Show Boat (1993 Toronto Revival Cast)
When this Jerome Kern (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics and libretto, based on Edna Ferber's novel) show premiered in 1927 it powerfully changed the course of musicals by being about something: the sweep of 40 years of American history, racial tensions and relations (including miscegenation), even spousal and parental abandonment. It also featured some of the most splendid songs ever written for the legitimate stage, both building on the operetta and music-hall past, and presaging plot-advancement and character-development numbers (which took another quantum leap inOklahoma). "Make Believe," "Why Do I Love You?" and "Ol' Man River" became standards almost at first hearing, and the production was a hit in spite of the controversy surrounding it.Show Boatsuffered only from the lack of sophisticated recording techniques to preserve the original performances, although Helen Morgan (who played the mulatto Julie) later recorded her signature song "Bill." Three movie versions and countless stage revivals keptShow Boatalive and popular--although bowdlerized--for almost 50 years without a definitive recording. (The 1971 production, with Cleo Laine as Julie, came closest.) But it's all here, in the 1994 Toronto recording whose cast transferred almost intact to Broadway. It's a glorious rendering from start to finish, with Rebecca Luker and Mark Jacoby as good as any Magnolia and Gaylord Ravenal we're ever likely to hear. And, I'm sorry Helen and Cleo, but Lonette McKee's "Bill" (with lyrics by P G. Wodehouse) is the most wrenching rendition I've ever heard.--Robert Windeler