"Ragtime" First Preview – Some Random Thoughts…

– Sometimes the first preview performance can be more exciting than even an opening night. (If I get to the opening night of this one, I’ll let you know…) Especially with a revival of a popular title. I stood outside the Neil Simon Theatre last night until about 7:55 watching people gathering and entering the theatre. “I can’t wait.” “I’m so excited.” “This is supposed to be so good!” Those were some of the things I overheard being said by the excited theatregoers as they had their tickets scanned. The energy in the house was so palpable you could practically touch it.

– The house lights went down and the audience erupted into applause. We listened to the simple pre-show announcement. At that point the house lights came down entirely as the curtain rose on the entire company posed and poised on three tiers of Derek McLane’s set. The audience reaction was so intense that the show was stopped before it could even begin. After about 20 or 30 seconds, the actor playing Edgar stepped downstage and we were off.

– The opening number of Ragtime is one of the best ever written. It’s a mastery of musical theatre writing: establishing every major character without becoming lumbering, establishing the time and place as well as tone, and culminating in one of the most thrilling finishes known to man. All those high B naturals! Truly stunning, and its staging by director-choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge is a triumph.

– It’s the very first preview so I’m not going to go into performance analysis or comparisons with original cast members. I will say that the cast is superlative. As actors, as singers and as dancers. Superlative. I also think Christiane Noll is guaranteed a Tony nomination. That is all.

– A good number of the actors were making their Broadway debuts last evening. Among them were Donna Migliaccio as Emma Goldman, Quentin Earl Darrington as Coalhouse Walker, Jr. and Stephanie Umoh as Sarah. I do expect at least one or two to be considered for the Theatre World Award.

– Again, first preview and all: there were a few technical glitches with the lighting but nothing outrageous or distracting. However, it did seem like some numbers were missing verses. I couldn’t tell if it was editing or slip-ups, but not knowing was a minor distraction. The score to Ragtime remains one of the most elegant and stirring of the past twenty years.

– At the show’s finale, the audience was one giant weepy mess. The actors hold out the final note of “Wheels of a Dream.” In that instant between the note and the fall of the show curtain, the last thing seen by the cast onstage is the audience rising from their seats in an instant standing ovation – and not one of those where someone starts and people follow. This was genuine, heart-felt and wholly deserved.

– Rob Petkoff delivered the best save of the evening as the show curtain came down after the curtain calls.

– How lovely to hear a full orchestra essaying original orchestrations. When musical director James Moore finished conducting the exit music, the audience burst into applause that was just as vociferous as it had been for the cast onstage.

– I want to go back. And how.

The people called it "Ragtime"

For whatever it’s worth, I’ve never felt that Ragtime was given its due the first time around. The musical adaptation of E.L. Doctorow’s novel was highly anticipated, and opened with great fanfare on Broadway at the brand new Ford Center for the Performing Arts (now Hilton) Theatre. However, the musical didn’t have the staying power that many thought it would have.

The show had the misfortune of opening two months after The Lion King, whose overwhelming critical success made it the hottest ticket in town for years. When it came time for the Tony Awards, The Lion King took home Best Musical, among many others. Ragtime ultimately took home four awards, with honors for Best Featured Actress (Audra McDonald), Best Book (Terrence McNally), Best Score (Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens) and Best Orchestrations (William David Brohn). The final nail in the coffin was the fall of Livent, Inc., the Canadian-based production company run by Garth Drabinsky that not only produced Ragtime, but had built the theatre in which the show had been playing.

I first became aware of Ragtime by accident. The musical opened in the middle of my freshman year of high school, and truth be told I wasn’t quite up on my Broadway at that point. I knew a lot of stuff about the classics but almost nothing about contemporary musical theatre.

It was January 19, 1998 – Martin Luther King Day. I was home from school and watching The Rosie O’Donnell Show that morning. Rosie was still riding high as “The Queen of Nice,” and was a constant champion for all things Broadway. Performing on the show that day was the cast of the newly opened Ragtime, presenting an abridged version of the opening prologue. This enormous cast, decked out in period costume, filled that tiny stage of Rosie’s TV studio singing this stirring title song. By the time the company was singing the final pullback, I was so mesmerized and stirred, I realized I was standing as close to the TV as I could get.

