50 Favourite Musicals: 15: SHOW BOAT (1927) (Jerome Kern / Oscar Hammerstein II, PG Wodehouse)

The 50 shows that have stood out down the years and, as we get up among the paint cards, the shows that have become the cast recording of my life:

 First performed: 1927, Ziegfeld Theatre, NY

First seen by me: London Palladium, 1991

Productions seen: two

Score: Jerome Kern / Oscar Hammerstein II, P.G. Wodehouse
Book: Oscar Hammerstein II

Plot: The lives and loves of the performers on Capt'n Andy's show boat "The Cotton Blossom" as it sails up and down the Mississippi River span 40 years and the evolving styles of American popular entertainment...

Five memorable numbers: OL' MAN RIVER, CAN'T HELP LOVIN' DAT MAN, MAKE BELIEVE, BILL, LIFE UPON THE WICKED STAGE

You would have thought that the show acknowledged to be the one that first presented a narrative with a fully integrated score and believable characters - not just an evening of skits, songs and production numbers or imported European operetta - would be handled with more respect but no, SHOW BOAT has been revised and rewritten with practically every revival on stage or screen.  Incidentally how interesting that the original SHOW BOAT was produced by Florenz Ziegfeld whose splashy revues were wiped away in the coming years by Musical Comedy productions.  The story stays the same - professional gambler Gaylord Ravanel meets aspiring actress Magnolia Hawks aboard her father's show boat and they marry unhappily ever after - but songs are dropped to be added to the film to be added to the revival to be dropped again etc. etc.  However, no matter what version you see the magic always happens - Edna Ferber's original characters are all sympathetically drawn by Hammerstein and you are never far away from a cracking song whatever the production. 

My first voyage on the SHOW BOAT was James Whale's 1936 film version with the excellent cast of Irene Dunne as Magnolia, Helen Morgan repeating her original stage role as Julie Laverne the Cotton Blossom's leading lady who has to leave when it is revealed that she is half-black, Hattie McDaniel as the boat's cook Queenie and the legendary Paul Robeson as her husband Joe.  Incidentally 'Joe' was written for Robeson but because Ziegfeld's production was delayed he had to withdraw because of other commitments, he played it instead in the original London production.  I first saw it onstage in 1991 when Ian Judge directed an RSC & Opera North co-production at the London Palladium with a memorable cast of Jan Hartley (Magnolia), Bruce Hubbard (Joe), Marilyn Cutts (Julie), David Healy (Cap'n Andy), Karla Burns (Queenie) and Margaret Courtenay (Parthy).  It was a wonderful production that made me realize the show's power.  Then in 2016 Daniel Evans directed an excellent revival for the Sheffield Crucible which later transferred to the New London Theatre for a shamefully short run.  At the Crucible the show had lovely performances from Michael Xavier (Gaylord), Gina Beck (Magnolia), Allan Corduner (Cap'n Andy), Emmanuel Kojo (Joe), Sandra Marvin (Queenie), Danny Collins (Frank) and particularly Rebecca Trehearn's haunting Julie - the character has my two favourite numbers from the show "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" and "Bill" (originally written by Kern with PG Wodehouse in 1917).  It was wonderful to experience SHOW BOAT on stage again, and it proved that a historical milestone from 1927 can be as vital, touching and entertaining as ever.

Again I am confronted with there being so many fabulous songs in SHOW BOAT over so many productions... which to choose?  I kept returning to this, a promo for the New London production with Rebecca Trehearn showing why she won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress In A Musical for playing tragic Julie and delivering such a thrilling version of "Bill"...

The 10th Annual Chrissie Awards - the red carpet awaits...

Time to dig out that old Balenciaga and the dinner jacket with the shiny lapels (and backside) - it's only the 10th Annual Chrissies... the award that all the West End wants...

