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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accepts Gaylord’s reappearance without question, and they live happily ever after as the<br />
“Ol’ Man River jes’ keeps rollin’ along!” 43<br />
<strong>The</strong> popularity <strong>of</strong> Show Boat continues to “roll along” through its revivals and its<br />
secure foundation in the Broadway canon. Ge<strong>of</strong>frey Block, American music historian,<br />
granted it “unequivocal canonic status” for its “permanence in the repertoire and [sic] the<br />
critical respect due a masterpiece <strong>of</strong> a genre.” 44 <strong>The</strong> Chicago Tribune headline for the<br />
1996 revival summarized its significance and relevance to twenty first-century audiences<br />
and performers: “Show Boat dates from 1927 but it’s for the ages.”<br />
43 Show Boat, Act II:7. <strong>The</strong> final set is recycled from the first, with the addition <strong>of</strong> a banner<br />
announcing Charles Lindberg’s transcontinental flight for historical interest. <strong>The</strong> reality <strong>of</strong> this reunion for<br />
people who had long ago died in the novel is an example <strong>of</strong> the suspension <strong>of</strong> belief in musical comedy<br />
traditions. <strong>The</strong>atre historians still argue over the necessity <strong>of</strong> Ravenal’s return to create a traditionally<br />
happy ending to the “musical comedy.” Miles Kruger is especially adamant about the uselessness <strong>of</strong> the<br />
coincidental return, and what it takes away from Magnolia’s survival. Show Boat: <strong>The</strong> Story <strong>of</strong> a Classic<br />
American Musical, 50.<br />
44 “<strong>The</strong> Broadway Canon from Show Boat to West Side Story and the European Operatic Ideal” in<br />
<strong>The</strong> Journal <strong>of</strong> Musicology 11/4 (fall 1993): 535.<br />
33