THEATER REVIEW : ‘Show Boat’ Steers Safe, Charmed Course at Starlight

For most people, “Show Boat,” now in a handsome production at the Starlight Bowl through July 10, is a treasure trove of some of the most beautiful songs ever written: “Ol’ Man River,” “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man,” “After the Ball” and “Only Make Believe.”

But the true glory of “Show Boat,” adapted from the novel by Edna Ferber, is that it is also a 61-year-old indictment of prejudice. The irresistible beauty of the score, by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern, was a weapon in a continuing fight that was later to lead Hammerstein, along with Richard Rodgers, to win the Pulitzer Prize for “South Pacific” in 1949.

Probably because racial themes were so risky in 1927, Kern and Hammerstein were not ready in “Show Boat” to focus too closely on beautiful Julie, the mixed-blood performer who breaks a law against interracial relationships by marrying a white man in 1880s Mississippi. (Miscegenation laws were not struck down by the U. S. Supreme Court until 1967.)

Julie’s tragic story, sadly, still gets lost in the shuffle of a far more conventional and far less compelling tale, that of her dearest friend, Magnolia, for whom she secretly sacrifices all.

Ah, but what an enchanting shuffle in which to get lost!

The voices, under the musical direction of Milton Greene, do the music proud--and that is saying a lot. Livia Genise is exquisite as life-weary Julie, decked in purple finery, sitting on the piano, crooning a heart-tugging “Bill” (the one Kern melody here with lyrics by P. G. Wodehouse). Alice McMasters fashions a winning, fresh-scrubbed Magnolia, who makes Julie’s devotion to her credible.

If Gregg Busch lacks some of the carefree panache that should attend the gambler who sweeps Magnolia off her feet, his voice, nevertheless, is a joy. As the quirky, supporting actors on the show boat team, Lisa Robinson and Alan Schueler perfectly provide the welcome comic relief.

Bob Howard is always likable and often funny, without quite bringing off the simple, practical wisdom of Cap’n Andy who runs the ship. Edward Hollingsworth is nicely intense as Julie’s husband, Steve.

The most problematic part of this production involves the black roles. The work by director John Montgomery, choreographer Helen Butleroff and Tara, the costumer, sparkles everywhere but here. Granted the black roles are only blurrily defined in the book; still, they could provide a silent opportunity to register the oppression of the life Julie was trying to escape.

It would help to see them laboring in the background. It would help to have them do more than just face the audience flatly when they sing “Ol’ Man River.” It would help if their costumes showed the wear and tear of their lives.

Dan Tullis Jr. as Joe, who sings the solo of “Ol’ Man River,” exacerbates the problem. His voice is a strong, natural force like the river he sings about, but the feelings behind the song are unclear.

The sets, coordinated by Ken Holamon, are bright, breezy and flimsy enough to be literally blowin’ in the wind. Barbara Du Bois’ lighting design falters under the still-light sky at Starlight’s new early curtain time: 8 p.m. But she falls into lush, dramatic step as the light outside fades.

In Lena Horne’s tell-all one-woman show on Broadway seven years ago, she said she lost the part of Julie in the movie, “Show Boat,” because studio executives didn’t dare show a woman of mixed blood playing a woman of mixed blood married to a white man. So her roommate, Ava Gardner, got the part and the job of darkening her skin with cream.

Although this is not the production to give us a mixed-blood Julie or a meatier role for the black background players, it still packs a wallop of talent and heart.

“Show Boat” can no more be sunk by missing some dramatic beats than the sound can be overwhelmed by the frequent planes roaring overhead the Starlight Bowl. All the gold may not have been mined here, but there are still riches aplenty.

‘SHOW BOAT’

Novel by Edna Ferber. Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Music by Jerome Kern. Director is John Montgomery. Choreography by Helen Butleroff. Costumes by Tara. Sound by Bill Lewis. Lighting by Barbara Du Bois. Music direction by Milton Greene. With Phil Green, Ed Hollingsworth, Charles Jackam, Peggy Armstrong, Lola Fisher, Bob Howard, Lisa Robinson, Alan Schueler, Phil Green, Livia Genise, Gregg Busch, William Quiett, Alice McMasters, Dan Tullis Jr. Dan Leal, Mark Sparrow, Lesley Torresen, Ann Ukrainetz, Gail Wolford, Lori Palmer and Gina Bolles. At 8 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday through July 10. At the Starlight Bowl, Balboa Park, San Diego.