BEST DRAMA (Original/Revival)

 

RICHARD III - William Shakespeare (Almeida)

Nominees:

THE DEEP BLUE SEA - Rattigan (Lyttelton) / ELLEN TERRY WITH EILEEN ATKINS - Atkins/Shakespeare (Sam Wanamaker) / KENNY MILLER - Poulson (Arcola) / THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS - O'Casey (Lyttelton)

BEST MUSICAL (Original/Revival)

SHOW BOAT - Jerome Kern / Oscar Hammerstein II (Sheffield & New London)

Nominees:

RAGTIME - Flaherty / Ahrens / McNally (Charing Cross Theatre) / SHE LOVES ME - Bock / Harnick / Masteroff (Menier) / THE THREEPENNY OPERA - Brecht / Weill / Stephens (Olivier) / TITANIC - Yeston (Charing Cross Road)

BEST BALLET/OPERA

THE RED SHOES - Matthew Bourne (Sadler's Wells)

Nominees:

LA FILLE MAL GARDÉE - Ashton (Covent Garden) / TOSCA - Puccini (London Coliseum) / LA TRAVIATA - Verdi (Covent Garden) / THE WINTER'S TALE - Wheeldon (Covent Garden)

BEST ACTOR (Drama)

  RALPH FIENNES - Richard III (Almeida)

Nominees:

O-T FAGBENLE (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) / DAVID MORRISSEY (Hangman) / LUCIAN MSAMATI (Amadeus) / LUCIAN MSAMANTI (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom)

BEST ACTRESS (Drama)

HELEN McCRORY - The Deep Blue Sea (Lyttelton)

Nominees:

EILEEN ATKINS (Ellen Terry with Eileen Atkins) / SHARON D. CLARKE (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) / LISA DWAN (No's Knife) / GLENDA JACKSON (King Lear)

BEST ACTOR (Musical)

RORY KINNEAR - The Threepenny Opera (Olivier)

Nominees:

PAUL AYRES (Kinky Boots) / EUAN GARRETT (Billy Elliot) / HARRY HEPPLE (Into The Woods) / MICHAEL XAVIER (Show Boat)

BEST ACTRESS (Musical)

  SCARLETT STRALLEN - She Loves Me (Menier)

Nominees:

ANITA LOUISE COMBE (Ragtime) / LAURA PITT-PULFORD (Side Show) / JENNA RUSSELL (Grey Gardens) / SHERIDAN SMITH (Funny Girl)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (Drama)

STEVE PEMBERTON - Dead Funny (Savoy)

Nominees:

FINBAR LYNCH (Richard III) / ANDY NYMAN (Hangman) / DOMINIC ROWAN (The Tempest) / PETER SULLIVAN (The Deep Blue Sea)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (Drama)

VANESSA REDGRAVE - Richard III (Almeida)

Nominees:

LINDA BASSETT (Escaped Alone) / SUSAN ENGEL (Richard III) / BRONWYN JAMES (Hangmen) / GRÁINNE KEENAN (The Plough and The Stars)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (Musical)

ADAM J. BERNARD - Dreamgirls (Savoy)

Nominees:

ALLAN CORDUNER (Show Boat) / NICK HOLDER (The Threepenny Opera) / EMMANUEL KOJO (Show Boat) / MALCOLM SINCLAIR (Show Boat)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (Musical)

REBECCA TREHEARN - Show Boat (Sheffield & New London)

Nominees:

SHEILA HANCOCK (Grey Gardens) / KATHERINE KINGSLEY (She Loves Me) / SANDRA MARVIN (Show Boat) / JENNIFER SAAYENG (Ragtime)

BEST BALLET/OPERA MALE

DANIEL COLLINS - Jekyll & Hyde (Old Vic)

Nominees:

BENNET GARTSIDE (The Winter's Tale) / STEVEN McRAE (La Fille Mal Gardee) / EDWARD WATSON (Strapless) / THOMAS WHITEHEAD (The Invitation)

 

 BEST BALLET/OPERA FEMALE

CORDELIA BRAITHWAITE - The Red Shoes (Sadler's Wells)

 

Nominees:

KERI ALKEMA (Tosca) / MARIANELA NUNEZ (Giselle) / MARIANELA NUNEZ (The Winter's Tale) / NATALIA OSIPOVA (La Fille Mal Gardee)

BEST DIRECTOR

RUPERT GOOLD - Richard III (Almeida)

Nominees:

MATTHEW BOURNE (The Red Shoes) / CARRIE CRACKNELL (The Deep Blue Sea) / CASEY NICOLAW (Dreamgirls) / MATTHEW WHITE (She Loves Me)

