Review: RAGTIME breaks barriers in Austria at Oper Graz

At the Opera in Graz you can catch the musical „Ragtime" for the very first time in Austria . With english songlyrics written by Lynn Ahrens and with german dialogues based on the novel by the same name by E.L. Doctrow, it was a spectacular evening with big voices, real emotions and a gripping story line.

In New York at the beginning of the 20th century, we see the fate of three diverse families. The successfull black Ragtime pianist Coalhouse Walker Jr. (Alvin Lee- Bass) longs for equality and acceptance. After his car was taken by white firefighters and his wife was shot at presidental campaign, Coalhouse Walker was looking for justice and revenge. The jewish immigrant Tateh ( Randy Diamond) strives for the American Dream and hopes for a better life for his daughter. When a father of a white wealthy family takes part of an expedition to explore the arctic, his wife (Monika Staszak) feels left alone and looks for a bigger purpose in her life.

„Ragtime" is not very well known in Austria, but this production will definitely set a mile stone in the Austrian musical theatre community. The music composed by Stephen Flaherty including songs as "Goodbye, My Love", "Wheels of a Dream" and "Make Them Hear You" will show the audience how it felt when the American people fighting for equality and a better world. Not to mention, Dionne Wudus as Sarah singing "Your Daddy's Son" was one of the highlights of the evening. The touching and raw emotions the actress puts into this song were one of a kind. As an audience member you could really feel her grief without even knowing her whole story.

Another actor who was praised with aplause was Alvin Le-Bass for his performance as Coalhouse Walker Jr. His genuine way playing this complex character mixed with his soulful voice is a reason for itself to see this show.

The Opera Graz opens new doors, by choosing Ragtime into their repertoire. It shows that the audience nowadays longs for stories like these. I hope this production will inspire more theatre companies to be more daring with their choices for their next season.

You can see Ragtime until the 9th of may in the Opera Graz.

Directed by Philipp Kochheim.
Costumes by Mathilde Grebot.
Choregraphy by Kati Farkas.

Photo Credits: Werner Kmetitsch/Oper Graz

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