THEATRE REVIEW
Ragtime Ensemble (Photo – Nick Agro).
As a critic, what does one do when a show has no apparent flaws? In this case, the first L.A. Ragtime revival in twenty years at the Pasadena Playhouse. She’s got no choice. Get out the same pen to praise.
By Melanie Hooks
At a press performance last Sunday, a capacity crowd leapt to its feet on the strains of the last act’s last note. Was it to applaud the powerhouse lead Clifton Duncan (Coalhouse), whose energy and pitch perfect voice filled the house’s every crevice? Or to yell ‘Brava’ for his equally perfect counterpart Bryce Charles (Sarah)? Perhaps for the Ovation recipient Shannon Warne as Mother, who shone as a sheltered turn-of-the-century housewife turned businesswoman and independent thinker? Maybe the ease with which Ovation nominee Marc Ginsburg (Tateh) swung between naive pathos as a fresh Ukrainian Jewish immigrant and disarming charm as a reinvented silent film director? The total professionalism of the entire cast, every member bringing her or his A-game to each moment…
Or was it because, through all the beautiful costumes and hair (Kate Bergh, Carol Doran), fantastic scenic design of loading dock crates with projected shadows (Tom Buderwitz, Hana Sooyeon Kim), engaging choreography (Mark Esposito), and 16-piece orchestra accompaniment (Darryl Archibald), director David Lee’s whole team woke us up with the unbelievably timely story of three Americans caught in the web of promise versus inequity that is America?
Yes. All of it.
Ragtime at Pasadena Playhouse with Clifton Duncan and Bryce Charles (Photo – Nick Agro).
Just as E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel commented on the similarities between struggles then and the 20th century’s first decade, this 2019 restaging has a great deal of light to shine on our own times. Actual gasps were heard in the audience at various revelations. For instance, a rich white man’s inability to comprehend his society’s unfairness, much less his own household’s – quite believable given Zachary Ford’s spot-on tone as Father. Delighted giggles came easily with fallen but fun showgirl Katherine McDonough’s Evelyn Nesbit, as did sighs of pity in the crowd for her inability to escape her one-faceted future. And of course, sharp inhalations of horror sounded at injustices befalling Colehouse and Sarah, simply due to their dark skin.
What’s so transcendent about Ragtime however is the deep love expressed between so many of the characters, sometimes in the most unexpected places, such as the delicious look behind “a man’s gruff exterior” scene between Colehouse, a cooler-than-cool jazz pianist, and Father’s ne’er do well but nerdy Younger Brother, charmingly delivered by Dylan Saunders and Duncan. Only two actual lines of dialogue underlaid by an entire song’s worth of subtext. Playwright Terrence McNally, composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens give the cast gold to spin, and spin they do.
Marc Ginsburg in Ragtime at Pasadena Playhouse (Photo – Jenny Graham).
This is the show that every other on the L.A. scene this year will be judged by. See it for yourself, for bragging rights, or just to soak up the magic that artists at the top of their games can gift. The large 21-member cast is a gamble these days that most playhouses don’t have the means to take. Pasadena’s bet has already paid off with a perfect night worth gushing about.
If you’re in the L.A. area, you’re in luck! The best show of the year just opened @PasPlayhouse My #Ragtime review for @ColoradoBlvdNet. Might be a first. I wasn’t able to find a single crack in the firmament. Brilliant! coloradoboulevard.net/ragtime-worth-…