Show Boat
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| - | A '''bit part''' is a [[Supporting actor|supporting acting role]] with at least one line of dialogue (a supporting role with no dialogue is called a '''walk-on'''). In [[United Kingdom|British]] television, bit parts are referred to as '''under sixes''' (fewer than six spoken lines). An actor who regularly performs in bit roles, either as a [[hobby]] or to earn a living, is referred to as a '''bit player''', a term also used to describe an aspiring actor who has not yet broken into major supporting or leading roles. | + | '''''Show Boat''''' is a [[musical theatre|musical]] in two acts, with music by [[Jerome Kern]] and book and lyrics by [[Oscar Hammerstein II]], based on [[Edna Ferber]]'s best-selling 1926 [[Show Boat (novel)|novel of the same name]]. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock workers on the ''Cotton Blossom'', a [[Mississippi River]] [[showboat|show boat]], over 40 years from 1887 to 1927. Its themes include racial prejudice and tragic, enduring love. The musical contributed such classic songs as "[[Ol' Man River]]", "[[Make Believe (Jerome Kern song)|Make Believe]]", and "[[Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man]]". |
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| - | Unlike [[extra (drama)|extras]], who do not speak any lines at all, actors in bit parts are typically listed in the credits. An exception to this practice is the [[cameo appearance]], wherein a well-known actor (or other celebrity) appears in a bit part; it is not uncommon for such appearances to be uncredited. Another exception occurred in [[MGM]]'s 1951 screen version of the famed musical ''[[Show Boat]]'', in which the role of the cook Queenie ([[Frances E. Williams]]) has been reduced from a significant supporting role in the stage version to literally a bit part in the film. Ms. Williams, whose appearance was not intended as a cameo, was not listed at all in the credits. On the other hand, [[William Warfield]], whose role as Joe, Queenie's husband, was also drastically shortened in the film from the stage original, did receive screen credit because he sang ''[[Ol' Man River]]''. | + | |
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| - | Bit parts are often significant in the story line, sometimes pivotal, as in [[Jack Albertson]]'s role as a postal worker in the 1947 [[feature film]] ''[[Miracle on 34th Street]]''. Some characters with bit parts become well remembered. A good example is [[Boba Fett]], with very few lines in ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'' and none (except a scream) in ''[[Return of the Jedi]]''. [[Constantin Stanislavski]] famously remarked that "there are no small parts, only small actors." | + | |
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| - | ==See also== | + | |
| - | * [[Extra (actor)|Extra]] | + | |
| - | * [[Character actor]] | + | |
| - | * [[Supporting actor]] | + | |
| - | * [[Under-Five]] | + | |
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Show Boat is a musical in two acts, with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. 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. Its themes include racial prejudice and tragic, enduring love. The musical contributed such classic songs as "Ol' Man River", "Make Believe", and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man".
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Show Boat" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
