KERN WAS STILL READING Edna Ferber’s 1926 novel, “Show Boat,” when he knew he wanted to adapt it for the stage. Its setting and plot, about generations of performers from a family that runs ...

When Show Boat opened on Broadway in 1927, it was an instant hit. Now, as co-music director and orchestrator of Show/Boat: A River Dan Schlosberg said, “People don’t want to touch it.” Set ...

Show/Boat: A River Through Jan. 26 at NYU Skirball, Manhattan; nyuskirball.org. Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes. Jesse Green is the chief theater critic for The Times.