The Showboat Majestic in Cincinnati, Ohio: Watch a Play on a Floating Ship

You love the theater. You love to see plays-whether at local theaters, run by amateurs, or professionally run productions. Did you ever think you would see a play on a floating ship, however? You can see a play on a floating ship in Cincinnati, Ohio, during the 2007 season of Showboat Majestic. While many of the productions on the ship have already been completed for this season on the ship, the 84^th season of productions, Oklahomaruns from September 12 to September 30, and Frostbite Follies runs from November 30 to December 9.

In the 1800's, when many cities had only one theater, many other cities had no available theater at all. The theaters that were available had not heat and minimal props. Plays were often staged in barns or dining rooms. Because of the lack of available theaters and poorly equipped theaters, and the fact that celebrity actors from Europe often toured the United States, some entrepreneurs staged plays on boats that would travel from town to town. The Showboat Majestic, an official historic landmark, is one of the few remaining floating theaters in the United States.

Plays and other events this year on the Showboat Majestic, the floating ship, have included Plaza Suite, by Neil Simon, a story of three couples as they each rent a suite in New York City; A Dash of Rosemary, which celebrated the life and almost 60 year career of Rosemary Clooney; and Pirates of Penzance, the story of a child who is apprenticed to a band of tenderhearted pirates. Other plays have included I'll Be Back Before Midnight, a suspense story about a woman and her husband who rents a cabin from a farmer and watch as bodies start turning up; Ruthless, about an eight-year-old who will do anything to get to play Pippi Longstocking in a play, including murdering a rival; and Oklahoma.

Oklahoma was Rodgers and Hammerstein's first collaberation. The story is about a rivalry between local farmers and cowboys, which provides the backdrop for a lovestory involving Curly, a cowboy, and Laurey, a farmgirl. There are many classic songs in the play, including Surrey with the Fringe On Top and Oh What a Beautiful Morning.