Cast announced for Ragtime — Page 3

oldschool,

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Noll just seems to be working too hard to hit the emotions but not in an organic way. It's too "indicated" for my taste. The gestures, the facial expressions, the punctuation all seem deliberately imposed and not of the moment.

Listen to Rachel York's version on her website. So nuanced, yet so powerful. You can hear her reminiscing, then regretting, then becoming determined and strong. She sings with such layers and grace. And her vocal quality is so rich. She absolutely paints a picture with her interpretation. And her diction is perfect for the period.

It was severals years ago that I saw her performance, and it's still etched in my brain. Star turn, indeed.

Who cares? It's still the same show---too many plot lines, no emotional heat, a thoroughly routine, unsurprising score, now cast with leads who are dull as dirt or devoid of warmth and charm.

I'll save my money and re-read the book and encourage everyone to do the same.

Updated On: 8/27/09 at 11:40 PM

Loveclassics, I suspect the same tonal values you admire in Mazzie, you admire in York's performance. To my ear, York's performance, her voice, sounds compressed and husky, somewhat thick, and the presentation equally deliberate as Mazzies, which is why it does little for me. The performance feels flat until the very end where she almost sounds like she's going to go out of control -- she never loses control, but there's a sensation that its going too. For me it doesn't build the way Noll's performance does.

To each their own...

I personally love Christiane's voice. It has this tint of vulnerability and it's beautiful.

^ You already posted that here:

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=1003172&dt=1&boardid=1

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As my name suggests, I am a huge fan of RAGTIME. I saw the Original Broadway production a week before it opened and - nearly two years later - saw the closing performance. I also saw the National Tour in Washington, DC, and the standing company in Chicago. I saw the Kennedy Center production this past May and enjoyed it. It was great to see the show after a few years, and, as familiar as I am with the show, it delivered an unexpected emotional punch. I saw understudies for Mother and Tateh, both of who were fine, so I can't comment on Noll's performance.

I had a few quibbles with the Kennedy Center production - just a few. I wish Ron Bohmer had not laughed out loud after the line "unless you want to be the only woman on board a ship full of men..." The laugh took away the early-20th Century sensibility. Mother is rightly embarrassed by the line, and Father apologizes calling his remark "coarse." Which it was. I hope the laugh gets dropped when the show transfers.

I think the director needs to be more aware of sightlines at the end of the show when the company lines the stages in an inverted U formation. I hope she opens it up more so that those sitting on house left and right can see the entire company.

The set is much simpler than in the original production. I liked the piano and car done in outline form, but on the Eisenhower theatre stage (Kennedy Center) the car seemed larger than it needed to be. I can't imagine the Neil Simon theatre being any larger.

RAGTIME is such a sweeping show that it is truly an ensemble production. Yes, Coalhouse, Mother, and Tateh are leading roles, but so many people have their moments on stage.

Mother's Younger Brother was a stand-out in the Kennedy Center production, and I'm glad he will be in the B'way revival.

I still don't know why THE LION KING won the Tony over RAGTIME. I'll give LION KING their first 20 minutes - among the most memorable in any Broadway show - but after that it is downhill. LION KING deserved awards for creativity and direction. RAGTIME deserved the Tony for BEST Musical. Because Coalhouse and Tateh are both leading roles, and both actors were nominated... they both lost.

I think there were a few biases against RAGTIME, starting with feelings about the now-disgraced producer. In recent years we've heard about how much influence the world of touring has on Tony voters (who comprise a large number of the voters). Well, with a cast of 52 in the original production, RAGTIME was going to cost a fortune to tour. The show opened in Toronto more than a year before its Broadway opening, and because they were waiting to go into renovated Ford Center for the Performing Arts, RAGTIME opened in Los Angeles before NYC. By the time it got to Broadway it - perhaps to B'way insiders - had the feeling of day-old-bread, compared to the fresh LION KING.

I welcome RAGTIME's return to Broadway. It is a beautiful score, and a sweeping American story, with themes from a century ago that echo even today.

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Updated On: 8/28/09 at 07:19 AM

Of course, you are right. I corrected it in my previous post. I was thinking about Father's performance, which is what made me put "Father" instead of "Coalhouse."

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Threadjack -

Did anyone ever watch the Sister, Sister episode where they see Ragtime? It was on today on ABC Family.

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Actually this transfer is kinda sad....
The MAJORITY of the ensemble that was praised and gave weeks of hard work to restructure this show and help build it into a new beast...has been let go. Most of them were lead on to believe they were a sure thing. And then a director, with no broadway credits, had more money thrown at her than she ever has, and is in WAAAAAAAAy over her head wasted alot of NY actors and agents time and patience. Endless auditions, callbacks, and pointless hoo ha.
I think this show will never be what it was in DC. That magic left when the true core of the show, the ensemble, was dismissed. Best of luck to them. But I can't wait to see Dodges disappointment when she loses the Tony to "Night Music". Then she'll know what kind of hurt she handed out to others.

So LostandtheLooney, were you one of the ensemble members let go?

But back on topic, I think Ragtime is incredibly relevant still and I for one am thrilled that it will be back on Broadway. In my opinion, I think it is one of the best original American musicals to grace the stage in the last few decades.

Its really nice to have people who are talented and right for the roles playing them...and not TV and FILM stars who have no business being on Broadway.

RAGTIME is going to be amazing!