appeared as Queenie in the 1983 Broadway revival, reprised the role for the Opera North and RSC production, becoming the first black performer to win the Laurence Olivier Award.^[35]

A production was transferred from Sheffield's Crucible Theatre to London's New London Theatre with previews beginning on April 9, 2016, and an official opening on April 25, 2016. It was directed by Daniel Evans using the Goodspeed Musicals version of the show. The cast included Gina Beck as Magnolia, Lucy Briers as Parthy Ann and Malcolm Sinclair as Cap'n Andy.^[45][46] Despite very favorable reviews, the show closed at the end of August 2016.^[47]

Film and television

Show Boat has been adapted for film three times, and for television once.

French poster from the 1951 MGM film version of "Show Boat"

• 1929 Show Boat. Universal. Released in silent and partial sound versions. Not a film version of the musical; its plot is based on the original Edna Ferber novel. Immediately after the silent film was completed, a prologue with some music from the show was filmed and added to a part-talkie version of the same film, which was released with two sound sequences.
• 1936 Show Boat. Universal. Directed by James Whale. A mostly faithful film version of the show, featuring four members of the original Broadway cast, as well as Irene Dunne, who had appeared in the national tour. Other cast members from stage productions included Jones as Ravenal, McDaniel as Queenie, Robeson as Joe, Winninger as Cap'n Andy, Morgan as Julie and White as Frank.^[48] Screenplay by Oscar Hammerstein II; music arrangements by Robert Russell Bennett; music direction and conducting by Victor Baraville.
• 1946 Till the Clouds Roll By. MGM. In this fictionalized film biography of composer Jerome Kern (played by Robert Walker), Show Boat's 1927 opening night on Broadway is depicted in a lavishly staged fifteen-minute medley of six of the show's songs. The number features Kathryn Grayson, Tony Martin, Lena Horne, Virginia O'Brien, Caleb Peterson, and William Halligan as, respectively, Magnolia, Ravenal, Julie, Ellie, Joe, and Cap'n Andy.
• 1951 Show Boat. MGM. Somewhat revised Technicolor film version. Follows the basic storyline and contains many songs from the show but makes many changes in the details of plot and character. The most financially successful and frequently revived of the three film versions.
• 1989 A live performance by the Paper Mill Playhouse was videotaped for television and shown on Great Performances on PBS. It contains more of the songs (and fewer cuts) than any of the film versions. It includes the choral number "Let's Start the New Year", which was dropped from the show before its Broadway opening, and "Ah Still Suits Me", a song written by Kern and Hammerstein for the 1936 film version of the show.^[12]

Radio

Show Boat was adapted for live radio at least seven times. Due to network censorship rules, many of the radio productions eliminated the miscegenation aspect of the plot. Notable exceptions were the 1940 Cavalcade of America broadcast^[49] and the 1952 Lux Radio Theatre broadcast.

• The Campbell Playhouse (CBS Radio, March 31, 1939). Directed and introduced by Orson Welles. This was a non-musical version of the story that was based more closely on Edna Ferber's novel than on the musical. From the original stage cast Helen Morgan repeated her portrayal of Julie, here singing one song not from the musical. Welles portrayed Cap'n Andy, Margaret Sullavan was Magnolia, and author Edna Ferber made her acting debut as Parthy Ann. This version made Julie into an illegal alien who must be deported.
• Cavalcade of America (NBC Radio, May 28, 1940). A half-hour dramatization with Jeanette Nolan, John McIntire, Agnes Moorehead and the Ken Christy Chorus. Although brief, it was remarkably faithful to the original show.
• Lux Radio Theatre (CBS, June 1940). Introduced and produced by Cecil B. DeMille, it featured Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, and Charles Winninger, all of whom were in the 1936 film version. In this condensed version some songs from the show were sung, but Julie was played by a non-singing Gloria Holden. This version made the biracial Julie a single woman. Only a few lines of Ol' Man River were heard, sung by a chorus. While supposedly based on the 1936 film, this production used the ending of the original show, which the film did not use.
• Radio Hall of Fame (1944). This production featured Kathryn Grayson, playing Magnolia for the first time.^[26] Also in the cast were Allan Jones as Ravenal, Helen Forrest as Julie, Charles Winninger as Cap'n Andy, Ernest Whitman as Joe, and Elvia Allman as Parthy Ann.
• The Railroad Hour (ABC Radio, 1950). Condensed to a half-hour, this version featured singers Dorothy Kirsten, Gordon MacRae, and Lucille Norman. "Ol' Man River" was sung by MacRae instead of by an African-American singer. Explanation of Julie and Steve's departure went completely unmentioned in this version.
• Lux Radio Theatre (CBS, February 1952). A radio version of the 1951 MGM film featuring Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, and William Warfield from the film's cast. Jay C. Flippen portrayed Cap'n Andy. This version was extremely faithful to the 1951 film adaptation.^[50]
• In 2011, a two-part version was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the Classic Serial spot. Solely based on the novel by Edna Ferber, it was dramatized by Moya O'Shea, and was produced and directed by Tracey Neale. It starred Samantha Spiro as Magnolia, Ryan McCluskey as Ravenal, Nonso Anozie as Joe, Tracy Ifeachor as Queenie, Laurel Lefkow as Parthy Ann, Morgan Deare as Cap'n Andy and Lysette Anthony as Kim. Original music was by Neil Brand.^[51]
• On June 16, 2012, a revival of the musical by Lyric Opera of Chicago was broadcast by WFMT-Radio of Chicago.^[52] This production of Show Boat reinstated the songs Mis'ry's Comin' Round, Till Good Luck Comes My Way and Hey, Feller! It marked the first time a virtually complete version of Show Boat had ever been broadcast on radio.

