I noticed on the Playbill that this was "Ragtime Version 2." Has this version been done on Broadway (original and revival)? I don't recall there being this much dialogue.
A short tour may be coming. According to MTI Shows, PHOENIX ENTERTAINMENT, tour producer, shows date range of 09/04/2013 until 07/01/2014. This would be AWESOME if some!
It was an extraordinary evening. Nearly every singer gave a fully realized performance, the kind you almost never see in a concert production (even an Encores production).
Lea Salonga, as performer who's consistently left me cold in the past, stunned me. She was firing on all cylinders from her first spoken word until the very end of the evening. Glorious.
Michael Arden is the best Younger Brother I've ever seen. What passion he brought to that passionate, if somewhat vague, role. Far better than Steggert, whom I enjoyed but who has a bag of tricks. Arden was pure passion. "The Night That Goldman Spoke at Union Square" was one of the evening's main highlights. I really hope he returns to New York soon for a longer engagement in something.
Patina Miller was an earthy, memorable Sarah. Norm Lewis's voice soared, and his acting was superb. He's no stranger to the role, so that was an advantage. Same with Felciano, who gave a beautifully realized performance.
Tyne Daly gave the least realized performer, to me, but it's Tyne Freaking Daly. Even when she's not fully on, she's magnetic.
I had tears streaming down my face by the epilogue. It was cathartic theatre. I'm so glad I went.
Last night's concert was incredible but am I the only person that was underwhelmed by Norm Lewis and Patina? I like Norm but last night his whole performance seems rushed and flat. Like it was a reading to him and nothing more. Patina, while am awesome vocalist had too much pop in her voice as Sarah with her stylistic scoops and slides into her vocal phrases. When they finished "Wheels of a Dream" it was the the only time I didn't clap.
Lea was the DABOMB.COM! LUV LUV LUV! Arden was incredible. Tyne was all over the place but she was still good.
Listening to it, I'm in love with Norm but Patina is leaving me a bit cold. Maybe that's just because nobody will ever do it as well as Audra and I hold everyone up to that standard.
I was bummed at the truncated version of "He Wanted to Say." I love the lyric:
IN MY SOUL I AM YOUR BROTHER. WE ARE BOUND TO ONE ANOTHER ANGERED BY THE DARKNESS OF LIFE AND THE LIES WE PERCEIVE.
So I was disappointed not to hear it, and to hear less of Michael Arden. It's a shame that the recent revival never picked up steam. I had only ever seen a touring company in Gainesville, Florida, and I think it was just that I was so far away from the stage, but it never spoke to me until I saw the recent revival.
I thought that Patina and Norm had the biggest shoes to fill. By the end of "Wheels of a Dream" they had won me over.
My main concern with Norm and Patina may have been a sound balance issue more than a problem with their performance. In both Wheels of a Dream and Make Them Hear you, I felt that the orchestra swelled in volume a lot more than the singers did, which resulted in the singers being overpowered during some key moments, but maybe that should have been resolved by the sound guy.
Norm also flubbed the second line to Make Them Hear You, which made me cringe a little (I mean, how many times has he sung that song??). They both did a beautiful job with Sarah Brown Eyes, though, which is my favorite of their numbers.
GatorNY--I don't know those lyrics from He Wanted to Say. They're not on the recording. Are they from the revival?
ETA: I forgot to say in my first post how much I liked Manoel Feliciano as Tateh. He was extremely earnest and loveable. I liked that they shaved off his beard during intermission to highlight the transition to the Baron. They also gave Lilla Crawford a nice hat to wear in the second act, which made for an amusing moment during the finale when she stood in front of Lea and Lea had to pull her back to get the hat out of her face.
Patina was wonderful. If you went in expecting Audra's performance, then you would be disappointed, because they are two profoundly different artists. Patina's "Your Daddy's Son" made the hair on my neck stand up. It was chilling and scarily intense and beautiful.
I believe those lyrics are from the "Songs from Ragtime" concept album. They are not in the actual score. ( I just closed this show two weeks ago, lol)
But I was also bummed at the cut in "He wanted to say". Going back to Patina, there is no way to compare her to Audra..not in a million years. But I don't think her "style" is right for the show. Not for me anyway.
