RAGTIME: T0 14 June.
RAGTIME
based on the novel by E L Doctorow
Piccadilly Theatre to 14 June 2003
Mon-Sat 7:30pm Mat Wed and Sat 2:30pm
Runs: 2hr 50min One interval
www.ragtimeuk.com
Box office: 020 7369 1734
Review: Emma Dunford, 20 March 2003
Ragtime: a poignantly human, super-slick and ultra-polished production.Ragtime, a new musical at the Piccadilly Theatre, is a thought provoking and life-affirming story with an all-round talented and experienced cast.
The story is set in New York at the turn of the Twentieth Century. It was a time when immigrants from Eastern Europe travelled to America to embark upon a new life and a new world, when Negro's were fighting for justice in a country that promised but failed to achieve just that, and when the ascending Protestant whites felt consumed and abused by the new attitudes and social politics encroaching upon their lives.
Ragtime traces the stories of three families from these three social and racial backgrounds, from the beginning when they are separate and disparate to the conclusion when they are integrated and influenced by one another. Using the metaphor of music as the thing that divides but then unites them, the syncopated rhythms of Scott Joplin's ragtime illustrates the coming together of diversity and shows that, once embraced, the world can become a better place.
Unlike so many shows in the West End at the moment, it doesn't depend partly upon TV celebrities to pull in the crowds and certainly doesn't rely upon special effects or pyrotechnics to make you jump, oh and ah - rather than a flying Chitty, a couple of chairs purposefully placed upon an empty stage conjure the impression of the Negro's battered Ford, a symbol that sparks his racial retribution. The play doesn't need to rely upon anything but its cast, the music and the dialogue, all of which are pulled together brilliantly to create a poignantly human, super-slick and ultra-polished production.
The cast boasts the likes of Maria Friedman (Multi-award winner, Passion, Joseph, The Witches of Eastwick, Chicago), Dave Willetts, (The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables) and Graham Bickley (Miss Saigon, Sunset Boulevard, Les Miserables) - the real celebrities of the West End stage - and the outstanding Broadway performer Kevyn Morrow (Dreamgirls, A Chorus Line, Smokey Joe's Café).
As usual Friedman's stage presence keeps you mesmerised, with her resonating voice and facial expressions that beautifully reveal her every emotion. Willetts, likewise, plays his character with typical magnitude and propulsion and Bickley's humble yet energised gestures perfectly capture the pathetic ambitions of his character. Yet the children, principals and chorus alike all assert an individual talent that leaves a lasting impression.
With a Jazz orchestra of 20 and a cast of 30 the show is certainly set to wow, but the wow factor is appropriately understated, evoking a bittersweet humour that, fraught amidst the anarchy of social and racial integration, will certainly touch you by its timeless significance today.
Mother: Maria Friedman
Tateh: Graham Bickley
Father: Dave Willetts
Coalhouse Walker Jr. Kevyn Morrow
Younger Brother: Matthew White
Sarah: Emma Jay Thomas
Sarah’s Friend: Hope Augustus
Henry Ford: Iain Davey
Booker T. Washington: David Durham
Willie Conklin: Howard Ellis
Harry Houdini: Samuel James
Emma Goldman: Susie McKenna
J P Morgan: Mark McKerracher
Grandfather: Vincent Pirillo
Evelyn Nesbit: Rebecca Thornhill
Little Boy: Thomas Brwon-Love, Jordan Calvert, Matt Protheroe
Little Girl: Natasha Jules Bernard, Sarah Bowling, Ruby Williams
Ensemble: Kenneth Avery-Clark, John Barr, Phillip Browne, Me’sha Bryan, Julie Forester, Tania Newton, Terel Nugent, Jo Servi, Marvin Springer
Swings: Robert Archibald, Micaulia Baptiste, Simon Bishop, Vikki Coote
Baby Coalhouse: Luke Bradbury, Milan Cato, Max Mensah
Book: Terrence McNally
Music: Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens
Orchestrations: William David Brohn
Music Direction: Chris Walker
Design: Robert Jones
Direction: Stafford Arima
2003-03-24 15:32:53