Anyone going to the first RAGTIME preview tonight (10/23)?- Page 4

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 1:52pm

I was wondering for Tony season because I know many people were saying they think La Cage will do well at the Tonys. But I think Ragtime will give it some competition.

I really don't know why you felt the need to argue with my question, you're looking for a fight.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 1:53pm

He was just wondering why you were asking.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 2:22pm

Never saw RAGTIME, never had any interest. Don't really have interest in this production, either.

But I always enjoy seeing a show's fan base really excited and not let down.

Maybe I will check it out.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 2:56pm

I was there last night and it was by far the best show of this season so far. The cast was outstanding overall. The energy in the theater was electric. and that glorious score!!!! There isn't one bad thing I can say about this production. I hope it wins best revival of a musical and that Christiane Noll wins best actress. Sheer perfection on stage...can't wait to see it again.

[wendilin622]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 3:36pm

luvtheEmcee-- good to know that you felt the same way I did. I am hoping that this production makes me love (I might have been too young during the first time around to really appreciate it as well). I really want so badly to love this show. I'm hoping I won't be dissappointed again.

[alliez92092]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 4:34pm

These reviews make me so happy. I didn't get to see Ragtime on Broadway but I saw a community theater production when I was 11 that blew my mind. That production was not your stereotypical community theater and was stellar. The impact the show has had on me is beyond words. I hope that I get to see this production.

Also, I was just reading Brantley's review of the original production and I truly hope that either a)He has a change of heart when he sees it this time or b)Isherwood reviews it.

[Oldschool]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 5:02pm

I'm so glad to hear folks who didn't see the show in DC, really like it and appreciate Christane Noll's magnificent performance. Blew me away when I saw the production in DC.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 5:34pm

"I was wondering for Tony season because I know many people were saying they think La Cage will do well at the Tonys. But I think Ragtime will give it some competition.

I really don't know why you felt the need to argue with my question, you're looking for a fight."

I am not trying to start a fight. I just think it's silly you're assuming RAGTIME and LA CAGE are the front runners for the Tony. Meanwhile La Cage hasn't even started, neither has Night Music or Promises.
Updated On: 10/24/09 at 05:34 PM

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 5:45pm

I'm not assuming. I was just saying that people were thinking for a while that La Cage would be a front runner and I was wondering if they liked this production more, simple as that. In no way was a judging the other productions or thinking they are completely out of the running.

[pushdabutton]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 6:36pm

Besides having a different cast, is this production the same as the original 1998 Broadway production?

[jv92]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 6:44pm

I'm seeing it tomorrow afternoon and I can't wait! Glad to hear it's gotten such great buzz!

[Oldschool]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 7:00pm

Pushdabutton, no. This is a completely new production that at its heart strips away all the extraneous visual/set gags to allow the character story to shine through. You still have 28 piece orchestra and a slightly smaller ensemble. Apparently between DC and NY, some of the dialog and lyrics have been trimmed to tighten the show (as someone previously posted, at the behest of the money).

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 8:22pm

Reading these comments is making it really hard to wait to see the show in December. I thought I could wait to see it because I saw it in DC a few times, but apparently not. It is nice to read the nice words on Umoh because I thought Shallow (vocally, at least) was a weak point in the production.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 8:29pm

Oldschool - (not being snarky) the DC production was always under 3 hours so I'm not sure why the further cuts were made.

The cuts in Girl on the Swing and He Wanted to Say were very noticeable to me last night and not very seamless.

That being said. This is an even stronger production than it was in DC. I love the addition of some of the new costumes and am very happy they gave Coalhouse more than one suit to wear!! The intimacy of the Neil Simon Theatre helps this show immensely. I loved the original production, but felt if you weren't in the first few rows of the orchestra, the show kind of got lost in the barn it was playing in.

colleen_lee, I was across the aisle from Ahrens and Flaherty in row H.

A truly magnificent evening. I was in tears throughout the show last night. I was reminded again why Ragtime is my all-time favorite show. I'm definitely going back to see it again.

Updated On: 10/24/09 at 08:29 PM

[Rentfan931]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 8:37pm

I do want to catch this production after seeing it in 98 with Brian, Audra, and Marin. The show sounds amazing, and I can't wait to see it.

[Oldschool]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 9:33pm

Dottie, no offense taken I stand corrected. It was around 2 3/4 hours, so why they felt it needed to be trimmed, I can't figure out -- perhaps they'll realize it isn't as smooth and put some of it back in!

Dottie, I know they trimmed the set to fit the Neil Simon, but did they trim it height-wise as well to keep necks from stiffness?

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 10:34pm

oldschool, it didn't look like they trimmed the height of the set, but I definitely noticed that it wasn't as wide. I also noticed that the one of the platforms that was stationary in DC now moves up and down.

I thought the trims last night were a bit jarring and choppy. I'm sure they will reexamine it.

Where were you sitting?

[Oldschool]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 10:41pm

I haven't see it in the Neil Simon, only at the Kennedy Center. I heard through friends that it had been modified to fit, just didn't know how. They gave me the impression that the set had been shortened front-to-back, making it feel closer to the audience.

A platform in the deck or part of one of the three levels of the set? In DC it had three U shaped levels above the stage.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 10:54pm

I don't think the stage at the Neil Simon is as deep as the one at the Eisenhower, so everything felt a bit closer to the audience. I was in the 8th row, and those seats were amazing. This production feels very intimate.

I was referring to the platform that Sarah is on while being re-courted by Coalhouse. That platform now moves up and down.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 11:13pm

I just got off of the phone with a good friend of mine who attended this evening's performance (Sat). He was raving about it. He was kind of dreading seeing it because he did not like the original production.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 11:22pm

I thought the trims last night were a bit jarring and choppy. I'm sure they will reexamine it.

I'm glad you said that, because I felt the same way. However, I thought it was because I know every word of the score, so every cut or change would be noticeable to me. The one where it was most jarring was Crime of the Century, which I hate to say, at this point should probably be cut entirely. The 90 seconds of the song that are left right now just don't work.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 11:25pm

Thanks, adamgreer. I could not remember the name of that song for the life of me!!! My initial reaction was, "what happened to the rest of the song?!" Note that in DC they did the entire song. Also the cut in Atlantic City happens a few bars earlier now, too.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 11:28pm

As someone who had not seen the show before, all cuts were completely unnoticeable. All of the songs seemed complete to me. So I'm sure only diehard fans will notice.

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 11:33pm

There was something about the original ending that I thought was absolutely ridiculous and it ruined it for me - a few people around me were laughing too.

I want to ask if this production has changed this, but it's a MAJOR spoiler.

[binau]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 11:37pm

Ragtime OBC or 96 cast? What should I get...