A year later, Kern took a job at another music publisher, T. B. Harms & Co. -- which eventually became the publisher of his own works- -and continued writing musical interpolations for British shows. Ewen noted that "almost a hundred of his songs were heard this way, in approximately thirty musicals.... [This] apprenticeship prepared him for giant tasks and acievements that lay before him." The 1910s were a productive and noteworthy period for Kern. He married an English woman, Eva Leale, in 1910 and in 1914 had his first hit, The Girl from Utah -- another adaptation of a British show. In 1915 Kern began writing musicals for the Princess Theatre in New York. These productions, "Nobody Home," "Very Good Eddie," "Oh Boy!," and "Oh Lady! Lady!!," were distinguished by a new approach to musical theater, developed by Kern in collaboration with librettist Guy Bolton, and, beginning in 1917, the talents of lyricist P. G. Wodehouse. The musical revue format, with unrelated numbers strung together, was replaced by a more coherent story, more sophisticated songs, and characters that were more believable and realistic. The transformation of the Broadway musical did not happen overnight, however, and Kern also wrote the music for more conventional shows, including "Leave It to Jane," "Sally," which included the popular "Look for the Silver Lining," and "Sunny." Kern wrote his most important work, "Show Boat," in 1927 with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. The production, which included the songs "Ol' Man River," "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," and "Make Believe," is notable for the richness of its music and its influence on other Broadway composers, who saw it as a model of writing for the musical stage. Today some believe it reflects racist attitudes; protesters tried to ban a 1993 revival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but the production went on to great success and re-opened on Broadway in 1994. back to page 1 continue to page 3