What's the deal with Rags?

So i picked up the Rags OBCR the other day for the first time and gave it a listen. For me, this is a far better score than Ragtime, which it seems to share many similarities with. So what's the story of the original production? Was it a failure? If so, why?

You're right about the score, but the show's a mess. I saw it on Broadway, where it ran less than a week, I think. It had huge ambitions, which it didn't even begin to fulfill, but my God, what a beautiful score!

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Well the book that R&H has published is ghastly. The score definitely has some outstanding moments, some real greats, but others are just lackluster.

Thanks. To be quite honest, I'm more glad about the venue change than you. To give a quick brief insight...this year, the Manhattan Center offered us the room again, BUT my whole audience...1200 people would have to enter through the new yorker hotel lobby, cram in small elevators and then walk endlessly down those nasty, dirty single-file hallways into the theater...I couldn't even THINK of doing that to people...then when we saw the Nokia and met the really kind, great people who run it, it seemed a perfect fit. The stage is smaller, but it's brand new, all state-of-the-art equipment. I think it's going to be good.

Anyway, tickets go on sale on Monday night (Oct 16th) at 5pm via ticketmaster or in person at the Nokia box office. We also have some exciting casting announcements coming this week :) I want to say, but I can't just yet...but I think you will all be as excited as I am.

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I think I must be the one person who really doesn't like the Rags score.

Ragtime's is far superior in my opinion

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