"Ragtime"
Book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, based on the novel "Ragtime" by E.L. Doctorow, direction and musical staging by Rick Lombardo, musical direction by Todd C. Gordon, choreography by Kelli Edwards, scenic design by Janie E. Howland, costume design by Frances Nelson McSherry and Molly Trainer, lighting design by Franklin Meissner, Jr., sound design by Rick Lombardo, projection design by Dorian Des Lauriers, properties design by Erik D. Diaz
Principal cast in alphabetical order:
Emma Goldman, June Baboian
Mother, Leigh Barrett
Evelyn Nesbit, Aimee Doherty
Henry Ford, Frank Gayton
Harry Houdini, Paul Giragos
Booker T. Washington, Kenneth Harmon
Father, Peter Edmund Haydu
Younger Brother, Austin Lesch
Coalhouse Walker, Jr., Maurice E. Parent
Little Girl, Sophie Rich
Tateh, Robert Saoud
Sarah, Stephanie Umoh
Little Boy, Samuel A. Wartenberg
Performances: Now through May 28
Box Office: 617-923-8487 or www.newrep.org
There is justice, Sarah. "Ragtime" is finally getting its due.
Last summer this masterful work by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty and Terrence McNally received outstanding treatment at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey in a highly acclaimed production directed by Stafford Arima that starred Quentin Earl Darrington, Kenita Miller, Neal Benari and Rachel York. Now the New Rep in Watertown, Mass., is lavishing equally masterful care on this bountiful piece of musical theater Americana under the watchful eye of Producing Artistic Director Rick Lombardo.
For the New Rep's grandest undertaking in its 21-year history, Lombardo has pulled out all the stops, casting some of the best talent in Boston and taking full advantage of the company's beautiful new facility in the Arsenal Center for the Arts. This sumptuous, 32-member production, in contrast to Arima's minimalist approach, demonstrates that "Ragtime" can resonate in either form as long as the people and relationships at its core don't get swallowed up in production values or the book's big themes.
Ahrens, Flaherty and McNally have done admirable work in translating E.L. Doctorow's sprawling novel about the collision of race, culture and the American Dream at the turn of the century into a vibrant and provocative piece of heartfelt musical theater. The New Rep does no less in balancing the symbolism of larger-than-life historical figures with the everyday struggles of three disparate American family groups.
