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Sarasota News Leader November 1, 2013 Page 115 ASOLO REP TO OPEN SEASON WITH BELOVED MUSICAL SHOW BOAT Asolo Repertory Theatre will open its 20132014 season with Show Boat, based on the novel by Edna Ferber, with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, the theatre has announced. This winner of the 1994 Tony Award for best revival features a score of timeless classics, including Ol' Man River, Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man and Make Believe. The show will run from Nov. 15 to Dec. 29. "Show Boat will take audiences aboard Capt. Andy Hawks' Cotton Blossom, a 19th century riverboat that travels from town to town on the Mississippi River with a troupe of performers," a news release says. "The musical chronicles these performers' lives during a crucially transformative period in U.S. history, spanning 1887 to 1927, from the dawn of the Progressive Era to the eve of the Great Depression." The musical "explores many poignant topics, including racial diversity in marriage and economic hardships, that still challenge the world today," the release adds. "The love of family and family in the larger sense — the family of man — that's what the show is about. That's what Oscar Hammerstein is about," said Hal Prince, director of the 1994 Broadway revival. "The musical launches the second year of Asolo Rep's five-year American Character Project, which examines all of the historical, cultural and political intricacies that make this country unique," the release points out. "Eight musicians will bring Show Boat's magnetic score — orchestrated by Dan DeLange — to life," the release notes. The reimagined version of this masterpiece was mounted in 2011 at Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, CT, directed by Rob Ruggiero and choreographed by Noah Racey. Ruggiero and Racey will also lead Asolo Rep's production, along with musical director Wade Russo. Tickets for Show Boat and the entire 2013-2014 Asolo Repertory Theatre season are available by calling 351-8000, visiting www.asolorep.org or going to the box office, located in the lobby of the theatre at 5555 North Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, part of the Florida State University Center for the Performing Arts. % Show Boat will open at the Asolo Repertory Theatre on Nov. 15. Contributed image