SHOW BOAT: 1994 Broadway Revival cast on Larry King Show - PART 1

Oh Oh Oh Oh we're back on Larry King Live celebrating the music of Jerome Kern joining James Hammerstein now are members of the current smash revival of showboat Rebecca looka who plays Magnolia mark Jacobi who plays Gaylord Ravenel Michelle Belle who plays old Joe and now at our grand piano showboats musical director Geoffrey who art Margaret whiting and George Shearing we'll be back later in the show who put this Jeffrey who put showboat together who came up with his idea to revive showboat the idea was put together by Garth dibinsky our producer Harold Prince and the Rodgers and Hammerstein foundation and together they decided it was time for a completely new revival and Garth decided it should be in Toronto and there was was there not Marc some controversy there was indeed because the local community their members certain members of the local community felt that this was a racist show and should not should not be the the inaugural production of this new theatre in North York a beautiful new theatre he didn't know Beauty gorgeous theatre how do you feel Rebecca about that criticism Oh get an hour no we all we all pretty much felt the same I think that that it was kind of unwarranted we felt a little picked on by this group of people we don't feel that we relied on feel that we are putting on a racial a racist show watching it to me it's a historical yeah we're just did your well be simple being black Michelle did you feel well know it yet I just thought it I agree with the Rebecca it was very unwarranted also it was coming from a place of naivety it just they didn't know exactly what the Gazette know the story was all about you can't approach something without you know at least reading up on it or seeing it you know and it's this anger was before it opened right yeah did it kind of as soon as it opened it got rave reviews and didn't that kind of die away yes is it did you suspect any problems in New York not at all I hope not how did you get the park Rebecca oh boy I had about four or five auditions a lot of auditions just you know actually I had fun auditioning for this show and and that's not usually the case of course but I will I knew how prints from phantom and I knew I knew the creative team and I felt at home with them and you uh Marc well we we had a reading of this this new production which Hal Prince had had written about two years ago in New York and I did the reading an opportunity for the creative team to try it out see what see what changes they think need to be made so that was done in October of 91 I think so I sort of I guess I had an inside track on the role and I sort of lumbered my way into it from there and what about Michelle oh I'm an outsider divided on the I'm the new kid on the block basically this is my first musical I've done showboat in opera companies before but it is in a musical form where you're doing eight shows a week whoo this is a singer but yo yes first time you've had to act yes yes and it's fun I love enjoying yeah I'm enjoying it in minutes today when James did this show open-ended 27 1927 was it then revolutionary yes I think it got strange reviews and yeah absolutely brain interview well they didn't know what to make of it completely because it I feel if you hear it it's like somebody started to write an operetta and ended up with a musical play which is quite a difference with an unusual show both characters yeah it's captain the captain's wife it goes all character how many years is it covers about 40 years okay what do you yeah and uh was there any problem over the depiction of the of the black on the Broadway stage in 1920 so no cuz that was way before porgy and bess right uh yeah bad um Paul Robeson did the London cop he was the famous Joe actually somebody who did it originally was a tenor a tenor sang but saw was another job well with more use more of a baritone basically because the music is right away was the music universally praised are you asking me because you think I knew at the time of 1920s long I'm suing your father coach uh yes I think it was here well let's do us let's show what we're talking about let's do a song under the wedding song okay what should we do first we're gonna do a make-believe office retinol in Mickey's opening lesson we got to get a break in it we come back is that it all right we'll take a break come right back and more of showboat by the wonderful Jerome Kern and our great talented group don't go away that's a great production I saw it in Toronto as I said early it's coming to New York you're gonna love it with us our James Hammerstein the son of Oscar Hammerstein the godson of Jerome Kern and around the piano are Jeffrey you are at the piano mr. who art is the musical I you the conductor children up in Toronto and Rebecca Lucca mark Jacobi and Michelle Bell and mark and Rebecca now will sing from showboat the beautiful make-believe only make-believe I love you it's only make-believe hot you love me all's fine is mine in pretending wouldn't you call him I wouldn't we believe our lips are landing in our fantasies or two or three I love to tell the your pardon my bread too much to say the words that betray my heart in play just supposing is the sweetest game I know our dreams of all romantic and the world we see and the things we dream about all happens will be swore that's just a non important technicality you and I have never met we'd be not mine Conventions P's and Q's if we put other than practice we can vanish or regret imagining most anything we choose Oh we could think I love you oh there's one piece of my imprisoned in Gordon you wouldn't wait Billy what it's hard - what - make me I know to tell the truth this is good

Channel: Show Boat Tributes

Views: 16,833

Rating: 4.9569893 out of 5

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Id: svJULQxx9iY

Length: 10min 15sec (615 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 18 2013