The show went on.
Despite all the drama off stage -- an ongoing strike by local union musicians, along with the replacement just four days ago of three principal performers after the national actors' union supported the striking musicians -- Fresno Grand Opera steamed on schedule into the Saroyan Theatre Friday night with "Show Boat."
There are wonderful moments in this show -- and some uneven and bland ones, too. (And on Friday a few too many opening-night jitters.) But overall this "Show Boat" is a nice production of an important piece of theater history. The play might seem a little creaky at times in terms of narrative and structure, but it offers glorious music and lyrics by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II. Strong performances from some of the principal performers (who came from both the opera and musical-theater worlds) add a nice polish to the show, and it's fun to watch hard working and talented community-theater actors get to do their thing as members of the ensemble on the big Saroyan stage.
There's one additional performance of "Show Boat" 2 p.m. today (Saturday).







