Ragtime is back!

When the curtain goes up on the new Broadway production of RAGTIME, there is a collective gasp from the audience.  The triple story set of trusses and iron stairs, representing an outline of Ellis Island or the old Pen Station (take your pick) is dressed with a tableaux of the cast looking picturesque in Santo Loquasto’s beautiful costumes.  Both set designer Derek McLane and the legendary Mr. Loquasto get a round of applause, but maybe it’s also for the show itself.  The design is new, but the image of those characters is familiar, for only a decade ago, RAGTIME made its Broadway debut, losing the Best Musical Tony to THE LION KING.  That production of THE LION KING is still running, but now RAGTIME is back, running on The Street as if it had never gone away.  We need this monumental show just as much now as we did then, to remind us that we are still working at age old issues of being Americans––a so-called melting pot that never really jells.  The issues may not be in exactly the same forms, but for better or worse the media still influences us, we are still struggling with prejudice towards minorities, and justice can feel just as perilous.  This new cast falls just short of matching the masterfull excellence of the original, but they serve the material well.  Leading the way is Quentin Earl Darrington as Colehouse Walker with an excellent voice and a powerful presence.  Christiane Noll, perhaps the only Broadway name of the ensemble, is stellar as Mother and her  “Back to Before” is tremendous.  Stephanie Umoh plays Sarah to perfection and her duet with Darrington, “Wheels of a Dream,” matches the excitement of our memories of the first time we heard it, whether in the theater or on the original cast recording.  I am personally excited to see Bobby Steggert back on Broadway as Younger Brother after his terrific turn in 110 IN THE SHADE a few seasons back.  His singing is full of passion and his infuriated speech to Father (Ron Bohmer) gets exit applause.  Christopher Cox as little Edgar, the host of the show, is darn cute and typical of the little boys who have always inhabited the character.  Yet, his personality is unique and he injects the show with considerable charm.  Marcia Milgrom Dodge directs and choreographs up and around the unit set with good clean movements and original touches that divorce this production from the memorable original, yet honors the intent of the authors.  The result is a welcome return of one of the great shows of the twentieth century, proving itself to be timeless.