Ragtime

Ensemble Cast

The phenomenal production of Ragtime, triple Tony Award Winner for Best Score, Best Book and Best Orchestration in 1998 is appearing on the F. Otto Haas stage of the Arden Theatre for an extended run through October 27, 2019. Simultaneously  following the lives of an upper class white family, American immigrants and  black families at the turn of the 20^th Century, themes of privilege, discrimination, prejudice,  deportation anxiety, and a desire to make a good life in America which is frequently thwarted are refrains that resonate today  over 100 years later. Ragtime is awash in fantastic choral numbers and musical arrangements.  Dual pianos play in the beginning of the production. Various actors have a turn at one of them. The other is wheeled under the stage where the music director Vince De Mura brilliantly plays the score for the entire musical while directing the other musicians and some of the soloists. The exception is a jazz number, ‘Gett’ Ready Rag,’ when another pianist surreptitiously slips onto the director’s piano bench and begins tickling the ivories. Both Kim Carson, as Mother, and Terran Scott  as Sarah have  remarkable voices that reverberate throughout the Arden’s stage. Set in the round, characters walk on and off from all points and from all angles, including up and down staircases. Scott Greer is outstanding as bigoted tough guy Willie Conklin and Nkrumah Gatling is superb in his role of the educated black musician, Coalhouse Walker who is thwarted at nearly every turn. Lovely Rachael Camp provides some comic relief as Evelyn Nesbit, the girl on the swing. This is an incredible show that shouldn’t be missed, even if you have seen previous iterations of it. I have seen it twice before and I marveled at every moment. For more information or tickets, visit www.ardentheatre.org.