rags Roundabout- Page 2

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 9:05am

...you're not exactly clear on what Beautiful Soup usually does, are you?

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 9:08am

I know exactly what Beautiful Soup does, g.d.e.l.g.i. What does that have to do with being given special permission to essentially revise a show with no estate involvement?

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 9:31am

...that's generally what they get. They're known for the fix-'em-ups.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 10:04am

The changes we made were approved by all parties involved, including R&H.

[macnyc]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 10:38am

I saw the show yesterday and enjoyed it a lot. It's quite an ambitious production! I am just the average layperson who loves theater. I'm learning more and more as I go along, but I don't have the knowledge that Whizzer and others on this board have.

In spite of that, or maybe because of that, I didn't see all the flaws of the book, and I didn't think the show dragged. The performances were fine in most cases and exceptional in at least one case, Anna Kirkland, who plays Rebecca. She has a beautiful, robust, and well-trained voice, which she uses very effectively. As Whizzer said earlier, the others in the production were vocally not up to the same level. But she's the lead, and her voice is what you hear most often! It's quite a role, and she sure sang the heck out of it!

The others had good voices, just not as powerful. And it's ironic to me that while some in the cast didn't project their singing voices that well in this small theater, many of them will sound just fine on Broadway, where mics are used!

Two more performances I really enjoyed: Kenneth Kyle Martinez as Saul, the union organizer, and Jeremiah Burch III as David, Rebecca's son. Talented kid, and the grandson of vaudevillians (as it says in the program notes). I love that!

The staging was good, as was the movement/choreography. The projections were relevant and not too obtrusive, no technical problems that I could detect. And it's great to have a real orchestra (I think five pieces, don't remember) in an off-off Broadway setting! I recommend seeing this production! Nice job, all.















Updated On: 6/1/13 at 10:38 AM

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 11:18am

Thank you, macnyc! You just made my day. I always appreciate how supportive everyone on this board is. Our shows get better and better each one we do. It's not easy putting on a production in NYC, and I think sometimes people don't realize how short our tech period is.

As for the revisions... Any revisions I made were approved by members of R&H, Charles Strouse and Stephen Schwartz. They were, and continue to be, incredibly supportive because they know our production was done with a lot of love and admiration for the piece.

What did you think of the new Act One finale, macnyc? It's a stunning piece of music, right?

[macnyc]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 11:48am

Yes, the Fourth of July piece! Very well staged! Was that in the original score? Was the OBC even recorded?

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 11:59am

Nope! Most of it was, but Migenes replaced Stratas for the CD. The finale for act one is a brand new sequence and song from the 2011 Texas production. I got special permission to use it!

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 1:47pm

As for the Yiddish "Hamlet," it is a major digression but, in the original and AJT productions, it was absolutely LOL hilarious. And the show needs as much humor as possible. But I won't be surprised if it's eventually cut.

I'd be interested to know how the new Act I 4th of July finale differs from "On the Fourth Day of July" in the original.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 2:21pm

What is the evolution of Act One in Rags?

My audio with Stratas ends with "In America" and the OBCR ends with "Nothing Will Hurt Us Again."

I've been listening to the Stratas a lot since I saw the show and I really love her performance. I think Children of the Wind works so much better coming out of the scene with the woman suggesting to put David into the orphanage. The song just makes more sense with that prelude.

iluvtheatretrash- Did you cut some of the verses to Penny a Tune? I don't remember the, "I've got a boyfriend, and his name is Ben. Ain't that a beautiful name?" section. (Or maybe my memory is just going!)

I know Penny a Tune could never play at the top of the show, but I feel like Rags needs a Penny a Tune type number to set the scene and introduce the characters. I guess that would make it even more like Ragtime, but in a piece of so many characters I think it would be helpful.

Updated On: 6/1/13 at 02:21 PM

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 2:32pm

The Bella and Ben verses in PENNY... were cut in 2011. I like them, but they don't work in the story because they're the only ones who are sort of "fantasizing" the moment. Everyone else is interacting with the market shoppers and factory girls. So it's a bit muddled when they're kept.

