'Show Boat' 

An exuberant Show Boat opened last weekend at the Heritage Center in Morrisville, home to Actors' NET of Bucks County. It not only has Jerome Kern's finest score and Oscar Hammerstein's sensational libretto and lyrics, but a talented company clearly having as much fun as the audience, wonderful voices with acting talent to match and enough energy to light California. Judging from the completely sold-out opening weekend at the intimate 90-seat theater, my advice is: If you want to see the show, stop reading now, skip down to the bottom of the review, find the phone number and call immediately for tickets.
   Many theater experts hail the December 1927 premiere of Show Boat as the true beginning of the American musical theater. Certainly, it broke the mold of the past — the opening scene was not a bevy of scantily clad chorines, but rather a group of black dock workers hauling bales of cotton across the stage. More than that, a major plot theme involved miscegenation, one that ended unhappily. But, most of all, for the first time, the music and lyrics complemented and advanced the story.
   Before that, a show would run along, then simply stop dead while a performer appeared from the wings to sing one of the popular tunes of the day. After the applause, the singer would disappear back into the wings and the story would pick up again. Three years before Show Boat, a musical called The Girl From Utah had come close, helped by a song titled "They Didn't Believe Me." Show Boat fulfilled the promise. And, without in any way appearing to be old-fashioned, the Actors' NET production, co-directed by Cheryl and Joe Doyle (who also play Captain Andy and his wife, Parthy), nods to the past. This is the full, uncut, three-hour version, but you won't be bored for a second. Among the highlights are Tom Orr as an elegant Gaylord Ravenal, finding all kinds of chemistry with luscious Pam Linkin as Magnolia. From the moment she looks at him during "Only Make Believe," there is no doubt this is a match made in musical heaven. There's also great chemistry between John Zimmerman and Cheryl Mazzarini as Frank and Ellie Schultz — he as funny and rubber-legged as ever seen in the role; she has a mischievous glint in her eyes as she sings "Life Upon The Wicked Stage."
   Susan Fowler shines as the unfortunate Julie, her lovely voice soaring in "Can't Help Lovin' That Man" and later aching as she sings "Bill" (a song Kern originally wrote for Marilyn Miller in Sunny, then pulled and gave to Helen Morgan in Show Boat). Ms. Fowler does it full justice.
   Crystal Clark is a lovely Queenie in her first try at the stage; the lady is a natural. So, too, is 13-year-old Sasha Alexandra as Princess. Now add Mitch Gerson, Phil Fagans, Ryan Daley, Hugh Barton and Marco Newton in cameo roles.
   Of course, Cheryl and Joe Doyle also make significant contributions — she with just the right mixture of exasperation and understanding; he with exciting new insights into a role usually played by an old-timer who can't reach for the physical moments.
   Bill Thompkins also is impressive. He not only sings "Old Man River" beautifully, but massages the lyrics so that you are hearing them for the first time. His second-act reprise, often sadly cut, seems to sum up the evening. Forty years have passed, Thompkins' hair has gone white, but "dat old man river, she just keeps rollin' along."
   But how can you really pick highlights from a roaring bonfire? Go, see for yourself. It will cost you five dollars an hour (less for seniors), and may just be the biggest bargain of the summer.

   Show Boat plays at The Heritage Center, 635 Delmorr Ave., Morrisville, through June 3. Performances: Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. 6 p.m. Tickets cost $15; children and seniors $13. For information, call (215) 295-3694. On the Web: hometown.aol.com/actorsnet.