Divided We Fall

TL;DR: The American musical Showboat depicts realities of both hope and despair, highlighting the disparities between dream and reality.

Abstract: Dreams and fantasies can stir the spirit and even provoke action, but reality? That's something else. The United States is a land of multiple realities. In the great American musical Showboat , the romantic leads meet and—with eyes glistening—sing the hope-filled duet, “Make Believe,” in which they talk of love and what could and would yet be. Minutes later, Joe, the black worker, sings of a very different world, one where “You an' me, we sweat and strain, body all achin' an' racked wid pain… Git a little drunk, an' you land in jail,” or, as Paul Robeson preferred to sing when he played the part of Joe, “Show a little spunk, an' you land in jail.” In Joe's world, hope is a stranger: “Ah gits weary, an' sick of tryin'/Ah'm tired of livin' and scared of dyin'.” [ ARTICLE][1] [ ARTICLE][2] [ ARTICLE][3] [ ARTICLE][4] [ ARTICLE][5] [1]: /lookup/volpage/77/155?iss=2 [2]: /lookup/volpage/77/163?iss=2 [3]: /lookup/volpage/77/165?iss=2 [4]: /lookup/volpage/77/167?iss=2 [5]: /lookup/volpage/77/168?iss=2