Howard Miller takes a look at Ragtime at NY City Center:
To misquote Norma Desmond, "Broadway is big. It's the musicals that got small." Though not in 1997-1998. That was a banner time for big musicals with big companies. The Lion King, Titanic, and Ragtime all opened then, employing close to 130 cast members among them. The Lion King is still going strong, of course, while Titanic and Ragtime closed after very healthy runs of a little over 800 performances each. All of them were super expensive to run. Imagine what the costs would be for full-scale revivals in today's market. So, who would have thunk that little old New York City Center, long-time home to stripped-down productions of seldom-revived Broadway musicals, would become the go-to place to see such massive shows. Yet here we are, with a bravura Titanic just four months ago and, currently on the bill until November 10, a thrilling Ragtime. |
