The rise and fall of a popular entertainer provides the basis of this musical drama. Harry Raymond begins his career with nothing but his ambition, his talent and the support of friends and loved ones. Eventually he hits the big time and becomes a star. Unfortunately with stardom comes arrogance and selfishness and he disdains his lowly but loyal lover and pals to hang out with the upper crust.
Legendary composer Victor Herbert finds himself in the middle of a conflict between tenor John Ramsey and Ramsey’s wife, singer Louise Hall. As the couple’s marriage deteriorates, it’s revealed that Louise ventured to New York from a small town, met John and married him. John promotes his wife’s career until her fame far surpasses his own. The conflicts that erupt between the couple reflect the content of many of Herbert’s operas.
When the showboat hits town, two men use the parade as a distraction to rob the bank. Their accomplice is Pop, the clown from the showboat. He leaves the money on the boat and tells his daughter Patsy to bring it to him at a later stop on the river. When Patsy arrives without the money, both her and her father are made prisoners. So she sends her trained dog back to the showboat for help.
In 1937 Shanghai, a soon-to-depart soldier meets a young woman under a bridge during a Japanese air raid. They vow to meet after the war ends, but they don’t each other’s name or face. Ten years later, the young woman, a nightclub singer, takes in a naive girl fresh from the country. The country girl falls in love with the would-be song-writer upstairs who, unbeknownst to the singer, is none other than the soldier from the bridge.
During the Nazi occupation of France, a British spy goes deep undercover to rescue an important atomic scientist from a concentration camp. He is assisted by a group of loyal stage performers who are willing to lay down their lives to thwart the enemy.
Uncle Remus draws upon his tales of Brer Rabbit to help little Johnny deal his confusion over his parents’ separation as well as his new life on the plantation. The tales: The Briar Patch, The Tar Baby and Brer Rabbit’s Laughing place.
An itinerant troupe of show-biz folks arrives in Cactus Creek. This band of traveling players consists of a hammy Shakespearean actor named Tracy Holland; Lily Martin,an ex-hoofer, and the young ingénue, Julie Martin. Edward Timmons is the show’s combination prop man, stage manager and extra, who has aspiration of becoming an actor. While the show is going on, local badman and leader of a bank-robbing gang, “Rimrock” Thomas steals everything that isn’t nailed down. This leads to several complications.
Impoverished aristocrat’s daughter Tommy Tucker is in love with radio announcer Bill Coverdale, but he is engaged to her more glamorous sister Angela, who he does not love. Seeking escape from this hopeless situation, and her life of genteel poverty, Tommy flees abroad to Biarritz to become a nightclub singer.
