“The history of the American musical theater,” wrote Miles Kreuger, “is divided quite simply into two eras: everything before Show Boat, and everything after Show Boat.”

We’ve featured Show Boat in our #PublicDomainDayCountdown before. The Edna Ferber novel the show was based on joined the public domain in 2022; many of its songs joined the public domain this year. The full script and score, published in 1928 a few months after the show’s December 1927 debut, becomes public domain in 48 days.