Is Ragtime Headed Back to Broadway?

Perhaps you can go back to before.

Playbill.com is reporting that the current Kennedy Center revival of the magnificent Flaherty and Ahrens show Ragtime could be headed to Broadway. The DC production was very well received, and at last check was extended through May 17th.

A new Broadway engagement for the show would make up for an unfortunately abbreviated original New York run, thanks to poor producing on the part of Garth Drabinksy (who was recently convicted of fraud and forgery, and will likely serve jail time).

Of course, we know better than to count our chickens when it comes to Kennedy Center shows making the jump to NYC. Witness the recently rumored but ultimately aborted Broadway transfer of Mame, starring Christine Baranski.

The Kennedy Center production stars Ron Bohmer as Father, Quentin Earl Darrington as Coalhouse, Manoel Felciano as Tateh, Christiane Noll as Mother, Jennlee Shallow as Sarah, Bobby Steggert as Younger Brother, and Leigh Ann Larkin as Evelyn Nesbit. Marcia Milgrom Dodge directs and choreographs. If the show does make it to New York, I hope the develop a less dreary poster for it. (See below left.)

Ragtime has taken on a very healthy afterlife in regional theater, despite the challenge of finding sufficient numbers of African Americans to perform in the show. (African Americans have traditionally not been all that interested in performing in community theater, although thankfully that seems to be changing.) The show is exhibiting every sign of becoming a classic, thanks in part to its amazing score, but also Terrence McNally's intelligent -- if a bit bloated -- book.

Why "bloated"? Well, there are just a few too many supporting characters to keep track of. I mean, the presence of Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, and Booker T. Washington is understandable, as each serves a purpose in the plot. But Evelyn Nesbitt and Harry Houdini? They're interesting but unnecessary color. Don't get me wrong, I love the song "Crime of the Century." But if you took it out, the show would still work. Kind of like "The Miller's Son" in A Little Night Music. Great song, but it doesn't belong in the show. (IMHO)

OK, let the flames begin...

Comments

[Vance]

I SOOOOO hope this rumour becomes true. I would see this numerous times over. I just hope they can keep the revival cast intact, because they sounded phenominal. Christiane, Quentin and Jennlee will become stars if it happens.

[Chris]

Speaking of Garth Drabinsky, what a shame about the shady things they did with Livent. Did you see the Hal Prince production of Showboat on Broadway? I thought it was amazing. It's a fantastic cast recording too - unfortunately, it's no longer in print though! Apparently, it has something to do with Livent going bust. Thoughts?

[Gil]

I don't think the supporting characters are what keeps the book bloated, I think what keeps it bloated is that it just sort of feels like a long musical. Frankly, the way that these people's lives intertwine with major celebrities is what made the book so interesting.

Although in applying that to the book, it was somewhat bastardized and toned down, leaving some of these characters to be forced in unecessarily. Nesbit had a much more risque scene in the book. Houdini's appearance at the white family's house in the beginning sort of kicks the story off. When transferring those two, they took out all the fun and interesting parts of how those characters were intertwined... it just became Name Dropping.

[Geoff]

I too would love to see a new production. The original was magnificent and I don't think I've seen another show that had quite so much scenery. Ahrens and Flaherty may just be the most taken-for-granted writers at work in the theatre today. They deserve more exposure.

If the first act could do without "Crime of the Century" what about losing "What a Game" in Act 2? I love the number, but is it necessary?

[Jason]

I just saw this over the weekend and while I enjoyed myself, I wasn't as blown away by it as all the reviewers. I've always loved the score of Ragtime, but now I realize what a flawed show it really is, although I still respect the piece immensely for its scope and vision.

I thought the direction and staging were generally very good, but some of the casting really brought the whole thing down a notch or two for me. The second act has always been a problem for me, because there are just too many songs that throw off the pacing just as the main dramatic thrust of the show is coming to a head ("What a Game," "Atlantic City," "Buffalo Nickel..."; and I totally agree with you about Nesbitt and Houdini). There are too many stories that must be brought to a close and the show just sort of seems to get lost in the woods a little at this point. Marcia Milgrom Dodge's staging was fluid and cinematic, which helped some of these flow problems, but couldn't overcome them completely. I thought Quentin Earl Darrington was a compelling Coalhouse and Christiane Noll was wonderful as Mother. I saw Jonathan Hammond as Tateh and while he had some wonderfully tender moments with the Little Girl, I found his overall characterization a little strange. I felt similarly about Ron Bohmer as Father who sometimes slipped into a strange cartoonishness. My biggest casting quibble was Jennlee Shallow as Sarah. Her voice was like some combination of Jennifer Hudson and Heather Headley, which didn't really suit the material and didn't really blend with Darrington's on their duets, plus, she only really had one vocal dynamic... loud. "Your Daddy's Son" barely registered for me which is a shame, because it's a brilliant song.

I'd welcome this show back to Broadway with open arms, because it is without question one of the best musicals of the last decade. With some tweaking, this could possibly be the right production with which to revive the show.

[Collins]

Okay first of I love this show soo much!
But there is a huge problem Being that the tickets were not sold due to a horrible producer, I would hope that they bring back the original cast.
Also I really want this show to not go back on broadway until maybe 2 more years. I really want to get a chance to play Coalhouse at my high school. :( Like I really really want to!