A heavenly musical A heavenly musical (July 27, 2001)

Foothill's 'Show Boat' a joy to experience

by Leonard Schwarz

Forget Beethoven. Forget Bach. Forget George Gershwin, and forget Duke Ellington. If there is music being played in heaven, it is surely the music of Jerome Kern. For a preview of this joyous reward - for a true taste of heaven - I strongly encourage you to see Foothill Music Theatre's stirring production of Kern's timeless masterpiece, "Show Boat."

Based on a novel by Edna Ferber, "Show Boat" was originally produced in 1927 and is generally considered the first great American musical. Historically, it is notable for being the first musical in which songs and music are used to advance the narrative and to add emotional depth to the story.

More fundamentally, however, "Show Boat" is a knockout of a show. Intelligent dialogue, clever bits of comedy, magnificent love songs and rousing dance numbers combine to tell a bittersweet tale of love and pain, and of destiny and redemption.

Set in the last years of the 19th century and the first years of the 20th, "Show Boat" follows the lives of the players on the "Cotton Blossom," a steamboat that cruises up and down the Mississippi River, serving as a traveling stage for the actors that make it their home. Segregation and a world that offers little opportunity haunt the blacks in the crew and on shore. Jealousy, gambling and heartlessness infect the lives of the whites. Against this backdrop a love story of astounding emotional resonance is told.

For any theater company "Show Boat" is an ambitious undertaking (master showman Florenz Ziegfield produced the original production). The cast required is enormous; the music demands lovely voices, lively dancers and an accomplished orchestra; the costumes must suggest the passage of 40 years; and more than a dozen different sets, many of them necessarily quite elaborate, are needed.

Most community theaters won't go near a show this difficult to stage. Those that do generally consider it a triumph if the orchestra and chorus finish the songs at the same time. But director Jay Manley and his talented colleagues at Foothill have done much more than meet the logistical challenges of "Show Boat." They have vividly brought to life a great piece of our musical heritage.

Backstage, credit goes to James Iglehart for staging the musical numbers, to Tyler Risk for the exuberant choreography, to Baomi Butts-Bhanji for the direction of a stellar chorus, to Janis Bergmann for attractive costumes that never fail to evoke the times and places covered by the sprawling saga and to Joe Ragey for sets that capture the charm of the "Cotton Blossom," the glamour of old Chicago and the darker side of the levees where the steamboat" docks.

Beneath the stage, Musical Director Catherine Snider conducts a 19-piece orchestra that adeptly backs the singers while giving eloquent expression to Kern's magnificent score.

And on stage, every member of the cast of 70 more than hits their marks. Most notable among them are: Martin Lewis, who plays with perfectly restrained flair the riverboat gambler Gaylord Ravenal and whose sonorous voice is a perfect match for Kern's enchanting melodies; Julie Valentine, who poignantly plays the ill-fated Julie and whose considerable dramatic talent adds depth to her appealing singing; and Andrea L. Daniel, who plays the kind-hearted Queenie and who is a bundle of warmth and a delight to watch sing and dance.

Other noteworthy performers are James Monroe Iglehart, who brings enormous dignity to the role of Joe and whose heart-felt rendition and reprises of "Ol' Man River" give powerful expression to the show's most fundamental themes; and John Musgrave, whose perfectly nuanced performance as Cap'n Andy allows the character to emerge, as he should, as the heart of the show.

When people say they don't make musicals like they used to, they are right. If you had the misfortune to see the dreadfully long-winded "Ragtime" in its recent San Francisco run or the equally unpleasant "Titanic," here is your chance to be reminded of why musical comedy is, like jazz, a great American art form, as well as a heavenly delight.

What: "Show Boat," presented by "Foothill Music Theatre

When: Through Aug. 12. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays (beginning Aug. 2); 2:30 p.m. Sundays.

Where: Foothill College's Smithwick Theatre, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills.

Cost: Tickets are $18 general; $15 seniors and students; $10 children under 12.

Info: To order tickets call (650) 948-4444.