By Kenneth Jones
30 Sep 2009

VaShawn McIlwain
photo by Chris Mueller

Helen Hayes Award winner Will Gartshore will be riverboat gambler Gaylord Ravenal, Stephanie Waters is his wife Magnolia, Terry Burrell is tragic Julie and VaShawn McIlwain will be Joe in Signature Theatre's new reinvention of the American classic Show Boat this fall.

Signature artistic director Eric Schaeffer, with the permission of the writers' estates, will draw from three different versions of the Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein musical to create a hybrid. The onetime spectacle (last revived on Broadway in 1994) will be placed in an intimate 276-seat MAX Theatre in Signature's Arlington, VA, home, and will feature a cast of 25. Signature got acclaim for physically reducing Les Miserables in a similar way.

Broadway's Jonathan Tunick will create new orchestrations for this revival. Performances will play Nov. 10-Jan. 17, 2010. Opening is Nov. 17.

In the tale that spans 40 years (1887-1927) in the life of people connected to a show boat on the Mississippi River, Harry Winter will play Cap'n Andy; Kimberly Schraf will be his wife, Parthy; Broadway's Burrell (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Dreamgirls, Into the Woods) will play leading lady Julie, whose secret propels her away from her home and into the world; Jim Newman will be Julie's husband Steve; McIlwain, a Duke Ellington High School graduate and Washingtonian, will play stevedore Joe, who sings "Old Man River"; Delores King Williams will be Queenie, his wife.

Bobby Smith and Sandy Bainum will play comic song and dance partners Frank and Ellie. The role of Young Kim will be played by Rachel Boyd and Anna Nowalk at alternating performances.

With the approval of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, Signature "is creating a new performing version, keeping what is best in three performing editions: the original 1927 version, the 1946 revival, and the 2005 Berlin Opera version," according to production notes.

As has been done with other revivals, Schaeffer is restoring the song "Mis'ry's Comin' Aroun," which was cut after the first performance in 1927.

The score is by composer Kern and lyricist Hammerstein. The libretto is by Hammerstein, based on the novel by Edna Ferber. The score includes "Ol' Man River, "Life Upon the Wicked Stage," "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," "Make Believe" and "Bill," among others, plus interpolations of period songs.

According to Signature, "Show Boat is a sweeping tale of enduring love and devastating hatred, illuminating through unforgettable music the cruelty of prejudice — and the beauty of romance."

Members of the ensemble are Mardee Bennett, Yolanda Denise Bryant, Matt Conner, Susan Derry, Helen Hedman, Sam Ludwig, Sean Maurice Lynch, Kevin McAllister, Aaron Reeder, J. Fred Shiffman, Chris Sizemore, Tiffany Wharton and Hannah Willman.

The Show Boat creative team includes director Eric Schaeffer, choreographer Karma Camp, set designer James Kronzer, costume designer Kathleen Geldard, lighting designer Mark Lanks, sound designer Matt Rowe and music director Jon Kalbfleisch.

Schaeffer stated, "The first great American musical is probably the last musical anyone would think Signature would explore in our 20th anniversary season, but there is no better tribute than presenting a new production of Show Boat as our 100th production. Signature is known for reinventing some of the greatest musicals of all time from Les Miz to Allegro and this important musical deserves to be rediscovered."

Schaeffer added, "The themes in Show Boat are still alive today and the theatre is one place where they can be boldly examined. Show Boat is not about a boat — but about the sense of change in America among the social classes and, more than that, how race influences our lives and music. The wonderful thing is that the river keeps flowing and the show is about change and growing through good and bad, which is more relevant than ever today. The production will be a new beginning for audiences in discovering the great world of Show Boat and, though it may be the granddaddy of musical theatre, it will feel like it was written yesterday."

For tickets, call Ticketmaster at (703) 573-SEAT (7328) or visit www.signature-theatre.org.