Show Boat

The Origins of Show Boat

Ferber, a former reporter, was inspired to write the novel after first hearing about show boats in 1924. While conducting research for the novel, Ferber spent weeks with the cast and crew of the James Adams Floating Theatre, which put on shows throughout the southeastern region of the United States. After two years of research and writing, Show Boat was published in 1926. A nostalgic, if melodramatic, examination of America's cultural, social, and racial legacies, the novel spent a number of months atop the best-seller list, and the critical response was somewhat guarded. Even still, its considerable popularity made it a perfect candidate for adaptation.

The novel, musical, and film adaptations all follow the same basic plot. Show Boat explores the affairs of the performers, workers, and passengers of the Cotton Blossom as it traverses the Mississippi River between Reconstruction and the Jazz Age. Captain Andy Hawks; his wife, Parthy; and their daughter, Magnolia, own the floating theater, which employs a number of individuals who represent the range of people who live along the Mississippi: leading actors Julie and her husband, Steve; comedic duo Ellie and Frank, whose sobriquet is Schmaltzy; the ship's pilot, Windy; and Joe, a black stevedore, and his wife, Queenie, a cook. When Julie, who has been passing for white, is exposed as biracial, she and Steve are forced to resign. Captain Andy eventually casts Magnolia and an itinerant gambler, Gaylord Ravenal, in their places. Magnolia and Gaylord fall in love and move to Chicago, where he supports them with his betting spoils. After she becomes pregnant with their daughter, Kim, the stresses of being a father lead Gaylord to abandon his family. As Kim matures, she becomes a successful stage actress; Magnolia assumes control of the Cotton Blossom, continuing the work began by her parents.

Impressed by Ferber's novel, Kern wanted to adapt it into a serious musical play. He chose Hammerstein as his writing partner because of his interest in depicting social issues onstage; indeed, subsequent Hammerstein shows, notably South Pacific, Flower Drum Song, Carmen Jones, and No Strings, would address intercultural conflict. With the talents of Paul Robeson in mind, Kern and Hammerstein wrote the role of Joe, who provides the African American counterpoint to Southern life in the song “Ol’ Man River.” Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld was so impressed with Show Boat that he decided to build the Ziegfeld Theatre to accommodate the grand scale of the spectacle.

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