BEST DESIGNER

  LEZ BROTHERSTON - The Red Shoes (Sadler's Wells)

 Nominees:

HILDEGARD BECHTLER (Richard III) / BOB CROWLEY (La Traviata) / BOB CROWLEY (The Winter's Tale) / PAUL FARNSWORTH (She Loves Me)

BEST LIGHTING

 PAULE CONSTABLE - The Red Shoes (Sadler's Wells)

Nominees:

JON CLARKE (Richard III) / JEAN KALMAN (La Traviata) / NATASHA KATZ (The Winter's Tale) / HUGH VANSTONE (Dreamgirls)

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY (Musical)

CASEY NICHOLAW - Dreamgirls (Savoy)

Nominees:

CRESSIDA CARRÉ (Titanic) / PETER DARLING (Billy Elliot) / ALISTAIR DAVID (Show Boat) / REBECCA HOWELL (She Loves Me)

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY (Ballet)

CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON - The Winter's Tale (Sadler's Wells)

Nominees:

FREDERICK ASHTON (La Fille Mal Gardée) / MATTHEW BOURNE (The Red Shoes) / KENNETH McMILLAN (Anastasia) / PETER WRIGHT (Giselle)

Dvd/150: SHOW BOAT (James Whale, 1936)

The year after James Whale directed BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN he made something totally different but equally memorable, his adaptation of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's 1927 landmark musical SHOW BOAT.

The musical, based on Edna Ferber's novel, was the first to mesh a plot and fully integrated score and had already been filmed in 1929 with a couple of sound scenes and music from the show included in it's prologue.

Whale cast several actors who had appeared in stage versions of the show: Irene Dunne as Magnolia, Helen Morgan as Julie, Charles Winninger as Cap'n Andy, Sammy White as Frank Schultz and the mighty Paul Robeson as Joe.

Also cast were Allan Jones as Gaylord Ravenal, Hattie McDaniel as Queenie and Helen Westley as Parthy.  They all give sparkling, memorable performances - a particular joy is to see Robeson and McDaniel effortlessly stealing the film with their larger-than-life personas. 

Shelf or charity shop?  My friend John went to such efforts to get me this Spanish dvd I have to keep it (I would anyways...)

SHOW BOAT - Another visit now it is docked in London!

When I had to decide what show should be my birthday night event it was an easy choice - a return visit to Daniel Evans' revival of the game-changing 1927 musical SHOW BOAT, which has now slowly steamed into dock at the New London Theatre.

Finally!  A production has appeared at the New London Theatre that I want to see.  Since I became a 'proper' theatre fan in 1982 - apart from the transfer from the National Theatre of WAR HORSE - the New London Theatre has been home to a run of shows that I would walk a mile in tight shoes to avoid, but now I could visit safe in the knowledge that I wouldn't be seeing a dud.  To be honest the New London reminds me of any number of regional theatres I have been in - definitely a cross between Chichester and Sheffield with a similar 1970s feel of carpet and concrete.  Nice big bar area though!

We saw and loved SHOW BOAT back in January in it's Sheffield home but now it is gracing the West End with it's glorious score by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II and Evans' elegant production that guides you through the plot's decades.  In the journey from Sheffield to London, the production has lost it's two male leads but this has not sunk the ship, in fact it has made it a smoother journey.

In Sheffield Michael Xavier played Gaylord, the raffish gambler who falls for heroine Magnolia, while Allan Corduner was the affable Cap'n Andy, owner of the Cotton Blossom Showboat but these they have been replaced by Broadway import Chris Peluso and the always-dependable Malcolm Sinclair respectively.

Xavier was better than the role to be honest - it gave him very little chance to shine as it is quite a strait-jacketed role but it suited Chris Peluso but dear God... all through the show, through whatever decade, the tab at the back of his boots stuck out from under his trouser hems - It was profoundly irritating!  No such problems with Malcolm Sinclair who was a total delight as the hen-pecked but tender-hearted owner of the Cotton Blossom.

