Song Character Analysis Worksheet - The University of North ...
Song Character Analysis Worksheet - The University of North ...
Song Character Analysis Worksheet - The University of North ...
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<strong>The</strong> primary love story centers on Magnolia and Gaylord, but a sub-plot involves<br />
Julie’s mixed-blood heritage. A pivotal scene in the first act reveals this to the audience<br />
as well as to the characters. Pete, the boat engineer, was earlier rejected by Julie and had<br />
vowed revenge. He alerts the sheriff that there is a case <strong>of</strong> miscegenation aboard the<br />
show boat. When the sheriff arrives to arrest Julie, her husband Steve dramatically pro-<br />
claims himself also <strong>of</strong> “Negro blood” after cutting her hand and mixing her blood with<br />
his. <strong>The</strong> sheriff is mollified, but the couple decides to leave the boat anyway to relieve<br />
the troupe <strong>of</strong> further embarrassment. 40 <strong>The</strong> captain’s daughter, Magnolia (Nola), takes<br />
over as the lead ingénue <strong>of</strong> the troupe and the romantic lead is played by a young gambler<br />
who needs to get out <strong>of</strong> town quickly, Gaylord Ravenal.<br />
<strong>The</strong> courtship <strong>of</strong> Nola and Gay is very public for it unfolds upon the Cotton<br />
Blossom’s stage. This technique goes beyond a show-within-a-show scenario and assists<br />
in developing their melodramatic relationship. It also strengthens Magnolia’s self-<br />
confidence as an actress, for she develops a large following among the levee townsfolk.<br />
Hammerstein introduces a bold first-act finale with their wedding scene. Cap’n Andy<br />
invites the entire town to their nuptials (knowing that Parthy Ann is away for the day) and<br />
the first act concludes as the young couple departs for their honeymoon. In an unusual<br />
departure from musical theatre tradition, the ingénue becomes a woman before the end <strong>of</strong><br />
the first act rather than the final curtain.<br />
40 Oscar Hammerstein II, Show Boat, Act I:4 (New York: <strong>The</strong> Rodgers and Hammerstein Library,<br />
1927). It should be noted that Kern did not include any songs for this scene. <strong>The</strong>re is only some light<br />
underscoring <strong>of</strong> “Misery’s Comin’ Aroun’,” sung earlier by Queenie and the African-American workers on<br />
the levee.<br />
31