Ragtime - Washington, DC - Wow!!

To say that Ragtime is my all-time favorite musical is an understatement. I purchased the original CD before the show even opened on Broadway and fell in love with the score immediately. I saw the Broadway production five times including once in previews and the final performance. IMO, the original cast was perfection. Because I love this show so much, I was very excited, yet a bit hesitant when I found out that The Kennedy Center would be producing their own production. My last experience with a staged production of Ragtime was at Papermill which I really didn't care for one bit (and that's being kind). I am so glad that the present production at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC exceeded all my expectations and wiped out the disappointing Papermill production.

Quentin Earl Darrington gave a wonderfully sung and acted performance as Coalhouse. His "Let Them Hear You" had me in tears.

Christiane Noll was a marvel as Mother. She was warm, sincere and stood her ground when she needed to. I have never heard, "Back to Before" sung like I did this afternoon. Wow!!

Manoel Felciano (Tateh) - excellent - don't know how else to put it.

Jennlee Shallow (Sarah) - had a vocal quality very different from Audra and LaChanze. I thought she had a beautiful voice and her "Daddy's Son" was truly moving. Loved her!

Ron Bohmer - excellent as Father.

Bobby Steggert (Mother's younger brother) - very effective performance.

Leigh Ann Larkin is my new favorite Evelyn Nesbitt. Up until now, Michele Ragusa was my favorite.

My only disappointment was during the opening number. It was staged and sung very well, but in comparison to the Broadway production, it could have used more people on stage. That was my only quibble this afternoon. I thought the set was very effective. Though not as cinematic as Frank Galati's original direction, the direction here was excellent. The cast equally strong.

I loved this production so much that I purchased a ticket to the final performance during intermission!! That will make it a total of 4 times during its DC run.

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Updated On: 5/6/09 at 05:52 PM

Looking forward to seeing this with you on Saturday!!

I'll be with you at the last performance! Hope it does end up transferring.

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Any pictures from this or the original Broadway production? I'm curious to see this "cinematic scope."

This is one of the shows I've yet to invest some time in and explore. I've heard "Make Them Hear You" sung by Norma Lewis, and loved/love it, but I haven't gotten into the rest of the score.

I was also there this afternoon and I agree completely with everyone's comments - particularly concerning the quality of the performances. The same performers particularly impressed me - Carrie Johnson, Jonathan Hammond, and Bobby Steggert. Carrie's Back to Before was so powerful and emotional that they could have ended the show right there. I also want to mention Jennlee Shallow. What an exquisite, heart touching voice she has! She had me in tears halfway through Your Daddy's Son.

(I'm getting a little tired of leaving theatres with tears running down my face!)

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Did Christianne Noll have to leave the production early, too (like Feliciano)? Or was she just out today?

Which theatre do you think this will take in New York when the transfer happens next season?

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I just came back from the evening performance. It was my first time seeing this show, and I almost didn't go, but I'm glad I did. WOW is right. Outstanding performances by everyone involved particularly Quentin Earl Darrington. I really got caught up in Coalhouse's story, and, although I should have expected the outcome, it nonetheless made me jump and had me in tears.

As you can tell from my screen name, I'm a big fan of RAGTIME. I saw the show one week before its Broadway opening, and was there for the closing B'way performance. I also saw the National tour (twice) and the Chicago production. It had been six years since I had last seen the show (a wonderful community theatre production), and I wasn't prepared for the emotional punch that the Kennedy Center production would give me (at Saturday's matinee).

This show deserves another chance on the Broadway stage, if only to give a generation of new theatregoers a chance to hear this exceptional score.

Congratulations to the Kennedy Center on a great production.

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Updated On: 5/17/09 at 08:21 AM

I agree with you on Jennlee Shallow. I don't know exactly what it was, but I just did not love her voice.

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"Dottie, take note tonight, one might be tempted to take in only the musical performance of "Till We Reach That Day".

DANLOW - not sure what you mean by that.

I totally agree, Christiane Noll "is" Mother. I happen to like Jennlee Shallow's voice, but I'm kind of surprised they didn't have her do the "LaChanze" harmonies in "Wheel's of a Dream" which I feel would have been a better fit for her voice.

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It's definitely her vowels. She also really only sang in one dynamic... loud.

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The second Act of RAGTIME could be pretty dismal is the focus was entirely on Coalhouse's revenge. The counterpoint of songs like the baseball number, Atlantic City, and Buffalo Nickel help lighten the mood, but just because these numbers are upbeat doesn't mean they aren't important to furthering the plot and/or characterizations. The baseball scene is the beginning of Father's recognition that the world he has known (and felt so secure in) has changed - How else does he make the transition from a man who wouldn't shake Matthew Henson's hand on Perry's ship to being able to shake hands with Coalhouse Walker Junior.

Atlantic City is, in part, about escaping from the challenges of the world. But in the end there is no escape.

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