The quality of Show Boat was recognized immediately by critics, and it is frequently revived. Now … came complete integration of song, humor and production numbers into a single and inextricable artistic entity. Now … the play was the thing, and everything else was subservient to that play. Here we come to a completely new genre – the musical play as distinguished from musical comedy. According to The Complete Book of Light Opera: It 'was a radical departure in musical storytelling, marrying spectacle with seriousness', compared with the trivial and unrealistic operettas, light musical comedies and 'Follies'-type musical revues that defined Broadway in the 1890s and early 20th century. The premiere of Show Boat on Broadway was an important event in the history of American musical theatre. The musical was first produced in 1927 by Florenz Ziegfeld. The musical contributed such classic songs as ' Ol' Man River', ' Make Believe', and ' Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man'. Its themes include racial prejudice and tragic, enduring love.

The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock workers on the Cotton Blossom, a Mississippi River show boat, over 40 years from 1887 to 1927.

It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. Show Boat is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Original 1927 sheet music for Ol' Man River, from Show Boat

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