Concert hall

• In 1941, the Cleveland Orchestra, under the direction of Artur Rodziński, premiered the orchestral work Show Boat: A Scenario for Orchestra, a 22-minute orchestral work weaving together themes from the show. Rodziński and the orchestra recorded it that same year^[53] and there have been several modern recordings of the work since, notably one by John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.^[54]

Integration

Show Boat boldly portrayed racial issues and was the first racially integrated musical, in that both black and white performers appeared and sang on stage together.^[58] Ziegfeld's Follies featured solo African American performers such as Bert Williams, but would not have included a black woman in the chorus. Show Boat was structured with two choruses – a black chorus and a white chorus. One commentator noted that "Hammerstein uses the African-American chorus as essentially a Greek chorus, providing clear commentary on the proceedings, whereas the white choruses sing of the not-quite-real."^[59] In Show Boat Jerome Kern used the AABA-chorus form exclusively in songs sung by African-American characters ("Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man"), a form that later would be regarded as typical of "white" popular music.^[60]

Show Boat was the first Broadway musical to seriously depict an interracial marriage, as in Ferber's original novel, and to feature a character of mixed race who was "passing" for white. (Although the musical comedy Whoopee! (1930), starring Eddie Cantor, supposedly depicted a romance between a mixed-blood Native American man and a white woman, the man turns out to be white.^[61])

Language and stereotypes

Revisions and cancellations

Since the musical's 1927 premiere, Show Boat has both been condemned as a prejudiced show based on racial caricatures and championed as a breakthrough work that opened the door for public discourse in the arts about racism in America. Some productions (including one planned for June 2002 in Connecticut) have been cancelled because of objections.^[73] Such cancellations have been criticized by supporters of the arts. After planned performances in 1999 by an amateur company in Middlesbrough, England, where "the show would entail white actors 'blacking up'" were "stopped because [they] would be 'distasteful' to ethnic minorities", the critic for a local newspaper declared that the cancellation was "surely taking political correctness too far. … [T]he kind of censorship we've been talking about – for censorship it is – actually militates against a truly integrated society, for it emphasizes differences. It puts a wall around groups within society, dividing people by creating metaphorical ghettos, and prevents mutual understanding".^[74]

As attitudes toward race relations have changed, producers and directors have altered some content to make the musical more "politically correct": "Show Boat, more than many musicals, was subject to cuts and revisions within a handful of years after its first performance, all of which altered the dramatic balance of the play."^[59]

1993 revival

The 1993 Hal Prince revival, originating in Toronto, was deliberately staged to cast attention on racial disparities; throughout the production, African-American actors constantly cleaned up messes, appeared to move the sets (even when hydraulics actually moved them), and performed other menial tasks.^[75] After a New Year's Eve ball, all the streamers fell on the floor and African Americans immediately began sweeping them away. A montage in the second act showed time passing using the revolving door of the Palmer House in Chicago, with newspaper headlines being shown in quick succession, and snippets of slow motion to highlight a specific moment, accompanied by brief snippets of Ol' Man River. African-American dancers were seen performing a specific dance, and this would change to a scene showing white dancers performing the same dance. This was meant to illustrate how white performers "appropriated" the music and dancing styles of African Americans. Earlier productions of Show Boat, even the 1927 stage original and the 1936 film version, did not go this far in social commentary.^[76]

