Florenz Ziegfield had chutzpah, if he didn’t, he never would have made the Broadway musical “Showboat.” The musical premiered December 27, 1928, in Ziegfield’s new theater.
The musical was something Broadway had never seen before. The musical was based on Edna Ferber’s novel of the same name. Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein wrote the music and lyrics.
“Showboat” had a great score with such songs as “Ol Man River,” “Make Believe” and “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man,” but it was more serious than the musicals of the day that made it different.
The play spans 40 years, 1887-1927, following the entertainers and workers on the Mississippi River showboat the Cotton Blossom. The boat would stop at small towns to entertain the residents.
The musical took on race relations. It was the first time black and white actors shared the Broadway stage equally. One of the characters was a mul lato who couldn’t marry a white man because it was against the law. Alcohol became her downfall.
“Showboat” was a hit, running for 572 performances. The show has been revived at least a half dozen times and made into a movie three times.
Stevedore Joe, played by Jules Bledsoe, sang the entire song “Ol’ Man River” in the first act. Parts of the song were heard four more times.
The song became a popular for other artists to record. Bing Crosby, with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, recorded a more uptempo version. It became Crosby’s first number one hit.
Hammerstein and Kern had Paul Robeson in mind when they first wrote the song, but he wasn’t available to play Joe. Robeson recorded the song in 1928 and sang it in the 1936 movie version. That’s the version most people associate with “Showboat.”
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