[Review] ‘Ragtime’ At Playmakers: Touching, Slightly Painful With Unique Twist (4.0/5)
Chapel Hill, NC – Ragtime at Playmakers weaves a poignant tale that is as more relevant today than ever… moving, touching but also slightly painful. Broadway star
Lauren Kennedy was outstanding as she made her long-anticipated Playmakers debut as Mother in E. L. Doctorow’s Tony Award-winning musical, running now through Dec. 15. About the American experience and the volatile “melting pot” of the turn of the 20th century New York, Ragtime tells three distinctly American stories — of a determined Jewish immigrant and his motherless daughter, a daring Harlem musician, and a well-off white family from New Rochelle — with sweeping melodies.
Ragtime at Playmakers maintains the original plot and lyrics, with Music Director Mark Hartman making some amazing updates. The set and costumes take a unique and sometimes confusing twist. Director Zi Alikhan and Scenic Director Mark Wendland 360 degree use of the theater is very distinctive. Three separate rooms made of plexiglass behind the seats of the Paul Green Theatre were used to designate the three locations of the stories that eventually intersect.
Although set in 1903 – 1906 (you know because the huge Wall Street-type stock ticker displays the date as it goes around the theater), there is no use of period costumes. In 1903 you have characters with dreads, locks, and Timbaland boots. Mother (Kennedy) and Little Boy/Henry Ford (Ray Dooley) were the only characters that were true to the time period. It appears Costume Designer Lux Haac, in aiming for the contemporary twist, missed some obvious details.
Ragtime “unfolds within the contours of the 21st century.” It was heartbreaking to watch as well dressed and well-spoken professional musician Coalhouse Walker Jr. (played by Fergie L. Philippe in his debut at Playmakers) is shot in the back and killed by police as he was surrendering with his hands up. Tears and chills took over when his baby’s mother Sara (played by Anneliza Canning-Skinner, also making her Playmakers debut) was killed by an angry mob. I cringed each time the ‘N’ word was used. My empathy was palpable as Jewish immigrants, who were brought to America as children, are deported.
Ragtime at Playmakers, with its unique twist, has all you want in a musical…great acting, voices, musicians, direction. I highly recommend making time during this busy season to see this play!
Review: 4.0/5 stars
For more information or tickets, visit http://playmakersrep.org/show/ragtime/
