Musicals Show Boat the Musical

¶ … Musicals

Show Boat

The musical Show Boat occurs in two acts and is based upon the book by Edna Ferber, written in 1926. The play is considered the first of its kind in American culture. In other words, it is the first true "musical play" of its kind. It breaks from previous conventions that favored light musical comedies musical revues during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Instead, Show Boat combined the dramatic form with popular music in a way that has never been done before. This set the precedent for both the musical plays and films of the future.

Generally, the musical was based upon an already existign form, the "Princess Musicals." These, like Show Boat, were centered upon plot and character, but much narrower in scope. Instead, the musical developed and broadened this paradigm to create a new form of entertainment at the time.

This form of entertainment, while revolutionary, was therefore not entirely unique. Indeed, George S. Kaufman and George Gershwin created Strike Up the Band, also broad in scope and centered around plot and character. However, it is closer to the previous creations of its type in that it was satirical and farcical, without the dramatic, sentimental and at times tragic elements included in Show Boat.

Another element that made Show Boat one of its kind at the time was its form as musical epic. As such, it comprised a vast number of characters and plots. This is a great leap away from the more usual musical show, which would comprise two sets and a limited amount of characters. Most influential of the current musical genre is the element of drama and tragedy included in Show Boat.

It is also interesting to note the element of racial difficulties included in this show. Indeed, this is also a break in tradition, in that both white and non-white actors were included. While this was progressive for its age, the current opinion is generally that references such as the word "nigger" in the lyrics of the play make it unsuitable for current tastes. The show does however remain important in its pioneering of the new form of musical drama.

Oklahoma

Like Show Boat, Oklahoma! was a pioneer of the musical in its time. This 1943 production was the first musical play created by the combined talents of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. There are several elements in this musical that can be seen as revolutionary and widely influential of future productions of its kind.

While emotional depth and psychological complexity have become accepted parts of the musical drama by this time, Oklahoma! also comprised a number of new storytelling techniques that distinguished it form its peers. This includes for example the focus on emotional empathy, requiring the audience not only to be entertained by the characters and their plight, but also to "feel their pain," as it were. Another pioneering element is that the play focused on characters and situations that were far removed from the time and geographical circumstances of the audience. This is a risky effect, like the racism theme of Show Boat, but nonetheless successful.