Premier: December 27, 1927 Theater: Ziegfeld Theater Music by: Jerome Kern Lyrics by: Oscar Hammerstein II Book by: Oscar Hammerstein II, based on SHOW BOAT by Edna Ferber Directed by: Sammy Lee and Zeke Colvan Produced by: Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.THE SHOWS.When it docked at the stunning new Ziegfeld Theater, the show gave audiences the same values Ziegfeld had offered for two decades: a huge cast, comic songs and dances, black actors performing with white actors, breathtaking design, soaring music, overwhelming spectacle, all burnished to a golden sheen. But this time, it had a story, an American story, a story with heart. “Show Boat” was an out-and-out hit, running 572 performances and proved so beloved by audiences and so lucrative for Ziegfeld that he revived it as early as 1932. It has been revived half a dozen times since and filmed three times.