Show Boat - please, young people, especiallly, read this

[demnan]

This was the most ground breaking musical of its time, which was the 20's. The story of this musical was this: The show boat was an entertainment show that went down the Mississippi river. However one of the white show women was discovered to have a black mother. When she and her lover wanted to marry a worker on the boat "outed her". Then all the entertainers on the boat said that the guy was also black!!!! It was a beautiful moment in American art and in the movie as well.

The whites were entertainers and the blacks were the grunt workers. The most famous song of this musical was "Old Man River". The greatest baritone of the time sang this song, Paul Robeson. He was a activist for human rights and one of the most beautiful voices of all time. I heard him sing this song in a college class I had in voice from a tape, my teacher was one of his students - he taught extensively in D.C. and I was lucky to have the experience of learning from his student.

The whites sang really light songs that were popular in the musical, but Old Man River was revolutionary in it's depth of feeling and remains today, one of the greatest songs of the American musical.

Please kick this - the young people need to know we really have a culture worth preserving.

[flamingyouth]

1. Robeson's 1958 autobiography is great too

:kick:

[alphafemale]

2. Agreed. Incredible. n/t

[Interrobang]

3. The writers of "Showboat"

...wrote that tune specifically to highlight Robeson's vocal strengths, and they did a really good job of it, too. :)

[mulsh]

4. it is important in other ways

Show boat is the first musical play. Prior to show boat musicals were more or less review shows. songs with skits ot tableau (sp) between the songs. Jerome Kern wrote the music, Guy Bolton wrote the book based on an Edna Farber novel and P.G. Wodehouse was the original lyricist. He stepped aside when Oscar Hammerstein,Jr. became available. and the rest is broadway history. the writers left wodehouse's song bill in the show.
As far as I know there have been two movies made of show boat. I prefer the one made in the thirties to the latter one. it's closer to the orginal. been a while since I've seen it but I believe Robeson is in it. I know alan lane, (wilbur post from mir ed in later life) plays the romantic lead. rent it if you can.

[newyawker99]

6. Hi mulsh!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[mulsh]

7. thanks newyawker99

thanks for the welcome, good to be here :hi:

[newyawker99]

15. You are welcome!

:hi:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. Yes, that

part in which the cast members stand up for the couple's right to marry must have been amazing in the 1930s.

[trof]

8. Good comparison of the 1936 and 1951 versions here.

http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Studio/8849/Moviemusicals/Riverboat/oleman.htm

[regnaD kciN]

11. Unfortunately...

...only the 1951 version is available on DVD.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

9. Demnan, who was your teacher?

This is my favorite musical...waaaaaay ahead of its time in terms of speaking out on the issue of interracial marriage (it was illegal in 30 states from the 1920s through the 1960s)

Kern's music is stunning, and both movie versions do it justice; though my favorites are Paul Robeson from the early version, and Kathryn Grayson, who had a soprano voice to die for.

Edna Ferber's book is an excellent read too. :-)

[regnaD kciN]

10. There was an outstanding revival of this...

...a few years ago, directed by Broadway legend Harold Prince. I saw the final show of its Seattle run -- it was amazing.

[Cheswick2.0]

12. What a great thread

Imagine these issues being addressed at that time? It was a truely great musical.

I was in a musical review where we did a whole section of music from that show.

[Cheswick2.0]

13. kick

for culture

[zbdent]

14. Uh, my take on Show Boat was that, aside from the prick

who outed the star, EVERYBODY on the boat stood behind her.

The husband sucked some blood from her hand, so that he (and the rest of the crew) could honestly swear to God that he had black blood in him.

There were numerous offers for him to work if he would ditch his black wife, yet he stuck by her. After a time, she abandoned the man who stood by her through the worst of it.