I can’t quite put into words the effect that musical number had on me that day. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, nor could I get that hook “the people called it Ragtime” out of my head. As is usually the case when I discover someone new that fascinates me, I become obsessed and try to learn everything I could about Ragtime and its origins. That week I went to a local bookstore later that week and purchased the original novel – a book I have read more times than any other. (I was fascinated with Doctorow’s narrative structure). I went to the library and researched all the major characters represented in the story, especially since I had never heard of most of them at the time.

In spite of all this attention and obsession, I never got to see the original production. It closed in January 2000 after 834 performances. I didn’t see my first show on Broadway until that March. I knew the score backwards and forwards from its 1996 Toronto concept album and the definitive 2-disc Broadway cast recording, listening to both with great regularity. The two show albums led me to follow the careers of the original stars: I saw Marin Mazzie and Brian Stokes Mitchell in Kiss Me Kate, Mark Jacoby in Sweeney Todd, Audra McDonald in 110 in the Shade and Carousel at Carnegie Hall and Judy Kaye in Souvenir. I even saw little Lea Michele in Spring Awakening.

Tonight I will be at the Neil Simon Theatre for the first preview of the new revival of Ragtime, which has transferred from a successful run at the Kennedy Center. It’s hard to believe that I’ve gone almost 12 years without ever managing to take in a live production, but it’s all coming full circle. And while I’m at the theatre tonight cheering on this new cast and new production, I want to show you the performance that started it all for me:

"Avenue Q" Rises Again

This may come as a surprise to many of you, but the final preview of the current Off-Broadway transfer of the Tony-winning smash hit Avenue Q was my first time ever seeing the show. There was really no excuse for my not having seen it before, as its been around for six and a half years. But sometimes even the good ones fall through the cracks – I didn’t see Hairspray until its penultimate performance. Anyway, this little musical that could, which famously upset juggernaut blockbuster Wicked for the 2004 Best Musical Tony, played 2,534 performances at the John Golden Theatre and closed up shop on September 13.

However, in the best closing notice coup since Roger Berlind announced the revival of Kiss Me Kate would remain open after 9/11, producer Kevin McCollum stunned all in the audience and onstage with the news that the show would reopen at New World Stages the following month. In this day and age of Twitter, Facebook, et al, it’s stunning that they were able to keep this secret so airtight.

But now the show, a Sesame Street style spoof on post-collegiate life in NY, has reopened at New World Stages 3, comprised of many Avenue Q alumni from the Broadway run and national tour. So while I don’t have much perspective of how the show played on Broadway, but I can’t help but feel that the more intimate the space the better. (I entered the Golden for the first time two weeks ago, and it felt even a trifle too big for even Oleanna and it’s one of the smallest Broadway houses).

So how did I miss this show? Well, I’ll admit. I get very excited for an original cast and try to see a show when it’s fresh and new. My first experiences on Broadway involved tired companies of juggernaut musicals that felt more like death warmed over than exciting live theatre (Miss Saigon and Cats). It wasn’t until my 3rd experience, with the revival of the aforementioned Kiss Me Kate (and its original cast), that I felt this post-show rush that can be best described as floating ten feet in the air. Ever since, I’m wary of any production once the originals leave – particularly in a musical.

Well, I am sorry I waited for so long. The show is what it is – a ribald, irreverent but timely pastiche. Its explorations of life in New York City aren’t exactly going to erase your memories of Company, but the creators use the familiar techniques employed by children’s shows to create an endearingly satiric portrait of adulthood. So instead of learning our ABCs and 123s, we are treated to such Tony-winning musical gems (courtesy of Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez) as “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist,” “The Internet is for Porn,” and “Schadenfreude.” There are the instructional animated films, the requisite marginally older & wiser humans, and inevitably the life lessons (“There’s a Fine, Fine Line” and “For Now”). What truly impressed me was the strength of the Tony-winning book by Jeff Whitty, which is much sharper in focus than many of the other self-referential musicals that have come after Avenue Q.