On the Fourth of July is mostly the same. It's the song that comes out of it that is different. Here, the song is "To America". My favorite piece from the show. But on the OCR it's "Nothing Will Hurt Us Again", which is the same tune as Bella and Rebecca's duet "If We Never Meet Again".

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 2:34pm

"On the Fourth Day..." was the penultimate number in Act I, which ended with "In America" in the original. In later versions, I think, variously, both "Nothing Will Hurt Us..." and "Rags" closed Act I. And I agree that moving "Penny a Tune" closer to the top would help. Maybe "Greenhorns" into a brief iteration of "A Brand New World" as a prelude to "Penny a Tune" as we arrive on the Lower East Side. A problem (for me) has always been too many major characters and the impossibility of providing them all with satisfying arcs.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 2:36pm

One of the major flaws of the production I saw was that Bella's fate was a complete anticlimax. She went offstage and then we get told she died. I guess it was intended as a gut punch, but it came off as a whimper.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 2:38pm

I think the Act I finale has evolved a lot. There was a very SHORT version of the song we are using in several versions of the libretto. But I cannot find any example where the ENTIRE song was used besides ours. I think they may have used it in Texas in 2011 but I have not been able to confirm if it was reduced or not. The score does not match the libretto for that production, which is the case for most of the other versions.

I wish I had the resources available to me that Greenberg and Roundabout do. But I did a great deal of research and digging through archives I had to get special permission to access. It wasnt easy, but I am happy with how my revisions turned out.

I wish I could focus more on doctoring and revising. It's the real part of
these shows that fascinate me. I enjoy directing them, but its the dramaturgy and revising that I enjoy the most!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 2:41pm

I understand the fear of muddling reality with fantasy, but the characters (especially Bella) are all fantasizing of a way to get out. While everyone else is dealing with their troubles, she is the one constantly escaping them. Plus Ben is so terribly underwritten, and this goes a long way in furthering their relationship.

There's a great line for Rebecca leading into those verses to: Bella says she has a boyfriend and Stratas retorts (in a deadpan aside) I have a husband and look where that got me!

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 2:42pm

Were you able to connect with Rags wizard Wayne Blood at R&H?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 2:44pm

Wilmington- I would love for Brand New World to open the show.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 2:46pm

^ Nice idea. "I Remember" has always been a weak opening from an anonymous character. Let's introduce 2 of the leads right off the bat.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 2:51pm

Ideally, they should remove some of the sizable list of characters. It's one of those shows that introduces so many characters, gives them all at least a song each, then realizes it should be focusing on one character and abandons the rest.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 2:53pm

I have four demos of what I assume were songs cut during rehearsals/previews:

The Sweatshop Rag
Up Until Today
With Me
It's Gonna Belong To Me

The Sweatshop Rag is just silly, but the other three are nice songs. With Me seems to be written for Ben to sing while wooing Bella. I think it would be nice to reinstate it.

Did you look into putting any of these songs back in?

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/1/13 at 3:43pm

I actually tracked down Up Until Today, but wasn't crazy about it. It accomplishes the same as Summer Night, which is too much of a stand-out to cut.

Perhaps you're right about Ben and Bella. It was something I went back and forth on for a while, and judging by the different librettos, it seems they did too.

I did not connect with Wayne directly, but we did have to get permission through that office to use the different Act One finale, which I believe Wayne orchestrated.

[Bobster]

Posted: 6/2/13 at 10:16am

Yep, he did orchestrate it.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/2/13 at 10:35am

Thanks for confirming. We've credited him in our program as such at the instructions of R&H. It is a WONDERFUL song and I'm so happy we get to use it.

[StratfordFan2]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 8:41am

I would love to see this! It's such an underrated score. Mind you, I've never seen the show but this is a hell of a cast and would certainly do the music justice. I've seen Jesse Muller in a bunch of productions in Chicago and knew she would be a star. I know Josh from Stratford and was devastated he wouldn't be back this year. Crossing fingers this will be a full production at Roundabout.