Who actually saw RAGTIME?- Page 2

[JKM2159]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 1:27pm

I saw it with LaChanze as Sarah. I loved it so much... I really wish it had run longer. Maybe a revival in a few years?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 1:31pm

Ragtime was the 5th Broadway show I saw (with the OBC) and to date, it is still my all-time favorite musical.

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 1:39pm

I definitely think we'll see this show revived in the next 10-15 years.

But I hope and pray that they put it in a MUCH smaller theatre, so that the story (not the spectacle) is the star.

And they should concentrate on finding appropriate actor/singers for these parts that will tear your heart out, and not make it a Diva-fest of one upstaging moment after another. The key word here would be "ENSEMBLE" of actors.

If they keep it small(er) and keep it real, this show is pure magic.

Updated On: 12/10/06 at 01:39 PM

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 1:51pm

b12b: you'll have to come to NYC when that happens so we can go see it together!!!

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 2:09pm

I may be in the minority on this, but I actually think that an appropriate amount of spectacle really adds to this show. True, the story should be the star rather the spectacular production aspects, but isn't the story, in some sense, about the spectacle of the changing early-twentieth century world? I really enjoyed seeing that portrayed, and I'm not crazy about the minimalistic productions of recent years. Perhaps the ideal solution for a revival would be a happy medium between the two.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 2:51pm

I saw the show with various casts, and agree with the consensus that some of the replacements were better than the originals. John Rubinstein was miles better than either of the other Broadway Tatehs (Peter Freidman and Michael Rupert). LaChanze was a more even Sarah than Audra. I also liked her more than Darlesia Cearcy. I preferred Donna Bullock as Mother, though I very much enjoyed Marin. I also thought that Michelle Ragusa (who was drop dead gorgeous) was the best Evelyn Nesbitt. Stokes will always be the best Coalhouse, but Alton White was pretty exceptional as well.

I miss this show...
Updated On: 12/10/06 at 02:51 PM

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 2:53pm

Thanks for that b12b. Very interesting. I would have loved to have seen LaChanze in the role.

They actually did a professional production of it in Boston last year. I didn't get to see it, but I was told that they used minimal sets and played it a theater of only about 400 seats, and apprently it was extremely effective. The story was brought to the forefront.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 3:03pm

I've never seen it (and I would commit many appalling acts in order to do so) but my sister did when she went with her choir to NYC. She still laughs about it, because they saw that show and Beauty and the Beast; all of her classmates were floored by BatB, and she was the only one who was enamoured with Ragtime instead. I stole her souvenir program for it. e_e She doesn't remember what cast she saw, though it wasn't the OBC.

She said that her favorite aspect of the show was how the storylines all tied together.

[adamized88]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 3:20pm

i saw it on broadway and then again at papermill a few years back - i remember being totally blown away - by the story, the music, and the cast, especially brian stokes mitchell and audra mcdonald - i still get shivers when i listen to the recording

[Fosse76]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 3:23pm

I saw the Chicago Company of Ragtime, which I find much better than the Broadway Company. I think it had quite a few holdovers from the LA Company in it.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 3:24pm

Were the differences between LaChanze and Audra in the acting or the singing? When comparing Wheels Of A Dream in the Toronto CD and the Broadway CD you can tell that Audra is over-belting Sarah's lines and it really throws off the balance between her and Stokes. I don't recall who the actor was, but the man who played Coalhouse at the Paper Mill Playouse was amazing, maybe even better than Brian Stokes Mitchell.

Did anyone ever see Heather Headley go on as Sarah? Did she ever go on as Sarah?

EDIT: I meant to say you "can" tell.
Updated On: 12/10/06 at 03:24 PM

[ABoyLikeThat]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 3:30pm

I didn't see it on Broadway, but I did see the Toronto production back in 1996, was it? It was my first musical and I loved it, though I don't think I was old enough to fully appreciate the piece.
Updated On: 12/10/06 at 03:30 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 3:55pm

A quick clarification... There SHOULD be some spectacle to any production of Ragtime, and there is a "pageant" aspect to its telling that is very important... it was part of the original book too... but it shouldn't overwhelm the characters in it. Since the sets, costumes and staging were all identical between the LA and NY productions, I place the fault on the size of the Ford Theatre on Broadway (both the house and the stage itself) for dwarfing the story to some degree, and the people in it.

The differences between LaChanze and Audra:

I've said this before on other threads, but as amazingly talented as I think Audra is, she opens her mouth and out pops "Julliard" every single time. Sarah is a simple, poor girl. Her acting was "too much" as well. Sarah isn't Lady Macbeth or Hamlet. She just needs to be true to the emotions and not wipe up the floor with them. She gave a tour-de-force performance in a role that didn't need one. And as a result she overshadowed and upstaged Coalhouse's story, and even overwhelmed Mother's story as well. That was not her fault, but the director (Frank Gilati) should have worked to rein her in for the benefit of the whole show, rather than let her run off to the Tony podium alone.

