RAGTIME 2025 Reviews — Page 8

Oh SteveSanders, yeahh put him in his place. did you see that production of Follies?? I’d love to see it come here. Message me, I have something to tell you!!

I’m reporting you for name calling. That’s against the rules of this board. You called someone dumb

Shaina Taub posted to instagram the heartbreaking reason why she’s temporarily leaving the show. Here’s a link to the post incase anyone would like to read it.

Sending so much love to Shaina. I’m so grateful to be inspired by her work, and even more grateful that she was able to get the care she needed.💜

Looking forward to hopefully returning to Ragtime later in the spring (saw it last month and it blew my mind) after her well-deserved break.

I saw this glorious production again for the second time yesterday afternoon. I took my mother (who had never seen it and went in blind). She fell in love and "didn't want it to end".

What is happening on the stage of the Beaumont right now is VERY special. Lear DeBessonet's direction really allows the story and characters to be the star. With a show like Ragtime, this is a very effective decision. Visual spectacle is not needed when the the story itself is so intense and rich.

Full cast was in, and everyone is giving incredibly strong performances. Having seen this at City Center and earlier in previews, it has been so interesting to see this cast grow and find these characters.

binau said: "I am curious how much of the reception is due to the performances and how much of it is due to the perfect political/societal moment to mount it. From what I can observe and hear, this production is succeeding in both ways. People did love the 2010 revival of Ragtime here but I don't think the performances (especially Coalhouse) were as acclaimed, and it certainly was a much more politically peaceful moment back then that the material didn't seem as urgent or necessary. Maybe more a celebration then whereas now it almost feels like a bit of cultural therapy."

It’s definitely both. I loved this production (even though I had a hard time getting Audra, Marin and Judy Kaye’s voices out of my head) and thought the direction was a significant improvement over the original. The show actually felt much more intimate at the Beaumont of all places compared to the original. But the police brutality/attitudes toward Black people was for me what made it feel so timely.. We’ve had so many incidents of police targeting and killing black people and national discussions about it since 1998 that the show has a prescient quality to it.

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet but it looks like Joshua Henry will be switching to 7 shows a week, taking off Sunday matinees, starting January 11 (the first week of their extension).

Any word how Lauren Blackman did as Mother yesterday? She went on for both performances yesterday. Not sure about today.

Levy was back on Saturday night - not sure about matinee.

corninthesky said: "Anyone else have sound issues in the loge? We sat in the last row this past weekend and the sound felt so muted and honestly distracted from the show. I’ve never had volume be an issue for me at any show so was taken aback.


Other than that (somewhat major) issue for us, I really struggled to enjoy this until the final 10 minutes when it hit like a ton of bricks. I’ve never seen a production ofRagtimelive before, but have listened to the score often. I think the show would benefit from some trims and actually broaden Mother’s POV, but once the finale hit, I really think it hit for me.


All said and done, I really look forward to the new recording to hear these vocals soar the way I hoped to have heard in the theater."

I’ve seen the show from the Loge (previews) and from the Orchestra (just a couple of weeks ago). I had the same poor sound experience when in the Loge, but not at all from the Orchestra. I chalked it up to adjustments made during the preview period, but perhaps it is related to the seating tiers…

FANtomFollies said: "corninthesky said: "I think the show would benefit from some trims and actually broaden Mother’s POV."

I completely agree. I think a future (non-City Center) revival needs to do some work with trimming and even finessing some of the show. 'What a Game' needs to be cut completely and I think several songs could be trimmed down like 'The Night Goldman Spoke...' , 'Atlantic City', 'Coalhouse Demands' and 'Henry Ford'."

I've been thinking that if we ever get a feature film adaptation of the musical, I can see them making those edits to the score.

"I think having a very stripped back production like the one at Lincoln Center is a double edged sword. It allows all the focus to be on the performances and material, but it also leaves the flaws nowhere to hide."

I remember Peter Marks, who was one of those critics who found the original production overblown, very much preferred the first revival because of its stripped down staging. Although he still didn't care for the songs for the historical figures because he felt they took focus away from the main characters.

The full company performing "Prologue: Ragtime" on GMA this morning, pre-taped from the Beaumont:

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/video/128105418

FANtomFollies said: "corninthesky said: "I think the show would benefit from some trims and actually broaden Mother’s POV,."

I completely agree. I think a future (non-City Center) revival needs to do some work with trimming and even finessing some of the show. 'What a Game' needs to be cut completely and I think several songs could be trimmed down like 'The night Goldman spoke...' , 'Atlantic City', 'Coalhouse Demands' and 'Henry Ford'.

I think having a very stripped back production like the one at Lincoln Center is a double edged sword. It allows all the focus to be on the performances and material, but it also leaves the flaws nowhere to hide."

The night Goldman spoke… is a really big moment for Younger Brother, not just in terms of being a showcase number but the main catalyst for his development, which helps set up the whole climax. I wouldn’t trim it.

Coalhouse Demands has never been much of a standout number as it feels like it’s less concerned with being a great number than it is in giving us exposition, setting up future developments, and building up Coalhouse’s crimes in a show where that’s mainly kept offstage and arguably too swept under the rug. It could probably be trimmed a bit, but I think what it’s doing is important even if it’s one of the weaker songs.

Henry Ford on the other hand is a fun and short song that caps off Coalhouse’s proper intro, but it does feel a bit out of place, giving Ford a weirdly glorified portrayal. Atlantic City’s also fun, but probably too big a number with too little development going on.

And yes, What a Game should be cut. It feels like they just wanted a comedic number for the darker second act, but it doesn’t gel well or add much. We already see Father’s sense of isolation in a changing world portrayed much better in other numbers.