Show Boat: Still ‘see-worthy’

With the selection of “Show Boat” as the 100th production on the Signature stage, the first question is likely to be “Why?”

After all, Signature was born in a converted garage, grew large with its ambitious stagings that included most of Sondheim, turned heads all over Washington, and finally quadrupled its size in a gleaming new facility with a Tony Award on the mantel.

“Show Boat”?

That old thing?

Well, that old thing is still an epic piece of theatre, and treated right, will follow you home.

It took some re-imagining, but director Eric Schaeffer has made America’s first great musical his own. This isn’t the breath-taking spectacle created by Harold Prince ten years ago — the one with the multi-million dollar sets that nearly dwarfed the Kennedy Center.

Schaeffer understands that the show and the space have to complement each other, and much the way he did with “Les Miserables” last spring, this “Show Boat” is up front and personal.

There really was a Cotton Blossom steam boat, and there still is an Ol’ Man Mississippi River. It’s the only thing that doesn’t change — barring the occasional hurricane-inspired flooding.

It’s a theme of eternal rhythms against which ugliness and serene beauty, pettiness and small triumphs move people through their lives forcing them to change slowly, but change nevertheless.

Cap’n Andy and his wife Parthy follow the river and the vicissitudes of fortune from 1880 to 1927; the showboat family ebbs and flows as well. Julie (Terry Burrell), a bi-racial performer, is evicted from the boat by the sheriff of one particularly rabid Mississippi port followed by her white lover, Steve (Jim Newman).

Ellie (Sandy Bainum) and Frank (Bobby Smith), seeking brighter lights, take their act to more promising cities, and Magnolia, the Captain’s only child, falls in love with Gaylord Ravenal, a gambler blown by the wind.

For 47 years, as constant as the river itself, Queenie (Delores Williams) and her husband Joe (VaShawn McIlwain) along with a crew of black workers keep the show boat rolling along.

James Kronzer’s set puts the audience right around the wharf of the vaguely docked Cotton Blossom using a thrust stage that changes purpose with every scene.

Aided by Mark Lanks’ gorgeous lighting design, the immediacy of the space is enhanced.
It works, but the overall effect is suggested rather than stated. The orchestra, seated high upon what would be the upper deck, plays invisibly from a fog of blue.

Compelling as the story is, it’s Hammerstein and Kern’s music that has seduced audiences since 1927.

“Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” lives on as one of the sweet blues-y greats, and Ellie’s routine of “Life Upon the Wicked Stage” is just pure fun.

“Ol’ Man River” is in a class by itself — call it the “to be or not to be” problem. It’s so well known and so highly anticipated that an extra burden rests with the performer.

In this case, VaShawn McIlwain as Joe gives us both barrels of his operatically trained voice — but therein lies the problem. Rich though the voice is, there’s an artificial, classical cast that seems at odds with the simple grandeur of the song. Reprises of the theme sung by the crew of boat workers restore it to its rightful place under the action.

No such problem exists with “You Are Love” sung by the beautifully paired Magnolia and Ravenal. Stephanie Water’s crystal clear soprano blended with Will Gartshore’s five diamond tenor is enough to raise goosebumps. The only performance that can match it for sheer emotional power is Terry Burrell’s “Bill.”

Among all the changes, comings and goings, the other constant is Cap’n Andy played by Harry Winter with a kind of Burl Ives complacent self-possession. He’s the captain of his boat, master of ceremonies of his show, doting father of Magnolia, and docile helpmate to the disapproving Partha (Kimberly Schraf).

J. Fred Shiffman playing four separate roles (his muzzle-loading mountaineer watching the stage is a hoot) stands out in what is an overall standout production. Sam Ludwig as Leroy, Jeb, and Rubberface is another.

Not many American musicals can stand the test of this much time, but the resilience of the themes and enduring beauty of the music assure that “Show Boat,” with the right direction, will keep on “rollin’ along.”

Margaret Lawrence is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association. She teaches drama and English at CCHS.

Want to go?
What: “Show Boat”
Where: Signature Theatre, Arlington
Call: (703) 820-9771 or visit signature_theatre.org.
Playing through Jan. 17