The strength of Evans' production is in the casting of the three central female roles: a majestic triumvirate of Gina Beck's sweet-natured Magnolia, Rebecca Trehearn's tragic Julie and Sandra Marvin's imperious Queenie with Trehearne coming out on top of them all thanks to having the two best songs in the score: "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" and "Bill".

Lucy Briers has grown in the role of Parthy Ann Hawks, the battle-axe of the Cotton Blossom and the good news is that Emmanuel Kojo is still toting barges and lifting bales as he belts out a passionate and emotive "Old Man River".  I was particularly happy to see again the bendy dancing of Danny Collins as Frank Schultz who turns choreographer Alistair David's routines into something quite thrilling.

It was a huge delight to see this production again to enjoy Lez Brotherston's spare but evocative designs, David's physical choreography and Evans' direction that spills out into the auditorium at times.

SHOW BOAT was the show that in 1927 proved that a musical could be more than just a string of numbers and comedy scenes, it could actually tell a through story with characters you care for while also dealing with serious themes.  If you have never seen it now is your chance to - and if you have, then see it again!

SHOW BOAT at the Crucible, Sheffield - back to the beginning...

Last Saturday we took a long journey up to the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield and also journeyed back to the first milestone of the American musical, Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's legendary SHOW BOAT.

I had previously seen the show once before in 1991 when Ian Judge directed an Opera North revival at the London Palladium with a memorable cast of Jan Hartley (Magnolia), Bruce Hubbard (Joe), Marilyn Cutts (Julie), David Healy (Cap'n Andy), Karla Burns (Queenie) and Margaret Courtenay (Parthy).  Nearly 25 years later I can still remember the production well.

But Daniel Evans - soon to be the artistic director of Chichester Festival Theatre - has directed a fine production which smoothly moves through the show's timespan of 40 years.  It's a shame we do not see this show produced more often because it's one of the best Broadway shows which boasts a stunning score including "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin Dat Man", "Bill" and "Why Do I Love You?" among other classics.

The show, based on Edna Ferber's novel, broke the mould of previous revue-style shows and operettas, by telling a story which touched on serious themes with it's musical numbers allowing the story and the characters to develop.  Indeed Hammerstein's book, although admittedly thin on character development, does indeed touch on the racism that the black workers on the Show Boat faced from their overseers, which of course lend "Ol' Man River" a greater weight when seen within the show's context.

Through the timespan, apart from the travails of Magnolia's love for gambler Gaylord, we also see the times changing for the Show Boat performers too - song-and-dance team Frank & Ellie evolve from low comedy performers to headliners until they reveal in the final scene that they have moved to Hollywood.

Lez Brotherston's set design makes good use of the Crucible's thrust stage and his minimalist Show Boat was hugely evocative - although the cast probably could do without all those stairs!  The great lighting designer David Hersey has also given the show a glowing vitality and kudos too for Tim Reid's video projections which helped the years melt away within the show.

There are sparkling performances from Evans' handsome cast - Michael Xavier was in excellent voice as the raffish Gaylord Ravenal (although Owen did note that ultimately his character could be given more to do), Gina Beck was a delightful Magnolia (although at times her strong operatic soprano lent too hard on the notes), Allan Corduner was (and appeared to have) great fun as Cap'n Andy and was well-partnered by Lucy Briers' scowling Parthy Ann.

Emmanuel Kojo nearly stopped the show with his rousing "Ol' Man River" and he too was well partnered by Sandra Marvin's no-messing Queenie.  As you will see, it's interesting how there are so many couples within the show, another being the song-and-dance team of Frank and Ellie and they too were well played by Danny Collins and Alex Young - Collins energetic, athletic dancing betrayed his extensive work with Matthew Bourne.

Although initially partnered with Bob Harms' Frank Baker, Rebecca Trehearn as Julie LaVerne always suggested her character's inner solitude.  Julie is the star of the Show Boat cast until a jilted co-worker tells local lawmen her secret: Julie has been hiding that she is a half-caste.  She has to leave the boat which starts a downward spiral ending up as an alcoholic club singer.  Trehearn sang my two favourite songs in the score "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" and "Bill" and gave a haunting, quietly tragic performance.

It was wonderful to experience this show on stage again, and it proved that a historical milestone from 1927 can be as vital, touching and entertaining as ever.