Montclair Operetta Club Presents RAGTIME 10/16 - 10/24

Ragtime, the Musical, is an epic tale of a young America played out in song and dance. It paints a nostalgic and powerful portrait of life at the turn of the twentieth century. The musical melds three distinct stories that poignantly illustrate history's timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair, and love and hate. 

The Tony Award-winning score by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Seussical) is just as diverse as the "Melting Pot of America" that it seeks to recreate, drawing upon traditional Jewish folk sounds, Vaudeville's outrageous style, and Scott Joplin to invoke the enlivened spirit of Harlem.

MOC Musical Theatre presents Ragtime at the Westminster Arts Center of Bloomfield College October 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 at 8pm and October 18 at 2pm.

The outstanding cast includes Clay Smith as Father, Gabrielle Visser as Mother, James Sloan as Younger Brother, Gene Myers as Grandfather, Mitchel Epstein as Little Boy, Todd Shumpert as Tateh, Kylie Francis as Tateh's daughter, Uton Evan as Coalhouse, Vanessa Robinson as Sarah, Barbi McGuire as Emma Goldman, Timothy Avant as Booker T. Washingtion, Mikey LoBalsamo as Henry Ford, Nino Spalacci as Houdini, Porche Hardy as Sarah's friend, Lara Hayhurst as Evelyn Nesbit, Elijah Bowers as young Coalhouse and a very talented ensemble cast including: Adrienne Reuss, Autumn Tilson, Bess Eckstein, Bob Ewing, Brian Vetter, Britney White, Danielle Pennisi, Danny Egan, Ellen Bowers, Helen Laser, James Sloan, James Ludlum, John Villa, Julio Gonzalez, Kate Hoover, Kathi Iannacone, Katie Siegmund, Knight Wilson, Lauren Kay, Marissa Vatsky, Michael Alworth, Mitchell Olson, RickieBeth Friedberg, Robyn Covington, Rosa Lantigua, Samuel St. Juste, and Steve Gant.

The design team headed by Director/Choreographer Bob Cline, Musical Director Judy Stanton, Production Designer Richard O'Connor, Costume Designer Dan Schulz, Lighting Designer Nik Marmo, Production Manager Kathi Iannacone, and Stage Manager Emily Ewing.

According to Bob Cline, "Ragtime has, I think, one of the most beautiful scores written in recent history. When casting, I think it necessary to keep this in mind. We start off with singing, and try to find the most wonderful voices imaginable to fill out the magnificent score. I remember seeing Ragtime years ago at the then Ford's Theatre in NY, at the end, I remember thinking, 'wow, what just happened? All those stories and characters, how did they manage to make me care about all of them, in less than three hours? So that is another goal of mine, I needed to find the right principle actor's, who can sing this demanding score, and create characters complete and rich enough that the audience can quickly identify with. Actually, the ensemble of this show works incredibly hard. I consider them to be the other principle character......society. Which is what this whole show is about really? We get distracted today as easily by John and Kate Gosselin as they did back then by Evelyn Nesbitt. It is incredibly exciting to be directing this piece within our first African American President's first year in office.....What a glance into how far we come. In pre-production for this piece, when I am getting my ideas on exactly how I would love to tell this story, I remember crying...often. Weird, I know. I just would get too wrapped up in everyone's struggle for survival. And I know that sounds easily stated, but it is truly a struggle for survival."

American novelist E.L. Doctorow created his unique novel, "Ragtime," in 1975. Blending three American fictional families with various historical figures between 1902 and 1917 into an epic narrative, Doctorow explored the American industrial machine, the mythology of the American Dream and the rising tensions of race, immigration, World War I, and the future of the American family and national identity.

Montclair has its own famous Ragtime composer. Joseph Francis Lamb considered, with Scott Joplin and James Scott, one of the "Big Three" of classical ragtime. He had no formal musical training and never performed professionally, but a chance meeting with Joplin in the offices of John Stark, Joplin's publisher, led to Joplin's sponsorship and Stark's publication of 12 of Lamb's rags, including "Sensation: A Rag" (1908), "Ethiopia" (1909), "American Beauty Rag" (1913), "The Ragtime Nightingale" (1915), and "Bohemia" (1919). After leaving Stark in 1919, Lamb devoted his time to work and family until he was rediscovered by Rudy Blesh and Harriet Janis while they were researching their seminal book, "They All Played Ragtime." This led to a recording session with Folkways Records in 1959, and the posthumous publication of "Ragtime Treasures" in 1964 of 13 of his unpublished pieces. In recent years his works have been recorded by many classical performers as well as jazz and ragtime players.

The musical drama debuted in Toronto, Ontario (1996) and travelled to Los Angeles (1997) and finally opened on Broadway in January 1998 where it was acknowledged as one of the most ambitious musicals ever produced. From the range of musical styles to the size of cast (originally 59 - MOC's production includes 45!) to the complexity of three major storylines (a businessman-explorer and his dissatisfied wife, an African-American composer Coalhouse Walker and his love, Sarah, and a Jewish immigrant Tateh and his daughter) the production was nothing short of epic.
MOC will complete its run of Ragtime just as the Broadway revival begins its previews in New York. Richard O'Connor, MOC's President and the production designer for Ragtime, stated: We picked this season as bookending the era. Ragtime was still likely quite popular when the club started in 1925 and our season this year chronicles both the Operetta Club's life but also how we approach what we do. (Operetta to now, the Rock Musical). 

Tickets $25 Individual, $22 senior 65 +, $15 Student with ID, $4 BC student with ID, $20 for groups with 20 or more Reservations 973-744-3133 orwww.mocmusicals.org.  All performances held at Westminster Arts Center of Bloomfield College Corner of Franklin & Fremont Street, Bloomfield, NJ

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