LaChanze broke my heart as Sarah. Her acting and her singing was spot on. I also preferred her earthy, hugely powerful belting of the material to Audra's cultured "mixed" voice.

Basically, Audra acted the part of Sarah brilliantly.

LaChanze WAS Sarah.

Big difference.

I will add that the only disappointment for me in a major role in the L.A. cast was Mother (Marcia Mitzman Gavin). Her acting was better than Marin's because it was more controlled. Marin always seemed to be on the verge of either tears or insanity with each line reading. Marcia's transformation from dutiful wife to free thinker was more gradual and WAY more believable.

But Marcia's voice is/was NO MATCH for Marin's. She sang the part fine enough, but Marin blew me away (as usual) and put her mark on the part (for me) forever.

Updated On: 12/10/06 at 03:55 PM

[MissElphie]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 3:56pm

I never saw it on Broadway, but I saw it when it was being workshopped in Toronto about 4 or 5 times. It was quite intersting to watch how the show grew and changed from each time I saw it. Some changes I like, others, I didn't. But overall I really enjoyed the show itself (hence seeing it four times).

[geekgirl06]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 4:35pm

I saw it in LA twice, once with Brian Stokes Mitchell and once after he left. Both times were amazing (though Brian Stokes Mitchell was definitely better than his replacement). I love the show and it would be great if it came back.

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 5:31pm

Are there any legal recordings of LaChanze singing the role?

[stonewall2]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 5:55pm

One question- wasn't this also shown on PBS( like
"Light in the Piazza" or am I losing what little mind I have left? Does anyone know if it is available anywhere?

[B3TA07]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 6:01pm

MissElphie - I would absolutely LOVE to hear about any and all changes that you would be willing to share! Seriously, if you wrote a novel about it I'd buy it. :)

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 6:23pm

I saw Ragtime several times, once in LA, once in New York with the OBC, once in New York with several replacements, and in 3-4 regional and semi-professional productions.

I have to agree with b12b's comments about LaChanze and Audra. Audra was a force to behold, but Sarah is a part that doesn't call for it, and her performance really did overshadow several other story lines.

And having seen the show in various spaces I would agree that it benefits from a more intimate setting and a slight scaling down. Livent's production on Broadway was too big and too expensive to cover week to week. It would have had to run at capacity for years to break even.

That having been said, I do enjoy it and would gladly sit through a dozen more productions.

[pushdabutton]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 7:05pm

I saw Ragtime on Broadway with the OBC. I loved Audra as Sarah. I thought this would have been a show that would run much longer than it did.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 8:11pm

Not only did I see it on Broadway, I was at the first opening in Toronto exactly 10 years ago.

Little has come along since to eclipse RAGTIME. It would be my choice as the best musical of the 1990s.

It was not economically produced and it seems quite a bit of money was being filtered into Garth Drabinsky's pockets each week making the "nut" too high to sustain a run at less than sell-out business.

Fortunately it it being discovered and staged by community/regional theatre companies, and finding new and appreciative audiences.

The Toronto opening was a night of goosebumps and tears. The music had an emotional force rarely heard in today's theatre, and the book by Terrence McNally kept focused on the characters and their stories. I have seen subsequent productions on tour and in community theatres that were far less elaborate but still powerful. The heart of it is in the story-telling. Great plays/musicals are only enhanced by spectacle. A really good show should not require it to succeed.

Updated On: 3/17/13 at 08:11 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 8:24pm

I'm curious, frontrowcentre2---How was the size of the theatre (both the house and the stage) in Toronto? Was the show swallowed up (a bit) by "distance" the way it was on Broadway? I can only hope it was a better match to the L.A. production, in that respect.

I seem to sense that the show had slightly more impact in Toronto than it did in with the OBC... and with virtually the same cast. So that's why I'm curious.

I guess it wouldn't be the first time that the choice of venue played a major part in the success/failure of a show.

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 12/10/06 at 8:28pm

What was the seating capacity at Shubert?

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 12/11/06 at 11:55am

I saw RAGTIME, twice on Broadway, and 3 more times, at the National Theater, in Washington, D.C., for the tour, which I preferred. Not any one thing about it, but, overall, it was just a better production than the original Broadway version (and that was pretty damned good).

[JBSinger]

Posted: 12/11/06 at 12:12pm

truly an epic show. Saw the original cast and was uniformly impressed throughout. Some of the criticism of being "too produced" was evidant in the show, but not from the performances or quality of the material. Will we ever see it's kind again? should've had a much longer run.