Ragtime

"The era of Ragtime had run out, as if history were no more than a time on a player piano. But we did not know that then." - Little Boy

In the early years of the 20th century, Americans established a signature sound of popular music, a cauldron of European, jazz, and folk. This reflected many sides of America's booming eclecticism. Whether or not they liked it, the traditional white establishment, flood of immigrants and urbanized African-Americans were forced closer together in cities, towns, and work forces. They borrowed from, and influenced, each other. This painful and exhilarating intermarriage of cultures created new  art forms, One was "ragtime," a formal, controlled,  irresistible rhythm of stride bass and right hand syncopation.

At the Neil Simon Theatre, director/choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge's Broadway debut is a focused, sentimental revival of the musical of E.L. Doctorow's novel, Ragtime,  reminding us of the uniqueness of  this cultural amalgamation. Terrence McNally trimmed Doctorow's epic  down  to a manageable level, letting the songs illuminate the details and the emotions. Stephen Flaherty's multilayered music and Lynn Ahrens' narrative lyrics connect the themes with the recurring  "Ragtime" refrain. There is a range of melodies, ample with stirring anthems like "The Wheels of a Dream," smaller, jaunty tunes like "What a Game!" and lovely ensemble renditions like "New Music." A thrilling opener has the forty-person ensemble swaying, cakewalking, and strutting to "Ragtime" as they make their way down from the  respective  tiers. The production rarely loses grip of its romantic and violent heart as Dodge keeps the characters gathering together and receding  back into their own worlds. They crisscross with historical figures like Harry Houdini (Jonathan  Hammond), Emma Goldman (Donna Migliaccio), the idealistic Booker T. Washington (Eric Jordan  Young) and Savannah Wise as Evelyn Nesbitt, the showgirl on the red velvet swing.

Ragtime 's heart, however, lies in the fictional characters: a comfortable New Rochelle family with an out-of-touch, bigoted patriarch called Father (Ron Bohmer), a nurturing Mother (Christiane Noll), and a precocious Little Boy played winningly by Christopher Cox. Living with them is Mother's Younger Brother (Bobby Steggert). The dramatic African-American  plotline involves Quentin Earl Darrington as Coalhouse Walker Jr., a ragtime pianist/militant in love with Sarah (Stephanie Umoh) whom he gets pregnant. Robert Petkoff energetically portrays the struggling, optimistic Jewish immigrant, Tateh, who never loses his resolve to successfully battle the poverty he faces and protect his daughter, The Little Girl (Sarah Rosenthal). Some of the cast members are Broadway newcomers performing for audiences who hold indelible memories of the original 1998 career-making performances. Yet Darrington is compelling, glowering and powerful as Coalhouse. Christiane  Noll portrays Mother with  natural ease and a warm soprano voice. Her connection with Tateh is convincing in their duet "Our Children," and she is exhilarating in "Back to Before," her declaration of independence. Setggert brings a persuasive eagerness to Younger Brother. Unfortunately, Umoh as the doomed Sarah lacks the necessary passion and versatility.

Scaled down from the sweeping theatricality of the original saga, Derek McLane's  striking  see-through staging of steel tiers and walkways and Donald Holden's dramatic lighting keep alive three interactive storylines. Creative costuming by Santo Loquasto delineates the different groups, the upper crust wearing white with pale parasols and the struggling  workers in somber black and gray. James Moore's exuberant music direction carries the lush score to soaring heights with a twenty-eight-piece orchestra. Marcia Milgrom Dodge proves herself  a quality Broadway director with vivid creativity. Her choreography is  period  appropriate. In 1998,  Ragtime earned critical acclaim but flopped financially. It lost the Best Musical Tony Award to  The Lion King, an arguable decision. Last spring, Dodge staged this production at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and this sleeker version took the road  to Broadway. Although some viewers may miss the magnetism of the lavish original and its enduring performances, the intimacy of this Ragtime is relevant today. This is truly  musical theater  to be treasured. "Just like that music/Simple and clear/I've come to hear New music."- Mother

(Pictured: Stephanie Umoh and Quentin Earl Darrington. Photo by Joan Marcus)

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
November 19, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org