A stage production of the classic musical, videotaped in front of a live audience at the Paper Mill Playhouse, New Jersey.A stage production of the classic musical, videotaped in front of a live audience at the Paper Mill Playhouse, New Jersey.A stage production of the classic musical, videotaped in front of a live audience at the Paper Mill Playhouse, New Jersey.
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Did you know
- TriviaThe original production of Showboat opened in the Ziegfeld Theater on December 27, 1927 and ran for 572 performances. The Great Performances show was originally produced for the Papermill Playhouse of Milburn New Jersey.
- Quotes
Sheriff Ike Vallon: [offering Ravenal a cigar] See-gar?
Gaylord Ravenal: [looking at it] What'd you call that?
Sheriff Ike Vallon: See-gar.
Gaylord Ravenal: Optimist!
- ConnectionsVersion of Show Boat (1929)
Featured review
A Special Place In My Heart
I know there is at least one commentator on this production that did not care for it, but in my heart this will always get a 10 out of 10. When this first aired on PBS, I taped it to watch with my then 4 year old daughter. We watched the tape so often we wore it out and it was this production that made her a lover of classic Broadway musicals. Now we never miss a live production of Showboat, Sound of Music, Oklahoma, My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Guys & Dolls, The King and I, etc. I'm sure if we had not watched this performance she would have become an aficionado of the classics (2 of her favorite CD are Who's Next and What's Going On so you know she has good taste) but it sure helped.
As for this performance, I repeat what I said about the MGM Keel/Grayson version; it is hard to do a great version of Showboat and impossible to do a poor version. Impossible because the songs are so great that even poorly performed versions contain the magic of Kern and Hammerstein. I don't know if there is another first act I would ever want to watch or hear. And this version (unlike the MGM version) contains my favorite back to back to back numbers of any musical (Make Believe; Ol' Man River & Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man).
A great version of Showboat is hard because you have to have people that are good enough to play Gay and 'Nola as bad actors thrust into the show and still have the vocal range to sing the score.
The best thing about this performance (besides the score) is Eddie Bracken. He's my favorite Captain Andy and strikes the right balance needed to deal with Parthy and making sure the show goes on. My favorite Bracken performance remains Norval in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek but this is close.
I'm also glad they did not change the lyrics to meet current sensibilities. Ferber did not write Showboat for our current PC society.
The other performers remind me of other solid stage performers that are out there trying to make it big. They enable us to buy into the story and perform the score very well. P.L. Brown is no Paul Robeson but still does a great job as Joe.
I really wish this would be released on DVD (some of my taxes went to PBS and why won't they listen to me?). Since it is unlikely to ever be released get the 3 CD Frederica Von Stade version to listen to and watch any of the movie versions when they show up on TCM. And if you have a chance to see a live stage performance of Showboat, you should definitely get tickets. And thanks to the Paper Mill Playhouse and Great Performances for giving a father and a daughter a special bond.
As for this performance, I repeat what I said about the MGM Keel/Grayson version; it is hard to do a great version of Showboat and impossible to do a poor version. Impossible because the songs are so great that even poorly performed versions contain the magic of Kern and Hammerstein. I don't know if there is another first act I would ever want to watch or hear. And this version (unlike the MGM version) contains my favorite back to back to back numbers of any musical (Make Believe; Ol' Man River & Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man).
A great version of Showboat is hard because you have to have people that are good enough to play Gay and 'Nola as bad actors thrust into the show and still have the vocal range to sing the score.
The best thing about this performance (besides the score) is Eddie Bracken. He's my favorite Captain Andy and strikes the right balance needed to deal with Parthy and making sure the show goes on. My favorite Bracken performance remains Norval in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek but this is close.
I'm also glad they did not change the lyrics to meet current sensibilities. Ferber did not write Showboat for our current PC society.
The other performers remind me of other solid stage performers that are out there trying to make it big. They enable us to buy into the story and perform the score very well. P.L. Brown is no Paul Robeson but still does a great job as Joe.
I really wish this would be released on DVD (some of my taxes went to PBS and why won't they listen to me?). Since it is unlikely to ever be released get the 3 CD Frederica Von Stade version to listen to and watch any of the movie versions when they show up on TCM. And if you have a chance to see a live stage performance of Showboat, you should definitely get tickets. And thanks to the Paper Mill Playhouse and Great Performances for giving a father and a daughter a special bond.
helpful•91
- dgz78
- Apr 25, 2006
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