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Regional Reviews: St. Louis Ragtime Also see Richard's reviews of Dial "M" For Murder, Topdog/Underdog and Tempest in a Teapot
But by the end of the lovely two hour and forty-minute play (with intermission), "third person" self-references are out and those people from 1906 have fully emerged from their photo album, bursting with life. In a great invisible evolution, that all-American family will struggle to become dynamic, until they're all speaking in a seemingly new language of "first person direct." Tempered by change and idealism and hard choices, they voyage into a new century to find their own voices, and new ways in Ragtime. The show began its life as a concept album in early 1996, before opening at Toronto's Ford Centre for the Performing Arts (now the Meridian Arts Centre) that same year. It moved to the now-demised Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles in 1997, before previews on Broadway later that same year. And it had a two-year run there, at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts (now the Lyric), with a star-studded cast. But Ragtime reportedly failed to recoup its initial investment, even though it was nominated for 13 Tony Awards. Its sprawling book won the Tony for Terrence McNally, and its vast unfurling music and lyrics by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens earned a Tony for Best Original Score. In the show, a tsunami of immigrants is fleeing the pogroms of Europe and pouring into New York. A flood of Black Americans has already been coming up from the Jim Crow South for similar reasons. And, in 2024, Ragtime gains a bright new currency with its nostalgic focus on bygone migrant crises. In his first scene in Harlem, Tamar Greene is stirring and delightful as Coalhouse Walker Jr., a ragtime pianist who makes his own idealistic choice to reunite with his beloved Sarah, played by the splendid Shereen Pimentel. But it may be too late: Sarah is maddened by shame, alone and withdrawn after burying their live newborn child in a stranger's garden. And yet, Sarah and her child do survive under the protection of Mother, part of that wealthy white family we've met in New Rochelle. She makes her first of several hard choices, to take them in. Mother is played by the excellent Marissa McGowan, with a voice not unlike Kristin Chenoweth's. But Sarah refuses to reunite with Coalhouse, who must first romance her and promises a very modern kind of freedom and self-determination in his shiny new Model T Ford. The twentieth century itself becomes the strange, overwhelming hero, racing around in Ragtime. Stages favorites Steve Isom and John Flack play Henry Ford and J.P. Morgan, respectively, and are unbeatable as always in a long list of quick-change roles. Likewise, the show's multiple groups of choruses dash in and out of scores of first-rate costumes designed by Brad Musgrove. Favorite numbers include the title song "Ragtime," "Wheels of a Dream," "What a Game" (a funny number about a baseball game as seen from the bleachers), and the act one closer "Till We Reach That Day." Overall, Ragtime (the show) is a sprawling and even magical epic under the direction of Deidre Goodwin. Choreographer Michelle Potterf keeps up with her director every high-stepping kick of the way. And music director E. Reneé Gamez orchestrates a huge stack of lush music and an unusually rich supply of gorgeous singing. There's very nice onstage work by Kyle Holmes as The Little Boy, and by Dan Fenaughty as his Father. Omega Jones is an imposing presence as Booker T. Washington. Elora Von Rosch is fiery and funny and intellectual as labor organizer Emma Goldman. And Matthew Cox is terrific as Mother's impressionable, progressive Younger Brother. The night I went, Lindsay Roberts Greene was immaculate stepping into the role of Sarah's Friend, who's also part of an electric Black chorus. Brian Golub and Zoe Klevorn are playful and touching as Latvian immigrants struggling to survive by their wits. And Scott Moreau triggers gasps of shock in the audience as Coalhouse Walker's white tormentor, Willie Conklin. Patriotism is a nostalgic theme here: Father sells flags and fireworks and bunting, eight years before The Great War ("warn the duke!", The Little Boy chirps presciently, here and there). And twinkling-eyed Sarah Ellis is lovely as a pioneer of American celebrity, the sexy performer Evelyn Nesbit, with a subplot that's one of the most enjoyable in the play. It all fits together because she and nearly all the historical figures on stage seem to paint a circus-like portrait of America, as a spectacular "land of opportunity." But smirking, imperious Jonathan Cobrda is a counterweight to the irresistible Ms. Ellis, up there on her flying trapeze. He plays the great escape artist Harry Houdini. And contrary to all the other real-life showmen on stage, Houdini seems to promise a much-needed escape for anyone who might still feel trapped in an otherwise bright new age. He holds out hope to anyone who feels they might just as well be wrapped up in chains and sinking under water: that they, too, can find a way out of their troubles, to find a version of the American Dream. Ragtime runs through October 20, 2024, at Stages St. Louis, Kirkwood Center of Performing Arts, 210 East Monroe Avenue, St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.stagesstlouis.org. Cast (in order of appearance): New Rochelle Citizens, Harlem Men and Women, Immigrants, Vaudevillians and Stagehands, Reporters,Ford Workers, Firemen, Millworkers, Strikes, Militia, Bureaucrats and Lawyers, Coalhouse Gang, Spectators, Hotel Staff, Vacationers, Bathing Beauties, and Camera Crew: Swing: Standbys and Understudies: Dance Captain: Fight Captain: Assistant Dance Captain: Orchestra: Production Staff: * Denotes Member, Actors' Equity Association ** Denotes Member, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada |
