Washington Post - Somewhat Recommended
"...I was on the fence about "Show Boat" when I sat down at the Kennedy Center Opera House on Saturday night, and I was still on the fence after the first 15 minutes or so of Francesca Zambello's production. Don't get me wrong. I have no problem with the idea of opera companies staging American musicals. Indeed, I find it pretty hypocritical to criticize it, given that most people who wring their hands at the sullying of the operatic temple would sit through "Die Fledermaus" or "Daughter of the Regiment" without any problem at all, as if light entertainment is all right as long as it's in another language. My reservation has been that I don't think opera companies always do a very good job of it."
DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended
"...Once in a lifetime you get the opportunity to see four opera companies, 100 performers, and 50 musicians put on America's first, most iconic musical, Show Boat. Washington National Opera has partnered with the L Washington National Opera and the Houston Grand Opera to bring this tale of a river boat crew of performers to life. The show will warm your heart, the dancing will have you tapping your feet and the singing will blow you out of the water. The staging and production is ambitious and gorgeous, but the simple tale of these show business folks and the obvious love the performers have for these characters carries the show."
Washington Examiner - Highly Recommended
"...The world has celebrated Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's "Show Boat" since 1927, but the Washington National Opera's new version, directed by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, is fresh, vigorous and distinctive, emphasizing the world that existed around the showboat performers of 19th-century America."
Baltimore Sun - Highly Recommended
"...If you still cringe at the thought of a work like this sharing the same stage as "Tosca" or "The Marriage of Figaro," just get to the Kennedy Center. See if you can honestly resist the richness of Jerome Kern's music and the breadth of Oscar Hammerstein's adaptation of the epic Ferber novel."
MetroWeekly - Recommended
"...In so many other ways Francesca Zambello has directed her creative team -- and it should be noted that most of them are veterans of both opera and Broadway -- to make this a particularly showy Show Boat. Among the highlights are Peter J. Davison's elaborate, sliding sets; Paul Tazewell's extravagant costumes in various styles and covering several decades' worth of turn-of-the-20th century fashions; and choreographer Michele Lynch's wide range of dance styles covering the same timeframe -- some of the early ones naturally corny."
Washington City Paper - Recommended
"...It's Zambello's ambition that makes Show Boat work. The unapologetically over-the-top musical, which starts in 1887, takes a spiffed-up jaunt through a comparatively grim 40-year period in American history; one that spans a string of financial panics, a world war, and the high point of the Ku Klux Klan. Its characters battle discrimination and hastily resolved personal setbacks-like addiction, and, oh, murder. But Show Boat's appeal doesn't spring just from the timelessness of a story about vaudeville and steam-powered transport. It's the spectacular sets (the Cotton Blossom show boat, Chicago's Trocadero theater), costumes (bargemen, flappers), and dancing (here acrobatically choreographed by Michele Lynch)."
The Georgetowner - Highly Recommended
"...But it's Canadian soprano Andriana Chuchman who is the heart and soul of the show-her portrayal of Magnolia-who suffers greatly, but endures without sentimentality, and rises to become a Ziegfeld star-is so spot on, so likeable without being treacly, that she embodies the spirit of the production which is to fill every bit of music, drama, every ache and feeling and hitch and rag dance move with so much gusto that it feels authentic."
Washington Informer - Highly Recommended
"...The visual feast for the eyes of movement and color makes this production of "Show Boat," a wholly satisfying production that's entertaining, and a refreshing departure from classical opera."
DCTheatreScene - Highly Recommended
Under the direction of Zambello – who is one of the best women to present a musical theatre work in an opera environment thanks to her diverse expertise – a large cast of Broadway and opera singers/actors, musicians, dancers, and choral members give their all to the compelling story of the performers and workers on the Cotton Blossom, a showboat that traverses the Mississippi River from the late 1800s to the 1920s.
