The debut of Show Boat on Broadway in 1927 proved the musical to be anything but revelatory and earned it a firm place in the history of the development of the American musical 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 Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Set in the late 1800s, Show Boat chronicles the life of a young and touchy Magnolia Hawks, daughter of Captain Andy Hawks. Captain Andy Hawks is, coincidentally, the captain of the show boat Cotton Blossom. Magnolia meets a deeply troubled man named Gaylord Ravenal. It's love at first sight and it's not long before they get married. In due course, Gaylord's compulsive gambling habits come to destroy his relationship with Magnolia, resulting in their separation. An auxiliary plot 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 was strongly condemned at the time, because it involved miscegenation. Show Boat audiences are taken through the strenuous "battle" of these four lovers and the conflict they face in relationships fraught with uncertainty and abstraction. Both Jerome Kern, the composer, and Oscar Hammerstein II, the lyricist and writer, are capable of handling the difficult task of creating content that has both substance and entertainment value. For the first time, a musical integrated the libretto, which is the text of an opera, and the score, which is a musical composition in written form, into a single cohesive plot. In the past, the songs in a performance had no correlation with the narrative, and the narrative had no correlation with 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 artistic careers. The show's storyline and inclusive casting allowed audiences to accurately visualize the hardships that African American individuals have endured as a result of widespread and systematic oppression. This new source of cultural knowledge has sparked an “awakening” in audiences across the country. On the soundtrack, Show Boat features musical patterns from the popular song “Ol' Man River,” sung by Paul Robeson's character Joe, the dock worker on the boat. The song showcased the perpetual and seemingly endless struggles of workers toiling along the Mississippi River. Joe sings about how he and his peers "evict away", while their white counterparts "play", referencing the problem of segregation in the workforce. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay With the goal of making African American men like himself appear strong and capable, Robeson made periodic changes to the lyrics in hopes of instilling greater power in the future image of the African American man. He ultimately succeeded in this feat; advocating for change served to "personify" his character and changed how the public viewed him. Because of these changes in the lyrics, today's productions often refuse to stick to the original language, choosing instead to honor Robeson's changes and give the actors and their characters the..