I was dumbfounded when Norm flubbed those lyrics. The lovely lady playing Sarah's friend did the same and I was pissed... I mean really.. you don't even have another song. I will agree the orchestra did play heavy in certain area.. but some of Norms vocal choices were extremely light and airy where it should have been robust and solid.
Going back to Patina, there is no way to compare her to Audra..not in a million years. But I don't think her "style" is right for the show. Not for me anyway.
Patina's performance reminded me a lot of LaChanze. Very earthy. Not refined in the way Audra's performance was. It worked for me. Patina wasn't trying to be Audra, which I appreciated (unlike the girl from the recent revival).
I thought the concert was incredible. Michael and Lea were the standouts for me. Perfection in both acting and singing....BRAVA! Apparently I am in the minority in that I didn't really like Norm as Colehouse. He sped through most of his songs, messed up a line in "Make them Hear You" and I don't know if it was the microphones and the sound it produced where I was sitting, but it seemed as if he was having trouble hitting some of the notes. People around me said they believe he was holding back because Patina wasn't that strong vocally. I don't know but he was my least favorite next to Tyne Daily.
Overall though, I loved it and glad that I got to experience it. Oh, and one more thing, GIVE MICHAEL ARDEN A FREAKIN BROADWAY LEADING ROLE ALL READY!
AC126748, earthy is a great word for La Chanze. Patina has too much of a pop edge in my opinion.... at one point I was waiting for her to throw a riff in "Your Daddy's Son"....
But If you were to pair her up with say Darrington ( Coalhouse from the revival) then maybe there is she wouldn't seen soo strange in the production since Darrington's Coalhouse was much more bluesy and r&b-ish to Lewis's operatic baritone.
It may have taken 10 years, but, finally, RAGTIME was given the performance it derserves! The casting was incredible! I am glad at least the opening was shared.
I absolutely agree with you Melodic, I felt that Norm was very underwhelming (especially compared to everyone else). Lea Salonga was amazing and pretty much perfect as Mother. Her "Back to Before" brought the house down and the opening was its only rival for audience reaction (IMO). I loved getting to see Howard McGillin up on stage as I have grown up listening to him as Jasper on the Drood recording. His voice is still top-notch. Manoel Felciano was great reprising his role as Tateh and I was pleasantly surprised with Michael Arden. I always forget that Younger Brother has a much larger role than it seems and I was blown away by Arden's portrayal.
I almost felt bad for Dick Latessa; the guy is 83 years old and had a handful of lines. I was waiting for him to fall asleep up there (though it would have been impossible with that ensemble behind him singing away all night)
It was just an incredible night and I had goosebumps the entire show. I feel so lucky to have gotten to see this!
I have to say the chorus just knocked me out. I can only remember ever hearing one chorus THAT big on a Broadway score/song (that would be Sunday at the Sondheim concert) and hearing the lyrics coming at me like a wall of sound was simply incredible.
For me, the standout was Manoel Feliciano. He was perfect as Tateh - I was just blown away by his performance. I expected a bit more from Norm Lewis and Patina Miller - both were good, but neither as great as Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra Macdonald were fifteen years ago (I can't believe it was that long ago!). Lea Salonga has a very strong voice, and I felt she knocked it out of the park. Another highlight (good segue) was the Baseball Game song - the men's chorus looked like they were having a blast up there.
Along with Kerry Butler not aging, Jarrod Emmick looks pretty close to how he did when I first saw him in Damn Yankees twenty years ago. I have no idea how old he is, but he looks so young!
I'm very glad I got to go to this - what a great night. And that chorus - just WOW.
I'm curious about the Version 2 thing too. Wasn't one cut (was it the one mentioned) made for the tour? I believe it was in Act II.
When I was a teen Ragtime ran for about 6 months in Vancouver (it was the second cast that had opened in LA--and one of Livent's brief but ambitious attempts to run a theatre in Van--I remember being excited to see the show a few weeks even before the Tonys). I don't remember the cast off the top of my head, but LaChanze was Sarah--and to me, as amazing as Audra is, her quite different Sarah is definitive (John Rubinstein was Tateh and Kingsley Leggs I believe was Coalhouse). I got to see it three, times, and it remains one of my all time fave theatrical experiences. I know some felt it was overproduced, but I never did--that said it's a sign of the quality of the show that it seems to really work just as well with little or no set.
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Posted: 2/19/13 at 11:14am