Ferber was at first shocked that anyone would want to adapt Show Boat as a musical. After being assured by Kern that he did not want to adapt it as the typical frivolous "gillie" show of the 1920, she granted him and his collaborator Oscar Hammerstein II the rights to set her novel to music. After composing most of the first-act songs, Kern and Hammerstein auditioned their material for producer Florins Ziegfeld, thinking that he was the person to create the elaborate production they felt necessary for Ferber's sprawling work. Ziegfeld was impressed with the show and agreed to produce it, writing the next day, "This is the best musical comedy I have ever been fortunate to get a hold of; I am thrilled to produce it, this show is the opportunity of my life...“Show Boat, with its serious and dramatic nature, was considered an unusual choice for Ziegfeld, previously known mainly for revues such as the Ziegfeld Follies.