MEF on Paper Mill's "Ragtime"- Page 2

[yodamarie78]

Posted: 6/26/05 at 11:48pm

WithoutATrace, were you and your brother sitting in 105-106 during the first act? I think I was sitting next to you!

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 6/27/05 at 12:34am

omg r u serious? yes, we were in 105 106 Row GG.

[jmnpublications]

Posted: 6/27/05 at 1:47am

WithoutATrace,

Thank you for such a detailed review. When I saw DESSA ROSE (yes, MEF, good memory, I was there on April 2, too), I saw LaChanze and thought she was wonderful. But after hearing such great things about Kenita Miller, I am really looking forward to seeing her in RAGTIME.

Less than a week to go...

lc

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 6/27/05 at 1:53am

When I saw Dessa Rose (on April 5th) I saw LaChanze. When I saw it for the second time (on May 20th) I saw Kenita Miller. Both were fabulous. You will LOVE Kenita in this production.

I can't wait for the Dessa Rose double CD!

[yodamarie78]

Posted: 6/27/05 at 9:22am

Yep, I was in GG 104. It's funny, when I heard you talking about how excited you were about seeing Rachel York, I thought, "Wouldn't it be funny if he were a BWW person," but then I dismissed the thought as silly.

[Barihunk]

Posted: 6/27/05 at 9:46am

I too was at the 6/25 matinee (it was also my birthday!). How funny that so many of us were there (including my idol, MargoChanning).

Unfortunately, I have a slightly differing opinion of the production. While I loved the staging, also finding it slightly superior to the 1998 original, what was lacking for me was the sheer number of chorus members in the ensemble. It didn't detract completely from my enjoyment of the performance however.

What did detract from the performance for me was the poor vocal quality of a few of the principals. While Quentin Darrington offered a powerful Coalhouse, his top was fuzzy and strained - he seemed ill at ease with the role's higher tessitura. Kenita Miller was charming and heartbreaking as Sarah, but a tendency to close off vowels caused her pitch to veer south much too often, most noticebly in "Wheels of a Dream". And I clearly was hearing a different Rachel York than everyone else. While her head voice was quite lovely, there is a raspy quality in the lower and middle that is worrisome. Her "Back to Before", while better than what she had done previously, came across to me as a singer working very hard to keep it all together. It seemed to me she had not worked the role into her voice sufficiently - at odds most of the time in her choice of head voice and chest. In her defense, Mother is a tough sing and it was a matinee, maybe she wasn't warmed up. She sounded vocally tired to me overall - like someone who is in need of a few weeks of vocal rest.

But what an amazing show this is. Standouts for me were Shonn Wiley, Neal Benari, Betsy Wolfe and Debra Cardona. Even with those few vocally underwhelming perfomances, it was great to have Ragtime back. It made my birthday very special, but not as special as the "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" I saw that evening or the "Streetcar" I attended the night before. (I also attended "Pillowman" which I would rather just forget.)

With so many of us at Ragtime, we should have designated a place to meet and discuss. Sort of like the old "Millo" pole at the MET in years past.

Cheers!

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 6/27/05 at 10:08am

I'll be there this Thursday evening (6/30). Anyone else from here going?

Updated On: 6/27/05 at 10:08 AM

[baddadnpa]

Posted: 6/27/05 at 10:13am

I am going this Sunday, 7/3

[The Goat]

Posted: 6/27/05 at 11:48am

Well count me as another board member who was at that Saturday matinee! I won't repeat the praise from the other posts, but will say that I've always regretted not seeing the original Broadway production--but no more! This "Ragtime" was stirring, moving, and, perhaps, on balance, the most polished thing the Paper Mill has done since "Follies." This season, Paper Mill has gone from strength to strength, and "Ragtime" was a fitting capper. Bravo to everyone involved in putting it on.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 6/27/05 at 1:38pm

i went to see "ragtime" last thursday at 2pm......melissaerricofan...were u at the same performance?

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 6/27/05 at 1:45pm

If you went on June 23, we were at the same performance.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 7:07pm

yup yup...i was there...i could have met u!

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 7/2/05 at 12:03pm

I was there last night (Friday, 7/1). Loved it. May go back one more time.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/2/05 at 12:40pm

Fun to read so many well written reviews of the same show. Nice work guys.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 7/2/05 at 12:42pm

My tickets for the final performance on July 17th just came in the mail today!

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 7/2/05 at 1:05pm

I went last night with iflitifloat. She's AWESOME. She even drove me back into Manhattan after the show.

What can I say about this production that hasn't already been said? This minimalist-phobe certainly wasn't disappointed. I can't think of a single performance that I didn't like, but Mother, Sarah, Tateh and a more sensitive Evelyn Nesbit stood out. Some changes -- including playing part of Crime of the Century as a phonograph record, adding dialogue for Henry Ford and making Younger Brother more involved in Coalhouse Demands -- were brilliant. Others -- like shortening "He Wanted to Say" and eliminating "Harry Houdini, Master Escapist" as the Act 2 opener -- shouldn't be final. But I do appreciate Ahrens and Flaherty's willingness to make alterations to an already great work. Hopefully one day they'll feel comfortable altering it for a big screen adaptation. In an article that appeared not long after the Broadway debut, one of the producers did say that this show might be made into a film.

