RAGTIME Reviews- Page 6

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 10:48am

I think a lot of people are holding her up to the standard set by Audra which she doesn't even come near. But if that standard wasn't set, I don't think she would've gotten the disappointing reviews that she did. She was certainly very good I thought...just not Audra. But who is?

[bjh2114]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 10:53am

I don't know about that Rocks. She had some really really sour notes when we saw her the first time.

[Marquise]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 10:57am

...devoting themselves to bashing the book and the score and not really delving into what is right or wrong with this production.

Maybe that was the point: that the book and score in their opinion is what's wrong with the show: this or any other production of RAGTIME.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 11:01am

"The thing with Brantley's review is, he may have liked it well enough (he certainly didn't dislike it), but he gave them absolutely no pull quotes. It was like he sat down and consciously made an effort to give them NOTHING to pull."

I think you hit the nail on the head, adamgreer. It's a perfectly fine review in which he had plenty of positive things to say about the production without giving them anything to stand on.

[Oldschool]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 11:11am

Marquise, does that really serve any purpose? The show is what it is. I'm not suggesting that it isn't fertile ground for criticism in any review, merely that a review should involve more than I don't like sentimentality and so I don't like the show. Musical theatre, particularly in its earliest forms was full of sentimentality -- actually what Sondheim rebelled against. Some like it some don't. Several of the reviews released last night are simply that -- I don't like Ragtime and do little to inform the reader about this production and what works and what doesn't, how were the vocal performances, how was the acting, how did it all gel with the stagecraft, and ultimately within the context of this particular theatrical framework, how did it play. I'd be happier if they said, you know the performances were fine but I don't think the show works and here's why. These reviews simply say I don't like sentimentality and I don't like the heaviness of the score, so the show sucks.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 11:19am

So the tally so far is:

Raves (13 ):
Backstage
Bergen Record
Bloomberg News
Daily New
Entertainment Weekly
The Hollywood Reporter
Newsroom New Jersey
NY1
On Off Broadway
Show Showdown
Theatremania
Toronto Star
Variety

Positive (7):
Associated Press
Faster Times
Show Showdown
USA Today
Village Voice
Wall Street Journal
Washington Post

Mixed ( 4):
New York Times (leaning favourable)
Newsday
New York Post (leaning unfavourable)
Time Out New York (leaning favourable)

Negative (1 ):
The New Yorker

Pans (1 ):
Talkin Broadway

Updated On: 11/23/09 at 11:19 AM

[Marquise]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 11:24am

Oh don't get me wrong. I didn't say it was right or for that matter served a purpose. I personally love the show.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 11:29am

That seems about right, frontrowcentre. I would classify the NY Times review as "useless," given its lack of pull quotes.

[Oldschool]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 11:51am

Ragtime Criticometer

[Oldschool]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 12:00pm

Adam, having read the review again this morning I'm beginning to feel differently. Given his original review of the show, I kind of feel that this was as much of an about face as one was going to get from Brantley. I'd even suggest that the show might even be happy with his review given his distaste for the material. You do have to slog through it to read that he's found a warm spot for the show that he didn't before, but it is there.

[tazber]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 12:00pm

I love that site. Saves me so much time from having to bother actually, you know, reading the reviews.

[AC126748]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 12:03pm

Critic-o-Meter included my review! I'm flattered.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 12:10pm

"Adam, having read the review again this morning I'm beginning to feel differently. Given his original review of the show, I kind of feel that this was as much of an about face as one was going to get from Brantley. I'd even suggest that the show might even be happy with his review given his distaste for the material. You do have to slog through it to read that he's found a warm spot for the show that he didn't before, but it is there."

I agree. Brantley obviously did not dislike this production, as evidenced by the fact that he has very few criticisms for the production itself (most of the negative comments are targeted at the material and original production).

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 12:36pm

The one theme that runs through most of the unfavourable notices is that none of the critics can zero in on a specific reason for not liking the show. Blasting it for its anthems or the sentimentality of the story seems an easy out. (What's next...complaining that too many of the songs sound Scott Joplinesque?)


Also does a quote from the NY Times really sell THAT many tickets? WICKED seems to have survived without one.

Updated On: 11/16/09 at 12:36 PM

[AC126748]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 12:42pm

I don't think that a Times pull quote is as important as it used to be. Brighton Beach Memoirs probably would have closed no matter what Brantley wrote about it, simply because it was hemorrhaging money and nobody wanted to see it. That said, Wicked has a built-in fan base that doesn't read reviews or care who is in the show. I don't think Ragtime has that. I'm optimistic, but I am also a bit worried.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 1:09pm

Word of mouth is incredibly strong for RAGTIME...I think that'll be enough to sustain a year-long run. But beyond that, who knows. Especially with LOVE NEVER DIES apparently taking the Neil Simon over as soon as they're ready.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 1:26pm

I'm completely dumbfounded by the fact that Vincentelli thinks MEMPHIS is ***1/2 worthy but this production of RAGTIME is worthy of **1/2, the same rating she gave the insipid AFTER MISS JULIE and the horrendously crafted ROCK OF AGES, and only a half a star more than she gave the horrifically dreary GUYS & DOLLS revival.

[After Eight]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 1:39pm

Frontrowcentre2:

Why is criticizing a show for its anthems or sentimentality "an easy out?" To me, those are legitimate grounds for not liking a show, and valid reasons for criticism.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 2:05pm

They'll get something from Brantley.

top-drawer design team

With a tiered, skeletal set that suggests a majestic phantom railroad station, this Ragtime puts the emphasis on people

warmly acted

an animated history lesson

neither drags nor sags under its big themes

Mr. McNally's script is a marvel of compression and clarity

Ms. Noll, Mr. Steggert and Mr. Petkoff bring specific shadings of ambivalence to their roles that put bruisable flesh on silhouette figures and suggest the excited bewilderment of people looking for toeholds in a shifting landscape.

Mr. Flaherty's score, which weaves variations on the rag form throughout, gives the show a natural momentum and unity.

"Ms. Dodge [has] taken her cue from a description in Mr. Doctorow's novel...the expressive silhouette."

moments of piercing sensitivity

Ms. Dodge's production elicits glimmers of delicate beauty

Updated On: 11/16/09 at 02:05 PM

[whatever2]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 2:12pm

sooooooo ... discount codes for january???

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 2:38pm

There's been discount codes since the first preview.

[whatever2]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 3:24pm

> There's been discount codes since the first preview.

um ... duh?

those codes all expire before the holidaze ... my question -- perhaps not phrased directly enough -- was about january (when things typically slow down a lot). i've not yet seen any discounts valid next year, but if you want to take another run at sounding superior, please be sure to include a link next time? :P

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 3:34pm

Of course there will be discounts in January. Right now, the only shows up and running that won't need discount codes in January are Wicked, Jersey Boys, Billy Elliot, and The Lion King.

[whatever2]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 3:39pm

that's kinda what i figure, too ...

[Pgenre]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 3:41pm

ljay was perfectly fine in his response, whatever2.

YOU are the one being rude and making foolish comments.

ljay is an important part of this community, you on the other hand are not.

P