The engaging cast is comprised of Q alums, many of whom were involved in the final Broadway company. Seth Rettberg leads the charge as Princeton & Rod and illuminates the stage with offbeat charm. I can’t decide which is funnier: his delivery of “My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada” or the ensemble’s outrageous pregnant pause that greets it. Sassy beltress Anika Larsen as Kate Monster & Lucy T. Slut is a petite powerhouse, with an especially showstopping delivery of “Special.” Cullen R. Titmas scores big as Trekkie Monster and Nicky. Nicholas Kohn and the irrepressible Sala Iwamatsu comprise the incongruous couple of Brian and Christmas Eve.

However, for whatever reason, my favorite is Maggie Lakis, who mostly provides silent support as an extra puppeteer but scores the biggest laughs of the evening as one of the Bad Idea Bears. Whenever Ms. Lakis is onstage, I couldn’t help but watch her. Not that she steals focus, mind you. She is just that fascinating a presence in a unsung performance ripe with humor and stagecraft.

There were two unexpectedly personal moments for me in the show. One was Princeton’s opening “What Do You Do With a BA in English?” I actually picked up one of those some years back and am still asking myself that question on a regular basis. The other, and one a bit more poignant, was “I Wish I Could Go Back to College,” a reflective moment where the ensemble contemplates what were arguably the best years of their lives. I turned to my friend and fellow blogger Jimmy mid-song and said “That was my weekend.” I was at my alma mater for an alumni weekend reception hosted by the Theatre Arts department, my other area of study (talk about a win-win…)

While greeting old friends and faculty, I had the chance to mingle with bright, optimistic and engaged theatre students who were anywhere from five to eight years younger than I am now. (I’m 26). In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t that long ago, but we (Roxie and myself) started pondering when did we get so old, and why do these kids look so young? In the six years since the show opened (and closed and reopened), life for the post-bachelor’s student has grown increasingly more difficult and how strange that most of the themes pertaining to the show are still relevant to most of the people I know under the age of 30. This show got me thinking about myself, where I’m going and what I am doing with myself. And all they had to do was use puppets. Not many shows have that sort of effect on me, the most recent I can think of being the short-lived Reasons to Be Pretty.

Kudos to the house staff at New World Stages, who go the extra mile to make sure that there are no cell phone interruptions during the show. (Including reminding someone in the press about the NYC statute against cell phone use inside a theatre). This was also my first experience with the in-seat drink service, something in which I might partake should I go back again (which, yes, I am already considering). Though, I wondered during the audience collection if alcohol was a factor in inspiring an audience member down front to throw a Nutri Grain bar at the cast…

The move to off-Broadway was surprising, but it makes sense. The show is built for intimacy, and it is more cost effective for the producers to run it in a 499 seat house outside of Broadway. (And apparently The 39 Steps may follow suit…? Who knew?) It’s also nice to see that the show is becoming a theatrical institution for the city. As long as there are fresh-faced college grads tackling the world head on, there will always be a place for Avenue Q. Especially in New York.

"Nine" – The Rehearsal Montage

I guess you could call this video a trailer of sorts. Still not sure what to make of the film, except that I’m fascinated to see how such a cerebral musical comes to life on film. I’m also not sold on the loss of so many great songs from the original stage score, but we’ll see if I’m forgiving once the film comes out. In the very least it will be visually stunning. And in a musical where every turn is a diva turn, it will be interesting to see so many Oscar winners throwing themselves into the production numbers. I’m also really curious to hear what Daniel Day Lewis’ singing voice sounds like…

The film comes out on Christmas Day.

"Ragtime" Rehearsal Video

I didn’t think we’d be getting another production of Ragtime so soon after the original closed (some would say prematurely). The musical was announced to be part of the 2008 lineup at NYCO, with the idea of reuniting original cast members under the direction of Frank Galati (who directed the original 1998 production). For whatever reason, that fell through and was replaced by Candide.

Then last spring, the musical was part of the Kennedy Center season. The run extended from three weeks to five, and sold out for the entire engagement. Reviews were exceptional, and word of mouth positive. Suddenly word on the street was that the show, based on E.L. Doctorow’s acclaimed 1975 novel, was being considered for Broadway transfer. Now, this new production starts previews this Friday at the Neil Simon Theatre. I am so excited because I will in the audience that evening to welcome this exceptional piece of musical theatre back to NY. Here is a video from Broadway.com of the press rehearsal, with performances and interviews that got me pumped up for what’s to come:

Revisiting "The 39 Steps"

When I first saw the delightful production of The 39 Steps at the American Airlines Theatre, I don’t think I could have anticipated that it would have run for two years. But it was the little play that could, and one of the rare plays to transfer not once, but twice. The show closes in January, but I decided that I should check in one last time before it goes.

