CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, March 07, 2017

Stage reviews: Point Park's 'Big Love'; CMU's 'Ragtime'

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Sad news first: this stunning “Ragtime” ended today, Saturday. But you didn’t have much of a chance to see it anyway, since most performances were pretty much sold out before it began its two-week run on Feb. 23, and once it did open and the good word spread, any seats that were left disappeared like snow in May.

2 comments:

Sarah Boyle said...

I realize that theatre reviews have a limited amount of space and a lot to discuss, so they can’t be expected to address every aspect of the show. But I’m always disappointed when a review completely ignores the designers and technicians. (The director and musical director are their own category in my opinion). Mentioning one technical area does not mean that a critic has to mention them all, they can pick and choose what stood out as they do with actors. There was so much going on technically with Ragtime to discuss. I think that this review was writing more about the show in general than CMU’s production. But honestly, I really think that reviews of this length are better for advertising a show. A review would need to be a full length article to give feedback instead of just shout-outs. But the costumes for Point Park’s show in the photo look great. (Escaping brides, the three white dresses, a distinct personally to each from just the sleeves and necklines.)

Unknown said...

I definitely agree with the way this article opens – it is amazing that Pittsburgh has such talented drama programs, because people like me will be able to benefit from the talent that runs through Point Park and CMU’s veins. I did not actually know much about the Point Park program, so I greatly appreciate being able to be introduced to it. I also am glad the author of the article included a plot description of “Big Love” because I did not know anything about it beforehand.

I really want to get to the “Ragtime” portion of this article, though, since I was on costume crew for the production. Though this section starts with praise, I can’t help but say I’m disappointed with what was said about the production – or, the lack of what was said. “Big Love” got an enormous section of the article; “Ragtime” was barely touched in comparison. And, while I agree with the actors’ the author highlighted, how was Sarah (Iris Beaumier or Arica Jackson) or the designers/technicians not acknowledged? Regardless of who was playing Sarah that night, I know she was just as amazing as the others, and as a costume crew member, I know that the costumes (as well as every other aspect of this production) were worthy of praise.