Show Boat, the musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, was first performed on Broadway in

December of 1927. It’s a story of love, tragedy, humor, racism, and other difficulties of life. To give a
brief plot summary—it follows Magnolia and Ravenal as the main romantic plot, Julie and Steve as the
tragic subplot, and the Schultz’s as the comedic subplot, though they’re mainly just entertainers without
much influence on the plotline. Magnolia and Ravenal deal with separation, gambling, and bearing a
child. Julie and Steve deal with the accusation of miscegenation and getting kicked off the boat, and
later separation and addiction. But besides the entrancing and complex story lines, the most important
thing about Show Boat is the way it fits into its time. It’s inspired by the events of the early 1900’s, but
also inspired events that followed it. I’ll give you a quick history of the racism at this time, the
background on miscegenation, some information on Edna Ferber, the importance of Ol Man River, and
facts about the types of boats the show is based on.

As white supremacy started becoming technically illegal, white people were looking to find ways
around the law. The KKK was the major way they were able to do it. They were known for lynchings and
cross burnings, targeting mostly African Americans, but also other minority groups. There have been 3
rounds of the KKK in history, the last being the one that scarily still exists today. By the 1920’s, white
people were still extremely racist, but a new wave of liberal thinkers also appeared. I would say Edna
Ferber was one, along with the characters in Show Boat who tried to stand up for Julie, such as Captain
Andy and Magnolia.

Julie and Steve were accused of miscegenation, the laws banning interracial marriage. These
laws were the foundation of racism post-Civil War. They stated it was “unnatural”. The laws were
enforced most for relationships including white women, because white men held power and were
possessive, to say the very least. This statement doesn’t seem to hold true in Show Boat, since the
women is black, and the man is white. But women of color always bore the heaviest economic and social
burdens of these laws, even if the white men got off easy. When these laws were banned in 1967, 19
states were still enforcing them.

A major factor in Show Boat staying so timeless is the music, but particularly Ol Man River.
Though the song is still loved and performed nationwide, the background of it is what makes it so
important. Jerome Kern was originally drawn to creating a musical out of Edna Ferber’s book because of
the character Joe. The idea of having a black star singing the type of music that white people knew and
loved drew him in. But it wasn’t until Kern and Hammerstein heard Paul Robeson’s voice that they were
inspired to write Ol Man River. Robeson was a dramatic actor with a shared passion for singing. The
lyrics and spirit of the song speak to the hardships black people were facing and are facing on an
everyday basis, while also appealing to and not offending white people. Each reprise of the song
throughout the show symbolizes a different character’s story, a different emotion, but all points on the
journey of life.

(Show clip- Youtube Ol Man River Paul Robseon- start at 1:41)

Edna Ferber published Show Boat, the novel, in 1926. Her works were known to celebrate
America, while also exposing its shortcomings. Her love for America grew out of the oppression and
extreme anti-Semitism she faced as a child. She said it was an everyday occurrence for grown men to
yell horrid things at her on the street at a young age. It was when her father got sick that she realized
the difficulties immigrants and minorities were facing in the country. They had new, what they called,
“hired girls” helping at their house, who were children of immigrants or new immigrants themselves.
Edna took it upon herself to learn their cultures and lifestyles. She was one of those liberal thinkers of
her time. Experiencing other cultures and seeing the mistreatment of minorities in the small towns she
grew up in is what inspired her writing, including Show Boat. She also found it important to include
strong female characters, as she experienced oppression for being a woman, as well. I think both Julie
and Magnolia are great examples of that.

Like the Cotton Blossom that Show Boat takes place on, there were many real life show boats
sailing the rivers of the US. They were mostly seen in the South and Midwest, along the Mississippi and
Ohio rivers. William Chapman is known to have created the first one as a family venture out of
Pittsburgh in 1831. The show boats of the mid 1800’s were huge and extravagant, seating up to 3,400
people and featuring wax museums and equestrian shows. They disappeared during the Civil War, but
were revived in 1878. These new boats showcased vaudeville, and were much smaller. But with the
creation of more roads, cars, and movie theaters, they had to compete. They made the boats much
larger and extravagant again, much like the real life Cotton Blossom. In the 1930’s, the shows became
more burlesque in style, trying to appeal to a higher class. But that went against the original function of
the show boat, which was to bring theater to people in areas where physical theaters were yet to be
built. Because of this, we saw the decline of the show boat. The last to sail was in 1943. Although Show
Boat was written and first performed in the 1920’s, its performance styles follow the more burlesque
style, which apparently didn’t begin until the 1930’s. But, the musical depicted shows that more likely
would’ve been seen on boats in the 30’s or 40’s. Maybe Ferber, Kern, and Hammerstein could depict the
change in style that was coming before it actually happened, but who knows?

Overall, Show Boat was a work of its time. Ferber, Kern, and Hammerstein were all inspired by
the racism and segregation around them. The musical showcases love, addiction, relationships, family,
class structure, and so many other topics that we can still talk about and relate to nearly a century later.
Besides being inspired by the things around it, the show did some inspiring itself. Never before had a
black and white cast and chorus appeared together onstage. It was a revelation for its time, and was
done with no uncertainty. It showcased interracial love as true love, something that had never been
done before. Julie and Steve’s relationship wasn’t mocked as a joke, but was presented as a serious
romantic plotline. The character of Joe, a black man, had the most popular musical piece of the entire
show, and all audiences of all colors loved it and him. It’s no wonder Show Boat is so loved, and
continues to be revived, because the subjects will never be outdated. It truly does stand the test of time.