Ragtime (The SOB Review) - Neil Simon Theatre, New York City, New York
**1/2 (out of ****)Few musicals have captured the shifting American landscape inherently contained at the dawn of the 20th Century as powerfully as
Stephen Flaherty and
Lynn Ahrens' underappreciated heartfelt musical
Ragtime.
In
Marcia Milgrom Dodge's genuinely moving new revival, the confluence of a trio of family stories remains. There's the wealthy uppercrust white brood that's long since achieved the American dream. There's the Jewish immigrants in search of a better life. And at the heart of the original Broadway mounting a decade ago was a black couple whose hopes and aspirations are challenged by bigotry.
Unfortunately in this
Ragtime, its center has dramatically shifted from an equally-balanced story of all three, to one in which the white mother (
Christiane Noll) unnecessarily assumes its overriding focus. It's hard to fault Noll, who imbues her mother with grace, dignity and substance.
But in the original, it was Coalhouse Walker's tragic tale that moved me beyond words. Here, it's nowhere near as affecting, despite
Quentin Earl Darrington's valiant efforts. He's completely upstaged by
Bobby Steggert's brilliant performance as Noll's brother, who becomes a champion for racial equality.
Ironically as a result,
Ragtime loses its opportunity to demonstrate the even-handed approach to race relations
Terrance McNally's book espouses.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.Labels: Bobby Steggert, Broadway, Christiane Noll, Lynn Ahrens, Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Musical, Quentin Earl Darrington, Ragtime, Revival, Stephen Flaherty, Terrence McNally, The SOB Review
Ragtime Syncopated Trip Back To Broadway Just under 10 years have passed since the musical
Ragtime was last seen on the Great White Way. But thanks to the transfer of an
acclaimed run earlier this year at the
Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, it's officially back for its second time.
Previews start at Broadway's
Neil Simon Theatre this evening for the musical based on
E.L. Doctorow's
epic novel that's a slice right out of American history. The musical is told from three distinct vantage points spanning 1900 through the dawn of World War I. With score from
Stephen Flaherty and
Lynn Ahrens,
Ragtime features a book by
Terrence McNally. The new production is helmed and choreographed by
Marcia Milgrom Dodge in her Main Stem directorial debut.
Before the turn of the last century, a very lavish
Ragtime first opened on January 18, 1998 at what was then the brand spanking new
Ford Center for the Performing Arts (now the
Hilton Theatre). Quite apropos given that Henry Ford was among various historical figures (Harry Houdini, Booker T. Washington and Emma Goldman) interspersed within the show. With
Frank Galati at the helm, that production starred
Peter Friedman as Tateh,
Marin Mazzie as Mother,
Brian Stokes Mitchell as Coalhouse Walker Jr.,
Audra McDonald as Sarah,
Mark Jacoby as Father, and a very young
Lea Michele.
Nominated for a whopping 13 Tony Awards,
Ragtime would only win four, including for McDonald's supporting role, Flaherty and Ahrens' score, McNally's book and
William David Brohn's orchestrations. The production played the Ford Center almost exactly two years, closing on January 16, 2000 after 834 performances. While you might think two years on the boards would translate to success, the show was anything but critically or financially.
The
review from Ben Brantley of
The New York Times was withering:
Blessed with beauty, ambition, a smashing wardrobe and a social conscience, Ragtime would seem to be the kind of musical that brings Broadway audiences to their knees in adoration. Then why does this $10 million show, which opened last night at the new Ford Center for the Performing Arts, feel so utterly resistible?
[T]he production has a correspondingly commemorative quality. A panoramic look at the beginning of this century from the perspective of its end, it often has the feeling of an instructional diorama in a pavilion at a world's fair.
No wonder
Ragtime's biggest drama occurred off-stage. Notoriety ensued shortly after it opened when
Livent, its production company, filed for bankruptcy. Foreshadowing
things to come, Canadian producer
Garth Drabinsky was indicted for fraud. Those charges are still pending.
This time around, there's hope that things will be dramatically better in every respect. After all, the show
is a transfer from the
Kennedy Center, where it received rave reviews.
Ragtime's gargantuan cast of 40 is led by
Christiane Noll as Mother,
Robert Petkoff as Tateh,
Quentin Earl Darrington as Coalhouse Walker Jr.,
Stephanie Umoh as Sarah and
Ron Bohmer as Father.
Coming full circle, I never saw
Ragtime on Broadway, but I did manage to see the show during its first national tour stop at Washington's
National Theatre in 1998. I remember being dazzled by both the production quality and the performances, but was less than wowed by the show itself.
Given the accolades the revival has received in my former hometown a little more than ten years later, I'm excited to see whether Dodge can make this
Ragtime swing.
Ragtime opens November 15.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Best New Musicals, Broadway, Lynn Ahrens, Ragtime, Revival, Stephen Flaherty, Terrence McNally
Saving Ragtime Bravo to the
Wilmette Theatre, which has saved director
Ty Perry's production of
Ragtime from the ash heap created by
Wilmette (IL) Park District's Executive Director Tom Grisamore.
Last week, Grisamore abruptly canceled the park's upcoming scheduled performances of
Stephen Flaherty and
Lynn Ahrens' musical due to its use of the "n" word. No matter that, as Perry -- who happens to be African American --
rightly questioned, "How can we learn about our present if we don't educate people about what happened in our past?"
