Show Boat's Broadway debut in 1927 proved that the musical was nothing short of a revelation and earned it a place of choice in the history of the development of the American musical comedy. theater. Show Boat is widely considered the paradigm of an entirely new genre: the musical. The musical was a carefully orchestrated spectacle that combined the qualities of vaudeville, burlesque, operetta and caricature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essaySet in the late 1800s, Show Boat chronicles the life of a juvenile and touchy Magnolia Hawks, daughter of Captain Andy Hawks . Captain Andy Hawks is coincidentally the captain of the Cotton Blossom showboat. Magnolia crosses paths with a deeply troubled man named Gaylord Ravenal. It's love at first sight, and it doesn't take long for them to get married. In due time, Gaylord's compulsive gambling habits destroy his relationship with Magnolia, leading to their separation. A subplot involves Magnolia's friend Julie, who by previous standards is called "mulatto", and her love interest Steve Baker. The audience witnesses the difficulties of Julie and Steve's love, which at the time was strongly condemned because it involved miscegenation. The audience of Show Boat is transported through the fierce “battle” of these four lovers and the conflicts they face in relationships fraught with uncertainty and abstraction. Jerome Kern, the composer, and Oscar Hammerstein II, the lyricist and writer, are both capable of handling the difficult task of creating content that has both substantive and entertainment value. For the first time ever, a musical had integrated the libretto, or text of an opera, and the score, which is a musical composition in written form, into a single, coherent plot. In the past, the songs in a show had no correlation to the narrative, and the narrative had no correlation to the songs. Show Boat also had extremely positive implications for African-American actors – particularly Paul Robeson – who would later realize that their roles in the American musical would lay the foundation for their performing careers. to accurately visualize the hardships endured by African Americans due to widespread and systematic oppression. This new source of cultural knowledge caused a public “awakening” across the country. In its score, Show Boat features musical motifs from the popular song "Ol' Man River", sung by Paul Robeson's character Joe, the boat's dockworker. The song highlighted the perpetual and seemingly endless struggles of laborers working along the Mississippi River. Joe sings about how he and his contemporaries “enslave” while their white counterparts “play,” referring to the issue of segregation in the labor market. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. In an effort to make African American men like himself appear strong and capable, Robeson would periodically make lyrical changes in hopes of instilling greater power in the future image of the African American man. He ultimately succeeded in this enterprise; advocating change served to “personify” his character and changed the way audiences viewed him. Because of these lyrical changes, today's productions often refuse to stick to the original language, choosing instead to honor the changes in..