what was the theme of the former?
Racial prejudice and tragic, enduring love.
Show Boat
 Its themes include racial prejudice and tragic, enduring love. 
who is h.d.? She was an American poet, novelist, and memoirist what is her original name? Hilda Doolittle where was she born? Pennsylvania which was her first novel? The first, "Magna Graeca", consists of "Palimpsest" and "Hedylus was there any film which she was associated with? "Borderline"  featured H.D. and Paul Robeson in the lead roles who is the latter? He was an American bass baritone concert artist and stage and film actor name any other film he has acted in? The Proud Valley has he been a part of any famous drama? Show Boat, Ol' Man River
wiki:1855237
Show Boat [SEP] Introduction
Show Boat is a musical in two acts, with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock workers on the "Cotton Blossom", a Mississippi River show boat, over 40 years from 1887 to 1927. Its themes include racial prejudice and tragic, enduring love. The musical contributed such classic songs as "Ol' Man River", "Make Believe", and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man". The musical was first produced in 1927 by Florenz Ziegfeld. The premiere of "Show Boat" on Broadway was an important event in the history of American musical theatre.