During the Toronto production, many black community leaders and their supporters expressed opposition to the show, protesting in front of the theatre, "shouting insults and waving placards reading Show Boat Spreads Lies and Hate and Show Boat = Cultural Genocide".^[77] Various theatre critics in New York, however, commented that Prince highlighted racial inequality in his production to show its injustice, as well as to show the historical suffering of blacks. A critic noted that he included "an absolutely beautiful piece of music cut from the original production and from the movie ["Mis'ry's Comin' Round"] ... a haunting gospel melody sung by the black chorus. The addition of this number is so successful because it salutes the dignity and the pure talent of the black workers and allows them to shine for a brief moment on the center stage of the showboat".^[75]

Analysis

Many commentators, both black and non-black, view the show as an outdated and stereotypical commentary on race relations that portrays blacks in a negative or inferior position. Douglass K. Daniel of Kansas State University has commented that it is a "racially flawed story",^[78] and the African-Canadian writer M. NourbeSe Philip claims:

The affront at the heart of Show Boat is still very alive today. It begins with the book and its negative and one-dimensional images of Black people and continues on through the colossal and deliberate omission of the Black experience, including the pain of a people traumatized by four centuries of attempted genocide and exploitation. Not to mention the appropriation of Black music for the profit of the very people who oppressed Blacks and Africans. All this continues to offend deeply. The ol' man river of racism continues to run through the history of these productions and is very much part of this (Toronto) production. It is part of the overwhelming need of white Americans and white Canadians to convince themselves of our inferiority – that our demands don't represent a challenge to them, their privilege and their superiority.^[68]

Supporters of the musical believe that the depictions of racism should be regarded not as stereotyping blacks but rather satirizing the common national attitudes that both held those stereotypes and reinforced them through discrimination. In the words of The New Yorker theatre critic John Lahr:

Describing racism doesn't make Show Boat racist. The production is meticulous in honoring the influence of black culture not just in the making of the nation's wealth but, through music, in the making of its modern spirit.^[1]

As described by Joe Bob Briggs:

Those who attempt to understand works like Show Boat and Porgy and Bess through the eyes of their creators usually consider that the show "was a statement AGAINST racism. That was the point of Edna Ferber's novel. That was the point of the show. That's how Oscar wrote it...I think this is about as far from racism as you can get."^[79]

According to Rabbi Alan Berg, Kern and Hammerstein's score to Show Boat is "a tremendous expression of the ethics of tolerance and compassion".^[80] As Harold Prince (not Kern, to whom the quote has been mistakenly attributed) states in the production notes to his 1993 production of the show:

Throughout pre-production and rehearsal, I was committed to eliminate any inadvertent stereotype in the original material, dialogue which may seem "Uncle Tom" today... However, I was determined not to rewrite history. The fact that during the 45-year period depicted in our musical there were lynchings, imprisonment, and forced labor of the blacks in the United States is irrefutable. Indeed, the United States still cannot hold its head high with regard to racism.

Oscar Hammerstein's commitment to idealizing and encouraging tolerance theatrically started with his libretto to Show Boat. It can be seen in his later works, many of which were set to music by Richard Rodgers.^[81] Carmen Jones is an attempt to present a modern version of the classic French opera through the experiences of African Americans during wartime, and South Pacific explores interracial marriage and prejudice. Finally, The King and I deals with different cultures' preconceived notions regarding each other and the possibility for cultural inclusiveness in societies.

Regarding the original author of Show Boat, Ann Shapiro states that

Edna Ferber was taunted for being Jewish; as a young woman eager to launch her career as a journalist, she was told that the Chicago Tribune did not hire women reporters. Despite her experience of antisemitism and sexism, she idealized America, creating in her novels an American myth where strong women and downtrodden men of any race prevail... [Show Boat] create[s] visions of racial harmony... in a fictional world that purported to be America but was more illusion than reality. Characters in Ferber's novels achieve assimilation and acceptance that was periodically denied Ferber herself throughout her life.^[82]

Whether or not the show is racist, many contend that productions of it should continue as it serves as a history lesson of American race relations. According to African-American opera singer Phillip Boykin, who played the role of Joe in a 2000 tour,

Whenever a show deals with race issues, it gives the audience sweaty palms. I agree with putting it on the stage and making the audience think about it. We see where we came from so we don't repeat it, though we still have a long way to go. A lot of history would disappear if the show was put away forever. An artist must be true to an era. I'm happy with it.^[83]