ON THE TOWN WITH CHIP DEFFAA… AT “RAGTIME” AT CITY CENTER

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I’m very glad I was able to get to New York City Center Sunday night to catch their gala presentation of “Ragtime.”It was the kind of night that restores my faith in theater.  A reminder of what the best musical-theater artists are capable of  creating.

“Ragtime” is a masterwork.  Over the years, I’ve seen enough performances of it to know the show  inside-out.  (I even attended the recording session for the original Broadway cast album.)  I continue to find more in this rich show each time I see it.  If anyone has written a more powerful musical in the last 30 or 40 years, I haven’t come across it.  

And I’m happy to report that City Center has, by and large, done right by it. If you can get a ticket, go!  This is a limited engagement—through November 10th only.  I hope they can make a cast album.  And I hope a way can be found to bring “Ragtime” back to Broadway (ideally with proper sets), so that more people can experience it.    

In the past 20 years, New York City Center has mounted revivals of well over 100 musicals. (These are mounted quickly and are done with minimal settings, in the tradition of staged readings.)   Their current presentation of “Ragtime” is about as great as any presentation I’ve ever seen at City Center.  And that’s saying plenty.

For me, seeing this production of  “Ragtime” was the most satisfying theatrical experience I’ve had anywhere in  years.  Throughout the evening, I kept wiping away tears. It’s very rare for a musical to move me like that.

This show, which I’ve always loved, has never felt more timely.  The struggle of immigrants, the fight for equal rights for all, the power wielded in our society by wealthy men…. All of these issues that “Ragtime” deals with are issues that  we’re still grappling with today. The show takes place in the early 20th century.  But we can easily relate to the characters.

Would I like to see full sets? Yes, definitely. “Ragtime” is written on such a grand scale, it almost cries out at times for grand sets.  Ideally, I’d like to see a full production on Broadway.   But the book, music, and lyrics of this musical are so potent that even in the bare-bones form seen at City Center, “Ragtime”  works its magic.  

* * *

This revival offers far more rewards than I can list in the limited space of a review.  But I’d like to name a few.

Joshua Henry, whom I’ve appreciated since his standout performance in Kander & Ebb’s The Scottsboro Boys, makes an outstanding Coalhouse Walker Jr.  He doesn’t just brilliantly carry off the challenging vocals—which would be impressive enough—he plays the role with just the right mix of strength and vulnerability.  We feel for him.  He so badly wants to believe in the American dream; he wants to be treated fairly, and with dignity.  And he is pushed to a breaking point.   It’s a tough role.  I’ve never seen it played better. (And I’ve seen masters in that role, including Brian Stokes Mitchell and Alton Fitzgerald White.)

Brandon Uranowitz, who knows how to make the most of any role, is a most engaging Tateh.  He plays the role of that Easter European immigrant-turned-filmmaker with feeling and flair.  (He is no stranger to “Ragtime,” having played the role of the Little Boy during the show’s early development in Toronto, nearly 30 years ago.)  He was just a delight.

Ben Levi Ross, whom I enjoyed so much starring in Jason Robert Brown’s musical The Connector earlier this year, is wonderful as Mother’s Younger Brother.  He finds much more in that supporting role than most actors do, giving a quirky, nuanced,  very human portrayal. He’s such an interesting and underappreciated artist.  He sings beautifully, too. (Not that his character gets a lot to sing, but I do like his voice.)

Cassie Levy is splendid as the mother.   Colin Donnell gives a solid performance as the patriarch of the family, uncomfortable with changing times.

Nichelle Lewis makes a fine Sarah. She sings well and she’s likeable. But she’s simply not as strong, overall, as would be ideal for this key role.  She’s in a difficult spot, of course, competing with the memory of Audra McDonald, who originated the role nearly 30 years ago.  McDonald is a once-in-a-generation kind of talent, and she brought a sublime, incandescent quality to the role that I’ve never seen anyone else equal since then.  McDonald was compelling, and every inch a star—a very tough act to follow.  

I enjoyed very much, too, the individual contributions of Stephanie Styles (Evelyn Nesbit), Shaina Taub (Emma Goldman), and Rodd Cyrus (Harry Houdini).  Very well cast, all of them.  And they all brought their characters to life.

But the real star, you might say, is the show itself.

“Ragtime” is far more ambitious than most musicals, telling several interweaving stories at once. Terrence McNally’s libretto preserves the key elements of E. L. Doctorow’s masterful, densely packed 1975 novel, “Ragtime.”  The score by Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) is exceptional; it is by far their most fully realized score, and they’ve created many good scores in their partnership of four decades. But their score for “Ragtime” is the most profound of any of their scores.  The music is terrific, evocative of the era, and full of surprises. The show’s elaborate prologue remains one of the best, and most stirring, opening numbers I’ve ever seen in any musical.  And it is beautifully staged.

It is a joy to hear William David Brohn’s original orchestrations again, played by a 28-piece orchestra conducted by James Moore.  Ellenore Scott’s choreography is brilliant; she held me from the first number to last.  She has a great feel for the Ragtime Era.  And Lear deBessonet   has staged the show with respect and understanding.  

Oh, there are missteps here and there—I’ll mention one or two in a moment–and not every role is ideally cast. Every theatrical production will have some imperfections. And the City Center presentations are mounted  very quickly. But  this production as a whole is cohesive and powerful, and replete with memorable performances.  It is a reminder of what great musical theater can be.  

Are there occasional moments that don’t quite work, that might wisely be rethought if the production moves to Broadway?  Of course.  I’ll give two small examples.

I didn’t care for the way deBessonet has chosen to introduce Houdini to us.  She has him step into a trunk, emerging almost instantly with a strait jacket removed; his “act” (as presented here) seems so silly and trivial that the audience laughs.  But you don’t want the audience to be laughing there. Dramatically, that’s not a wise choice by the director.   And it’s dishonest to make Houdini appear so ridiculous, or to suggest audiences were foolish to admire him.  There were many journeymen magicians in the show business in Houdini’s day (including his own brother), but he alone was treated—deservedly—as an icon.  He did things no others were doing, with tremendous showmanship, genuinely risking his life.  He was larger-than-life, with a boldness and confidence  that reflected the national mood of an America coming into its own.  Why belittle him for a laugh?  It doesn’t feel right.

Here’s another choice the director has made that I’m not sure is wise.  The original Broadway production began with the Little Boy, alone on stage, speaking directly to the audience.  It was a striking opening.  We were directly engaged—the Little Boy was speaking to us—and the scene also established a convention, that this would be a theatrical work in which characters would sometimes break the fourth wall to speak directly to us.  However, in the current revival, the Little Boy delivers the opening monologue not to us but to another child (who appears to be about five years old).  So, we’re no longer being directly engaged; we’re passive observers of one child speaking to another.  Which makes for  a  weaker opening.   And if Terrence McNally—that superb playwright—had intended the opening lines to be spoken by one child to another, he would have written the lines differently.  The opening monologue sounds just right for an address to the audience, to lay the groundwork for the story to come; it does not sound like something a child of 10 or so  might say to a child of five.

But these are minor missteps.   For the most part, I was awed by what I saw on stage.  I wish I could see the show again.

New York City Center, by and large, has done a terrific job with this show.   I hope a way can be found to bring this revival—ideally with enhanced production values–to Broadway.  It deserves a greater life.  It’s nourishing for the soul.

–CHIP DEFFAA