According to the Wilmette Theatre,
Ragtime will be presented "in concert" on July 10 and 11 at 8:00 p.m., with tickets selling for a mere $5. The performance is presented by the Wilmette Theatre Education Project (WTEP) and Wheels of a Dream Productions, which was formed by the actors over the last few days.
"The Wilmette Theatre is proud to support the voice of this cast," notes the Wilmette Theatre's
Web site. "In the spirit of our Village and those needing to be heard, let this production serve as a celebration and acknowledgment of it's [sic] powerful message of unity."
Nice to see freedom of speech prevailing -- just in time for the Fourth of July.
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Gagtime (June 27, 2008)
Labels: Concert, Lynn Ahrens, Musical, Ragtime, Revival, Stephen Flaherty, Ty Perry, Wilmette, Wilmette Theatre
GagtimeAt the intersection where freedom of speech crosses racial sensitivity, the
Wilmette (IL) Park District has abruptly canceled its scheduled performances of
Stephen Flaherty and
Lynn Ahrens' musical
Ragtime, due to its use of the "n" word at 12 different times.
While I profess to personally blanching anytime I've heard that awful, egregious epithet used, including in dramatic works, I have never heard anyone accuse
Terrence McNally (who wrote
Ragtime's book) or Ahrens of racial insensitivity or bigotry.
Reports of the cancellation have even speculated that the Wilmette Park District Executive Director Tom Grisamore may, in fact, have jumped the gun due to a "misunderstanding of the show's message and realistic look at race relations in the past century."
Grisamore has been quoted in the
Chicago Sun-Times defending the decision by stating:
We had grave concerns that people would take the language they heard over the amplified sound system out of context from a performance that was being held in the bowl.
***
I can tell you that this is not something that was done easily and this is not something we did lightly. My heart really goes out to all of the cast and crew that have worked on this for the last couple of months. This is something we very honestly should have known about and hopefully we could have acted on this sooner, but we did as soon as we found out what was there.
As regular readers know, I have always defended our most basic, intrinsic right to freedom of speech. I may not agree with anything that you have to say, but I'll defend your right to say it.
In this case, while I can sincerely appreciate Grisamore's noble intentions, I can't help but agree with the production's director
Ty Perry, who gets the last word here:
You take that word out of this story and you invalidate my history as an African-American male.... Do I like the word? No. But to pretend nobody said it is wrong. I wouldn't even consider doing that. Context is everything, and it's not gratuitous, it's not for shock value. How can we learn about our present if we don't educate people about what happened in our past?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Cancellation, Chicago, Freedom Of Speech, Illinois, Lynn Ahrens, Musical, Ragtime, Revival, Stephen Flaherty, Terrence McNally, Ty Perry, Wilmette
The Glorious Ones (The SOB Review) - Lincoln Center Theater at the Mitzi E. Newhouse*** (out of ****)Who said nice things come in small packages?
Well, that line may need a slight bit of tweaking in the case of
The Glorious Ones --
the new 105-minute long musical from
Lynn Ahrens and
Stephen Flaherty. Naughty things come in small packages would be more like it.
Though it may not exactly rise to the exalted heights of all things
glorious, the accomplished tunesmiths' latest work is certainly good -- if not-so-clean -- fun.
With
Graciela Daniele's deft touch and Ahrens and Flaherty's comedic and at times compelling score,
The Glorious Ones is a debauched little diamond in the rough.
It shines with a devilishly funny cast led by
Marc Kudisch as
Flaminio Scala. Kudisch portrays the charismatic 16th Century leader of a fledgling band of actors in the
commedia dell’arte (comic tradition) that is steeped in vulgarity and slapstick. Yet late in the relatively brief show, Kudisch's velvety bravado lends the production an unexpectly deeper, more richly layered polish that makes the tuner sparkle.
Half the fun is getting there, but only with the appreciation that this is an early night at the improv we're talking about.
The Glorious One traces the backstage story of how Scala amasses his improvisational ensemble in bawdy scenario after scenario, reminiscent of the simple outlines the real Flaminio Scala employed to direct his street performances.
Starting with his own sinfully coquettish lover Columbina (a voluptuously saucy
Natalie Venetia Belcon in an astonishing departure from the
Gary Coleman role she created in
Avenue Q) to defining a handsome harlequin (a tender, sweet
Jeremy Webb) to bringing on the seemingly nonthreatening ingenue-cum-visionary
Isabella Andreini (a radiant
Erin Davie), the sketches lead to a surprising showdown between Scala and Andreini over the direction the troupe should take. Will they dare to go where no theatrical company had gone before or wind up doing the same old shtick ad infinitum?
Perhaps because of its depiction of everything from intentionally serious overacting to the performance art's lewd and lascivious nature, I noticed a few audience members walking out -- to my chagrin, the couple sitting next to me kept bantering back and forth over whether they should leave, too. (I was tempted to say, "Please go already.") However, when all was said and done, they appeared pleased they had stayed.
To depart would have missed the point of this superbly acted, if ultimately sentimental gem of a show -- that modern comedy genius adored the world over can trace its humble roots back to the simple yet smart street performers who refined their work into true art.
While this little frippery may not be glorious, it certainly is a delight.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: Erin Davie, Graciela Daniele, Jeremy Webb, Lynn Ahrens, Marc Kudisch, Musical, Natalie Venetia Belcon, Off-Broadway, Stephen Flaherty, The Glorious Ones, The SOB Review
