Ragtime

Ragtime is not performed as often as it should be.  It’s a tremendous piece, with excellent music and lyrics and a great storyline, taking in a sweep of early twentieth century America, weaving together historical characters with the lives of three fictitious families.  There’s a white, middle-class family (not given names, just family relationships - Mother, Father, Younger Brother...), and there’s Tateh and his daughter, Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe.  It’s the third family that causes the musical to be under-performed.  Coalhouse Walker Junior and his girlfriend Sarah are black.  At the heart of the story is the clash between Coalhouse and the men of the fire brigade who trash his car.  They do that because they don’t like a black man having a car.  Race is integral to the story, and it can’t be played any other way.  It’s a brilliant role - a proud, stubborn, musical character - and Milton Musical Society had to search very hard to cast it.  Fortunately, they found the excellent Alexander Clarke as Coalhouse, Nicolé Northern-Hart as Sarah and Patricia Browne as her friend (a minor role, but with inspirational singing at the end of act one), together with a small Harlem chorus - enough to stage the show; for the joy and tragedy to unfurl.

The Regent Centre is a converted cinema - the seating is comfortable, there is scope for very tall sets, but it lacks wings and an orchestra pit.  A clever set design - two levels with a central staircase - took care of the first part, with all the major props brought out from hiding places beneath the balcony.  The lack of a pit was more problematic, particularly with the full orchestral score.  There needed to be a high gain on the cast  microphones which was, at times, detrimental to the sound quality.  (For anyone else staging the show in a pitless venue, it should be noted that the rights agents, Joseph Weinberger, will allow the orchestration to be simplified.)

It’s a large cast piece, with the historical characters such as Harry Houdini, Henry Ford, Booker T Washington and the crowds - immigrants arriving in New York, low-paid workers listening to the anarchist speeches of Emma Goldman used to add period depth, and to contrast with the small-scale intimacies of the three families.  Excellent acting and singing performances all round - too numerous to mention, since I found myself wanting to single-out everyone!  A truly wonderful show.

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