Within the constantly changing and dynamic world of musical theater in America at the turn of the twentieth century, Jerome Kern's entry and tenure loom large. Many scholars point to two especially significant and influential aspects of Kern's work: his polished and sophisticated musical style, and his gradually increasing control of dramatic elements in his musicals between Oh, Boy! (1917) and Show Boat (1927). Central to this study is an examination of Kern's development of the use of specific musical techniques to effect the integration of story and song during this ten-year period.

This study will first concentrate on dissecting Kern's shows Oh, Boy!, Sally (1920), and Sunny (1925), to note how they work individually and in some ways foreshadow the masterpiece that is Show Boat. It will then explore Kern's outstanding skill in constructing songs such that they transcend their function in a musical comedy and reach audiences who identify with the broader cultural tropes captured in them. While Sally and Sunny are not commonly viewed as paragons of integration, being tagged typically as star vehicles, such categories as "integrated show" or "star vehicle" (or "operetta" and "revue" for that matter) are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Kern's ideas about integration might be covered more accurately by the less used term "continuity," which implies desirable connectedness of theatrical action while avoiding the aesthetic claims of Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk.