Show Boat (2015)

Set in 1887 Mississippi, a show boat arrives in Natchez with a troupe of actors ready to perform. The boat's owner (Bill Irwin) has a sharp tongued wife (Harriet Sansom Harris) and a daughter (Heidi Stober) who dreams of going on the stage. But the troupe's arrival is plagued with trouble when the state's racist anti-miscegenation laws threatens to prevent the show from going on. Based on the classic 1927 musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein by way of the novel by Edna Ferber and directed by Francesca Zambello. SHOW BOAT the musical has seen two film versions in 1936 and 1951 including a mini version of the show in the 1946 film TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY. I'm not including the 1929 version because it was not a musical but based on the Edna Ferber source material. None of the film versions have done justice to acclaimed musical. This production was done by the San Francisco Opera so the singing parts are cast with opera singers with limited acting experience though some of the roles are cast with actors who have Broadway experience like Irwin and Harris as well as John Bolton and Kirsten Wyatt who play Frank and Ellie. This makes some of the acting by the opera singers uneven though some performances stand out like Patricia Racette who makes an impression as Julie, Angela Renee Simpson as Queenie. As Joe, Morris Robinson is fine in the acting department and his vocal chops are strong but his delivery of OL' MAN RIVER has no passion, no soul. On the plus side, the beautiful Kern and Hammerstein score is intact (prior film versions have cut songs as well as characters), Michele Lynch's choreography is wonderful and Paul Tazewell's costumes are superb. I enjoyed it immensely.