By TR Robertson
If there is one good sign for the success of any musical production, it is the audience’s positive reaction to the performances on stage and the immediate response at the end of the performance. If that is the case, this is a do not miss performance from Moonlight Stage Productions and Ragtime the Musical is a must see. An immediate standing ovation for the performance as the final scene ended and rousing applause for various performances throughout the show showed the audiences response to the talented performers and the production everyone had just seen.
Ragtime the Musical is a big performance, with a big cast, a big orchestra, big voices and a big thematic development for the show. The musical is emotional, surprising, tense at times and presents topics that are as relevant today as they are to the time period the musical is set. The leads need to be able to handle a range of songs for the show and there is no doubt that the leads for Moonlight’s production can handle this as they, in this reviewer’s opinion, each performed what should be considered for award winning performances.
Ragtime the Musical is from a book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and is based on a 1975 novel by E.L. Doctorow. The musical had its world premiere in Toronto in 1996 and officially opened on Broadway in 1998, opening at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Ragtime was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, winning 4 but losing out to the Lion King for Best Musical and was also nominated for 13 Drama Desk Awards, winning 5, including Best Musical.
The musical is set in the early 20th century New York City. It tells the story of three groups of people; African Americans from Harlem, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; upper class suburbanites, represented by Mother and her white upper-class family from New Rochelle, New York; and Eastern European immigrants, represented by Tateh, a Jewish immigrant from Latvia. Moving throughout the musical is the theme of “striving for the American Dream”, whatever that dream represents to each individual. Along with all of this, a variety of historical figures will appear, also playing a role in dealing with the “American Dream” theme. People like Harry Houdini, Evelyn Nesbit, Booker T. Washington, J.P. Morgan, Henry Ford, Admiral Perry, Emma Goldman and several more, all filling the audience in with historical information about the changes underway in the early years of the 20th century and the role they play in all of this.
Returning to Moonlight to direct Ragtime the Musical is John Vaughan, who has more than 400 productions to his credit. Returning for her 58th production with Moonlight Productions is Elan McMahan as Music Director and Conductor, directing the 25-piece Ragtime Orchestra. Assisting Vaughan with the production is Scenic Designer Kevin Depinet, Costume Designer Santo Loquastro, Lighting Designer Jennifer Edwards, Sound Designer Jim Zadi, Projections Designer Blake McCarty, Wig & Make-up Designer Peter Herman, Costume Coordinator Heather Megill, Properties Coordinator Bonnie Durben, Stage Manager Stanley D. Cohen and Managing Director Mike Bradford.
The large screen in the back of the Moonlight Stage was continually filled with an array of images appropriate to what was happening on stage, such as a picture of Ellis Island when Tateh was singing about arriving to America or images of the factory conditions of this time period when activist Emma Goldman was singing. Large movable staircases rolled around the stage, with assistance, to become a multitude of things; like stairs for Mothers home or the bridge of a ship Admiral Perry and Father were sailing on or the stairs leading to Ellis Island Tateh and his daughter and other immigrants walked on. A Model T even appeared for several scenes on stage and costumes and wigs were appropriate for the period and personalities. But the key to this musical was the amazing performance by the Ragtime Cast of 38 talented performers. Charl Brown’s performance as Coalhouse Walker Jr. was powerful in a role that seemed to be designed for him. Interestingly, 20 years ago he was the understudy for this role at Moonlight. His voice was a perfect blend with Brooke Henderson, who played Sarah, the mother of Coalhouse’s child. He showed great range in songs like the bouncy “Getting’ Ready Rag”, the powerful “Justice” and the melancholy “Sarah Brown Eyes”. Brown was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in MoTown: The Musical.
I have had the pleasure to see Bets Malone perform in numerous productions in San Diego County in everything from the Rocky Horror Picture Show to Sweeney Todd to Nunsence to How the Grinch Stole Christmas and many more. This talented performer can tackle any role and her performance as Mother in Ragtime was amazing. From “Goodbye, My Love” to a thunderous applause from the audience after “Back to Before”, Bets owned the stage, in one of her favorite shows, as Mother, showing empathy, tenderness, great concern and more as she attempted to cope and understand the changes going on in her life.
The third lead was Geno Carr as Tateh, an immigrant from Latvia. This was Carr’s debut on the Moonlight Stage. He has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, on National tours and at a number of San Diego regional theatres. In the first part of the musical Carr tugged at our heart strings as the man striving to make a better life for his daughter, only to find that the task was a lot harder than he imagined and the American Dream was harder to achieve. In Act Two, we see Tateh as Baron Ashkenazy, having found his niche and success with moving picture books that has evolved into a movie career. In “Buffalo Nickel Photoplay, Inc.” we enjoy a fun, positive song about what life has brought him followed by “Our Children”, a touching song Carr sings with Malone about dreams they still want for their children.
There are numerous other standouts in Ragtime the Musical. Brooke Henderson, as Sarah, brings tremendous emotion in “Your Daddy’s Son” and joy in “Wheels of a Dream” she sings with Charl Brown. Jake Bradford, as Younger Brother, and Jason Webb, as Father, also give powerful performances, especially around the dinner table, as they each battled the changes around them. One wanting things to stay the same and one seeing the future in another way. The scene with Webb and Daxton Bethoney, playing his son, as they attend a baseball game in “What a Game!” is very funny and had the audience laughing.
Bill Bland’s as Booker T. Washington, an early civil rights leader and educator, had a James Earl Jones quality to it. Gerilyn Brault, as the activist Emma Goldman, gave a strong performance with a wonderful singing voice, especially since this was her first major role in her favorite musical. Emma Nossal gave the audience a few chuckles as the “bubbly” vaudevillian Evelyn Nesbit. Nossal is also the Development Associate for Moonlight Cultural Foundation. She performed a fun song with Evan White who played Harry Houdini, “Atlantic City”. One young man who should be mentioned, who had great stage presence and handled his lines with ease, was Daxton Bethoney who played The Little Boy.
Ragtime the Musical touches on numerous social issues, as well as the emotional issues involving the families. Racism, class struggle, prejudice, labor conflicts, the changing world of industry, all of this and more mixed in to show the effects that these social issues were playing on peoples lives at the beginning of the 20th century. Parallels can certainly be drawn with our world today and all of the changes we are struggling with and the effect it is having on the lives of citizens everywhere.
Ragtime the Musical will be on the Moonlight Stage until September 3rd. Tickets are on sale at 760-724-2110 or go to www.moonlightstage.com. Performances begin at 8 p.m.
Photos by Rich Soublet and Fred Tracey
