with Dr. James Kolb, Professor of Drama, Hofstra University
Date: Thursday, August 21
Time: 2:00 P.M.
Jerome Kern is mostly remembered today as the composer of the musical Show Boat and such unforgettable songs as “Old Man River,” “Lovely to Look at,” Look for the Silver Lining,” and “They Didn’t Believe Me.” But Kern made an even larger contribution to the American Musical Theater. Working with Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, he paved the way for the great musicals of the 1920’s and beyond. And shows such as Very Good and Leave It to Jane, set a standard for sophistication which made possible the innovations of Rodgers and Hart and the Gershwins. The lecture, illustrated with musical examples, will examine Kern’s legacy and revisit his later masterpiece Show Boat, written with Oscar Hammerstein ll.