Sunday, November 08, 2009
Finding New Meaning in ‘Ragtime’
NYTimes.com: "EARLY in the first act of the new Broadway revival of the 1998 musical based on E. L. Doctorow’s novel “Ragtime,” arriving immigrants troop through an abstract, high-vaulted structure that evokes Ellis Island. So when it came time to arrange a photo shoot of the creative team behind the show, which opens Nov. 15 at the Neil Simon Theater, the real Ellis Island seemed the logical place to go."
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5 comments:
Having seen this new production when it started at the Kennedy Center this past season, I personally think it accomplishes the goals it set out for and then some. The stripped down production manages to keep a period look while not distancing the audience. You see the frame of a Model-T Ford moving around the stage and you accept the fact it is THAT car, but also modernize the symbol to contemporary cars. Much of the scenery and props echo this style and make for some very striking parallels.
I can't wait for this to open. IT is one of those great shows that never was given it's real chance on Brodway and now with this revival I hope it does. Reviews have praised the show for it's new story telling- opposite to that of the original production. The story is about the characters and by striping away the flashy sets and focusing on the characters will this show be able to shine. The projections used in the set will also help focus on the actors and allow smooth transitions from story to story.
I saw Ragtime in Philadelphia when I was 8 or 9, and it's definitely a play I would like to see again now that I'm older and wiser. The concept of this production makes a lot of sense, because while there is a very clear period setting for Ragtime, the themes and attitudes and American ideals are timeless and extremely accessible to a modern audience. Hopefully I will get a chance to see this when it opens.
This is an interesting take on this show - but I feel that most revivals now a-days take a 'bare bones' approach in an effort to find the 'core' of the play. Recent examples include 110 in the shade, and company. By taking the 'Broadway glamour' away from a show, many believe that you can create a product that better serves the core of the play - I dont necessarily believe that, but I understand how one might feel that way.
I find it interesting to connect Ellis Island with the book. Granted, it's where many of the immigrants and families came through that shaped much of the story, but at the time the book was written the Statue of Liberty was in fairly poor condition and Ellis Island was a collection of ruins. It might have been more interesting to take pictures there at that time showing how not only has the country and culture changed in the intervening years but also the buildings themselves are showing the passage of time.
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