Ragtime

New York City Center chalks up another brilliant musical revival for its Annual Gala presentation.

Posted on November 9, 2024 by Joel Benjamin in Musicals, Off-Broadway

Nichelle Lewis as Sarah and Joshua Henry as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in a scene from New York City Center’s 2024 Annual Gala presentation of “Ragtime” (Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

Ragtime, thought of as an unwieldy musical with too many characters and too many themes, hit Broadway in 1998. Based on the 1975 E.L. Doctorow novel of the same name, the many storylines were artfully tamed by the team of Terrence McNally (book), Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics).

New York City Center has chosen Ragtime as its 2024 Annual Gala presentation in a brilliantly streamlined production directed with an eye to its still-important message by Lear DeBessonet with a large and exceptional cast and an excellent orchestra under the baton of James Moore playing William David Brohn’s original rich orchestrations.

Caissie Levy as Mother and Matthew Lamb as her son in a scene from New York City Center’s 2024 Annual Gala presentation of “Ragtime” (Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

Ragtime is a snapshot of America at the turn of the twentieth century, focusing on three discrete populations: the privileged upper crust Wasps; the newly arrived, mostly Jewish, immigrants fleeing poverty and persecution; and the downtrodden Blacks, all of whom live in the New York City area in their prospective “ghettos.”

Interlaced into these stories are guest appearances by several celebrities of the era: Evelyn Nesbit (a delightful Stephanie Styles) the beauty who caused the assassination of Stanford White; Harry Houdini (Rodd Cyrus, artfully extroverted); radical anarchist Emma Goldman (a magnetic Shaina Taub, fresh off her triumphant Suffs); Henry Ford (Jeff Kready, properly stern); and the respected Black educator Booker T. Washington (John Clay III, irritatingly straitlaced and hypocritical), who came out against his fellow Negro, Coalhouse Walker, Jr. (Joshua Henry in a powerful performance). Their stories are intertwined with the main plot, providing both diversion and information.

Brandon Uranowitz as Tateh and Tabitha Lawing as his daughter in a scene from New York City Center’s 2024 Annual Gala presentation of “Ragtime” (Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

Ragtime begins on a hopeful note. The Little Boy (a charming Matthew Lamb), joined by an equally charming child, Kai Latorre (who returns later as Walker’s son), innocently tells the audience about his pleasant life with Father (Colin Donnell, perfect as the advantaged white business tycoon) and Mother (Caissie Levy, sensational, particularly in her eleventh hour anthem “Back to Before”) Part of their household is Grandfather (Tom Nelis, solid), providing a sardonic note to the “perfection” of his family. Mother’s Younger Brother (Ben Levi Ross, wonderful in a head-spinning role) provides a note of protest against his comfortable lifestyle.

The influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe is represented by Tateh (Brandon Uranowitz, displaying new, deeper facets to his singing/acting career) who arrives with his daughter, called The Little Girl (Tabitha Lawing, sweet and convincing).

Shaina Taub as Emma Goldman and Ben Levi Ross as Mother’s Younger Brother in a scene from New York City Center’s 2024 Annual Gala presentation of “Ragtime” (Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

The sadistic treatment of Coalhouse by the police, instigated by the evil cop Willie Conklin (Jacob Keith Watson, quite hiss-able) calls the Black contingent of Ragtime, to action. Coalhouse’s woman, Sarah (an incandescent Nichelle Lewis) has his child. Both Sarah and the child, who becomes Coalhouse Walker III, wind up in the household of Father and Mother, one of the events that set Ragtime’s complicated plot in motion.

How these three very different groups interact and change each other and American history is the genius of this musical. Characters actually interact and affect each other via a fine score that veers from the narrative (“A Shtetl Iz Amereke,” “Henry Ford,” “The Crime of the Century” about Nesbitt and “Coalhouse Demands”) to anthems (“Make Them Hear You,” Coalhouse’s advice to his son, “Back to Before” and “Wheels of a Dream”). This is musical theater gold that evokes a colorful period.

Colin Donnell as Father and Matthew Lamb as his son in a scene from New York City Center’s 2024 Annual Gala presentation of “Ragtime” (Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

David Rockwell provided projections and small set pieces that set the period as did the costumes of Linda Cho and the wigs and hair designs of Tom Watson. Adam Honoré’s vividly energetic lights made the most slick staging.

Dare we hope for yet another City Center transfer after the success of Chicago and Parade? This is a serious show with a sense of humor staged with an ideal cast. It deserves a longer life.

Ragtime (through November 10, 2024)

New York City Center, 131 West 55^th Street, in Manhattan

For tickets, call 212-581-1212 or visit http://www.NYCityCenter.org

Running time: two hours and 45 minutes including one intermission

About Joel Benjamin (574 Articles)

JOEL BENJAMIN was a child performer on Broadway and danced with leading modern dance and ballet companies. Joel has been attending theater, ballet and opera performances ever since childhood, becoming quite opinionated over the years. He was the founder and artistic director of the American Chamber Ballet and subsequently was massage therapist to the stars before becoming a reviewer and memoirist. He is a member of the Outer Critics Circle.