Of the original cast members, only Arnie Burton remains. Sean Mahon (The Seafarer), Jill Paice (Curtains) and Jeffrey Kuhn (Assassins) have assumed the other roles. The show is still bright and vibrant, scoring many of the laughs. My enjoyment the first time I saw it was tempered by the fact that I was in a house with a great many Hitchcock-philes. This time around, there weren’t as many but it still managed to crack myself up, along with my show people SarahB and Byrne.

The play is still a mastery of theatrical invention and cleverness. Slyly self-aware, the evening moves at a rapid pace as memorable moments from Hitchcock’s original film are recalled, with nods and winks at many of the famed director’s other works. It’s still a jaw-dropping marvel watching Man #1 and Man #2 (Kuhn and Burton) switch off between about hundred roles throughout the evening, as they switch off hats or wigs, dresses for trench coats with razor-sharp precision and flawless timing. While not the doppelganger for Robert Donat that the role’s originator Charles Edwards was, Mahon brings charisma and bemusing wit as Richard Hannay, the “wrong man” at the center of the story. Paice is a pleasure to watch as his three leading ladies, with an especially hilarious over-the-top Scottish brogue.

The highlight remains the recreation of the chase on the Scottish moors, presented as a shadow puppet display. In a post show talk back we found out that that was a favorite moment for everyone in the show, as it is the moment involving the entire cast and crew. There’s even the Hitchcock cameo. These and every other moments are so innately clever and imaginative that during the moments you’re not laughing out loud, you’re grinning from ear to ear. Watching Kuhn and Burton re-enact the hotel lobby scene still blows my mind.

My one issue with the show remains: it would work better without an intermission. Granted, I’m sure the actors can use the 15 minutes to catch their breath and regroup for the second half, but it would just add to the flow of the evening if it kept going in one shot. The show’s final performance at the Helen Hayes Theatre is on January 10, 2010 after 771 performances, making it the longest-running non-musical play in seven years.

Katharine Hepburn’s Unique Star Bio

The musical Coco received rather negative reviews for all of the parties involved when it opened in December 1969, with the exception of Michael Bennett and his choreography. However, the negative notices didn’t keep the show from becoming a major theatrical event, spurred on by the presence of Katharine Hepburn in what would be her only appearance in a musical. Hiding her insecurities behind her Yankee resolve, Miss Hepburn gave the audience a mega-watt star turn that defied her limitations as a singer and dancer. While not many folks are fans of the show or its score, I think there is a lot to enjoy on the original cast album (admittedly a poorly produced record). When Hepburn left the show, an actress (Danielle Darrieux, who was French, could sing and dance, and was similar to Chanel) more suitable to the role replaced her and the show folded within weeks. The audience was there to see Hepburn, who kept the Mark Hellinger Theatre filled.

Hepburn took the show out on national tour, with original Broadway cast members Gale Dixon, Jeanne Arnold and George Rose recreating their roles. Joining the cast was Don Chastain as the ingenue’s lover and Daniel Davis as Sebastian Baye, the effete designer who has it out for Coco (Rene Auberjonois won the Tony for his scenery-chewing performance in NY). The tour also had a souvenir program. Featured are publicity shots and stills of the production, but also one of the most unusual star bios I’ve ever seen with Hepburn providing a running commentary about every role she had played professionally from 1928-1969. Only a no-nonsense star like Hepburn would be so frank in looking at her career.

The following is a chronological list of Miss Hepburn’s plays and films and her capsule comments on each. [A couple of the dates regarding her films are inaccurate, and I considered changing them. However, I figured it was better to just present what the star had included, imperfections and all.]