[Justice]

Posted: 7/2/05 at 5:06pm

I have to make a comment here.
I know people are raving about this show, which makes me feel like I saw a different production. But, is it possible that because I saw a Sat. Eve. performance, the actors had no energy?
My bf, who has never seen the B'way production, went on and on about the lack of chemistry between York and Benari (blaming it on the director).
Last night, I played him the OBC of "Our Children", and made him listen to the dialogue at the end. His response - "Wow! Not only can you hear the chemistry between them on the recording, but it's so emotional, and moving. That's what was lacking during this scene at the Papermill" I couldn't agree with him more. Then when I told him about the BWW raves, he was shocked.
So, I ask again...is it possible that I saw a different production that included scaled down acting due to second performance boredom?
I mean, I know everyone has opinions...and I'm surprised that many fans of this show didn't see what i saw, let alone, me feeling like the only one who disagrees with Stafford Arima's dirction (who my bf - a proffesional actor - said "should have his Director's license taken away from him") Didn't anyone find any faults at all???

[Plum]

Posted: 7/2/05 at 11:23pm

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I think this might be the best musical production I've seen all season, one I can embrace without major reservations.

The staging of the opening number was brilliant, so much so that I wanted to shout, "Look! It's choreography that actually says something!" I don't know how much of Liza Gennaro's work was inspired by Graciela Daniele, but in that song it really shone. After seeing almost nothing but choreography that could best be described as "servicable" on Broadway this year, watching circles of blacks, white Americans, and immigrants circling each other tentatively to a ragtime beat was practically revelatory.

If I didn't already worship Rachel York due to Dessa Rose, I'd start doing so today- she delivered a truly fierce "Back to Before." Seeing her with Kenita R. Miller reinforced the Dessa Rose connections I kept making, and Miller herself was great, sounding uncannily like Audra McDonald. Quentin Earl Darrington wasn't quite such a vocal match for Brian Stokes Mitchell (who is?), and he went flat a few times, but overall he was very good.

Anyway, what more can I say? I still think the musical sprawls a bit too much, but McNally did a fine job of cutting Doctorow's even more unwieldy book. The actors were great, the staging sometimes made me want to burst into spontaneous applause, and just hearing that score live was an incredible joy. And the upside of the interminable train rides I had to take? I read 3 plays today. I also didn't eat for 8 hours, but it's all good. If you're anywhere near New Jersey, run and see this production. It's incredibly easy to get cheap tickets- just try the NJArtsTix link at the Paper Mill website.
Updated On: 7/2/05 at 11:23 PM

[baddadnpa]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 9:17am

I saw the show yesterday and to be honest, I found the show lacking in every respect except for the score, which to me, is one of the finest ever written. To be fair, I saw the original Broadway production with the original cast and in my opinion, this show pales in comparison in every respect. While a fan of Rachel York, I found her performance very mediocre. She just didn't have the stage presence to pull this role off as Marin Mazzie did.

I found the scaled down production to be about 2 steps over a high school production. I have enjoyed minimalist productions in the past, but this just looked awful.

The sound was poor. Various members of the cast who came onstage to speak/sing didn't have their mikes turned on until two-three words into their lines.

The actor playing Coalhouse (sorry, I am terrible with names) was having vocal problems and couldn't muster the power in his singing required for the role.

The only actor I enjoyed thoroughly was the actress playing Sarah. She was dead on perfect in her acting and singing.

Did I cry? Of course - you can't hear this beautiful music and not. As someone with children in the family, you can't help but feel deeply as Tateh, Mother, Sarah and Coalhouse worry and sacrifice for their children.

The show is a perfect show in my opinion, but this is far from a perfect production.

I was disappointed.

Updated On: 7/4/05 at 09:17 AM

[LaCageAuxFollesFan2]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 9:21am

Did u see the matinee?

I was there for the matinee for my second veiwing...got to see York this time...that matinee was DEAD...the audience KILLED that show...and yes, Coalhouse was having awful vocal problems...it wasnt in the shape it was 3 weeks ago when I saw it, but still a brilliant, brilliant show and I do adore this production a lot.

[baddadnpa]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 9:22am

Yes, I was at the matinee yesterday.

I agree, the audience was awful.

[baddadnpa]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 9:24am

I expected to be bawling at the end when Coalhouse and Sarah begin the final WHEELS OF A DREAM as Coalhouse III is playing with his new family, and you couldn't hear either Coalhouse or Sarah. Extremely disappointing.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 9:26am

Out of curiosity, what made the audience so bad? Talking and the like?

[baddadnpa]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 9:28am

No offense, but the average age of the audience was about 60. Just a really poor audience, although about 1/2 stood for an ovation.

[dymk]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 9:45am

I think you are referring to the July 3rd Sunday matinee, correct? I was there with my partner in one of the box seats in the mezz. I agree that it was a bad audience, we had a lot of talking, and counted about 6 couples that left at intermission. In fact, the couple that sat next to us talked, full voice, during all of the songs that involved Sarah or Coalhouse in the 1st Act before leaving at intermission. When the husband finally said "I didn't pay money to see those kind of people sing! We'd be better off without them!" I leaned over and said "And I didn't pay good money to hear a narrow-minded bigot. Maybe we would be better off without YOUR kind of people!" Sad commentary on today's society, and interesting that those types of conversations are being exchanged while watching this show in particular.
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