Originally ran for 4.5 hours, but was trimmed to just over three – subsequently, songs were cut during previews and future productions.
About Show Boat
The Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein II musical Show Boat was a radical departure in musical storytelling, marrying spectacle with seriousness. Spanning the years from 1880 to 1927, this lyrical masterpiece concerns the lives, loves and heartbreaks of three generations of show folk on the Mississippi, in Chicago and on Broadway (and their life-long friends). Magnolia, the naive daughter of the show boat captain, marries a gambler and moves with him to Chicago. His gambling continues as his debts compound, and soon he deserts her and their young daughter. The passing of time reunites Magnolia and her now-grown daughter with her family on the show boat as well as with her husband, who eventually returns offering a hopeful second chance at familial fulfillment. Based on the original Edna Ferber novel, the musical contributed such classic songs as "Ol' Man River", "Make Believe", and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man"... read more about Show Boat
Show Boat Facts
First racially integrated musical.
Adapted for live radio at least seven times.
- Show Boat News