1928: (Plays) Edwin Knopf Stock Company, Baltimore
1928: (Play) The Big Pond – “Lead…fired after first night”
1929: (Play) These Days – “Small part…Arthur Hopkins (producer)…Good reviews”
1929: (Play) Holiday – “Understudy”
1929: (Plays) Stockbridge Stock Company
1930: (Play) Art and Mrs. Bottle – “Ingenue…Good reviews…Fired and rehired”
1931: (Plays) Ivoryton Stock Company
1931: (Play) Death Takes a Holiday – “Fired out of town…mixed reviews”
1931: (Play) A Month in the Country – “Maid and understudy”
1931: (Play) The Warrior’s Husband – “Fired and rehired…Good reviews”

“TOP OF THE HEAP IN ONE YEAR…SILLY”

1932: A Bill of Divorcement – “Raves”
1932: Christopher Strong – “Mixed”
1933: Morning Glory – “Academy Award”
1933: Little Women – “Raves”
1933: Spitfire
1933-34: (Play) The Lake – “Roasted by all…Bottom of the heap in two and a half hours”

“FLASH IN THE PAN…EQUALLY SILLY”

1934: The Little Minister – “Mixed”
1935: Alice Adams – “Raves…Nominated”
1935: Sylvia Scarlett – “Total Disaster”
1935: Break of Hearts – “Bore”
1935: Mary of Scotland – “Roasted”
1935: A Woman Rebels – “Poor”
1935: Quality Street – “Poor”
1936: (Play) Jane Eyre – “Closed…On tour good… Roasted out of town by Brooks Atkinson in Chicago, who came to Chicago only for this”
1937: Stage Door – “Raves”
1938: Bringing Up Baby – “Mediocre”
1938: Holiday – “Mediocre…Box office poison…Couldn’t get job.”
1939: (Play) The Philadelphia Story – “Raves… On tour, raves”
1940: The Philadelphia Story – “Raves…nominated”
1941: Woman of the Year – “Spencer Tracy…Good, Nominated”
1941: (Play) Without Love – “Mixed”
1943: Keeper of the Flame – “Spencer Tracy…Good”
1944: Dragon Seed – “Fair”
1945: Without Love – “Spencer Tracy…Good”
1946: Undercurrent – “Fair”
1946: Song of Love – “Fair”
1947: Sea of Grass – “Spencer Tracy…Good”
1948: State of the Union – “Spencer Tracy…Good”
1949: Adam’s Rib – “Spencer Tracy…Raves”
1949: (Play) As You Like It – “NY mixed…On tour, raves”
1951: The African Queen – “Nominated”
1952: Pat and Mike – “Spencer Tracy… Good”
1952: (Play) The Millionairess – “London, raves…New York, roasted”
1953: Summertime – “Raves…Nominated”
1955: (Play) The Taming of the Shrew – “Australian tour, raves”
1955: (Play) The Merchant of Venice – “Fair”
1955: (Play) Measure for Measure – “Mediocre”
1955: The Iron Petticoat – “Poor”
1956: The Rainmaker – “Good…Nominated”
1957: Desk Set – “Fair”
1957: (Play) The Merchant of Venice – “Stratford (Conn.)…Good”
1957: (Play) Much Ado About Nothing – “Raves”
1958: Suddenly Last Summer – “Raves…Nominated”
1960: (Play) Antony and Cleopatra – “Excellent”
1960: (Play) Twelfth Night – “Roasted”
1961: Long Day’s Journey Into Night – “Good…Nominated”
1967: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner – “Spencer Tracy…Raves…Academy Award”
1968: The Lion in Winter – “Raves…Academy Award”
1969: The Madwoman of Chaillot – “Mixed”

‘Cause That’s How Young I Feel

Angela Lansbury, an icon of film, television and especially theatre, is celebrating her 84th birthday today. The actress is in the middle of a second coming on Broadway. After a 25 year absence, she returned to NY and live theatre with three shows opening in as many years, winning a record-tying fifth Tony Award for her crowdpleasing performance in last season’s Blithe Spirit.

Starting this winter she will be seen as the droll, disapproving Madame Armfeldt in the first Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music with Catherine Zeta-Jones. This will mark Angela’s first appearance in a Broadway musical since the 1983 revival of Mame, and her fourteenth Broadway credit.

We are so very lucky to have this international treasure still creating magnificent work, with no signs of stopping or slowing down. In honor of her birthday, I think it’s appropriate that we should take a look at Angela, in the ’83 Mame, stopping the show with “That’s How Young I Feel.” Enjoy: