Show Boat

Show Boat, based on Edna Ferber’s bestselling novel, follows three generations of the Hawks family on the Cotton Blossom riverboat from 1887-1927. The story chronicles the fortunes of naive captain’s daughter Magnolia and her troubled husband Gaylord Ravenal, and the lives of the performers, stagehands, and dockworkers whose lives are affected by the ever-changing social current along the Mississippi River. Show Boat, which was the first fully integrated book musical, tackles issues of unhappy marriage, miscegenation, and racial prejudice. The musical’s classic songs — including “Ol’ Man River,” “Only Make Believe,” “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man,” and “You Are Love” — have become part of the Broadway canon.