Muddy Waters is a two boat town - much to the chagrin of
their respective proprietors. Local fat cat J. J. King operates the
plush new paddle steamer, the King, and he is determined to put his
rival out of business. Steamboat Bill is his unlucky target; a
grizzled old sailor with a vessel to match: the Stonewall Jackson
is a rotted-out hulk that'll need a miracle to compete with King's
floating palace.
Bill thinks his prayers are answered when he learns that his
long-estranged son is returning home from college in Boston, but
he's sorely disappointed when it becomes apparent that Steamboat
Bill, Jr. is not the man his father expects him to
be.
Urbane, shaky on his sea legs and - worst of all - sweet for King's daughter, Junior might just be hopeless enough to sink the Stonewall Jackson for good. But when Steamboat Bill, Sr. lands himself in jail and a destructive storm sweeps through Muddy Waters, Junior gets an opportunity to prove himself a hero.
Live Accompaniment from Cyrus Gabrysch
Since graduating from the Pordenone Master Class programme in 2009 Cyrus has become one of the resident accompanists at the BFI Southbank, the Cinema Museum in Kennington and performs regularly around the UK.
Cyrus Gabrys has been working in London for 20 years as an accompanist, and has recently started directing independent films in collaboration with Harriet Mann at Aulander Films. Like many silent film musicians he began his career as a dance class accompanist and has worked with many companies and schools around the world including New York City Ballet, Mark Morris, the Merce Cunningham Institute, the Martha Graham School, The Limone Institute, the Royal Ballet School, Rambert and more recently the English National Ballet Company.
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