MUSICAL MAYHEM: MY TOP TWENTY-FIVE MUSICALS – Part 17a
THE TOP TEN – #2
NOTE: Due to the length of this entry,
I'm dividing it into two parts. This is part one of two.
Based on E.L. Doctorow's 1975 novel and possessing one of the most
gorgeous scores in musical theatre, Ragtime
has had trouble winning over critics since its beginnings in Toronto in 1996.
Although widely admired, it hasn't been necessarily embraced. Critics have
complained that the show is too big, too loud, too long, that it lacks a human
scale. They've said that stereotypes abound; secondary characters such as Emma
Goldman, Evelyn Nesbitt, Harry Houdini, Booker T. Washington, Henry Ford, etc,
are little more than line drawings, with none of the characters, including the
principals, really fleshed out. Despite winning two hot-ticket Tony Awards for
Best Score and Best Book of a Musical out of its four wins that year, it lost
the biggie, Best Musical, to another "spectacle" show, The Lion King, directed by that year's
flavor-of-the-season, Julie Taymor, who would have a much-publicized fall from
Broadway grace a decade later with her firing from the much-maligned Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (not
nearly as bad as one would think given the negative press). Some Broadway
analytical-type folks believe the loss of the Best Musical tchotchke, along
with the high weekly costs associated with the lavish original production, were
major factors in the original production's money-losing run.
Whoa, you say. That's a lot of negative remarks there. How can Ragtime possibly be in the number two
spot? Easy. Because it is big; it is loud; its humanity is bold,
in-your-face, and powerful. Are there stereotypes? Yes. And you want to know
something? That's fine with me, because stereotypes exist in real life. The
minor characters do what they are supposed to do: add color and atmosphere. And
excuse me, but few musicals give you fully-defined, subtlety-written characters.
Gypsy is one. My Fair Lady is another. Most musicals give you a bullet-point
character profile, and Ragtime's
characters are actually developed better than in a lot of shows. The Flaherty
and Ahrens score transports the listener, shamelessly at times tugging on your
heartstrings, and Terrance McNally's book guides the theatergoer through the
multiple layers of the story. If you just sit back and let the show work its
magic, you will, like me, become a devotee. No, it's not perfect. Yes, it has
its flaws. But when all is said and done, Ragtime
is truly one of the glories of the American musical theatre. And that opening
number!!!
Future Tony-winner Heather Headley was in Ragtime's ensemble during its Toronto run, but was out that evening. Future Broadway star and multiple Tony-nominee Brandon Uranowitz was playing The Little Boy at the time.
March, 1997. Toronto: where it all began. Well, not
precisely Toronto. To be absolutely correct, the Ford Centre, now called the
Meridian Arts Centre, is located in North York, just north of central Toronto
and one of the administrative districts of Toronto. Not that it matters,
really. The theatre itself, typical of new theatres, was sleek and comfortable,
but a bit cold and barnlike. Not that that mattered, either. What unfolded on
that stage was nothing short of magic. Let's talk about that opening number,
shall we? Addictively melodic, the number introduced the major characters and
gave us the flavor of the times ("Ladies with parasols,/Fellows with
tennis balls./There were no Negroes/And there were no immigrants.")
Graciela Daniele's brilliant staging blended the privileged whites, the Harlem
blacks, and the arriving immigrants in a triumph of musical staging that built
excitement to an almost feverish pitch by the time the number ended. The story
of Ragtime was enveloped in a lush,
elegant environment by Eugene Lee (sets), Santo Loquasto (costumes), and Jules
Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer (lights). The music, played by a 28-piece
orchestra, soared. Frank Galati directed the show with broad strokes that may
have lacked subtlety, but gave the story clean lines and clarity. And who can
possibly forget that magical original cast of Brian Stokes Mitchell (Coalhouse
Walker, Jr.), Peter Friedman (Tateh), the luminous Marin Mazzie (Mother), Audra
McDonald (Sarah. Already a two-time Tony winner, she would win a third for Ragtime.), Mark Jacoby (Father), Jim
Corti (Harry Houdini), Lynnette Perry (Evelyn Nesbitt), Steven Sutcliffe
(Younger Brother), and Camille Saviola (Emma Goldman)? Each of them created
characters that even today linger in the mind. And I defy anyone to not submit
to McDonald's "Your Daddy's Son," McDonald and Mitchell's
"Wheels of a Dream," the emotional "Till We Reach That Day"
which closes Act One, and Mitchell's "Make Them Hear You." But for
me, the crowning glory was Mazzie's soaring and beautiful "Back to Before,"
which had the audience cheering the moment she hit the final note. Breathtaking
in interpretation and the perfect song for that moment in the show. At Ragtime's conclusion, the audience
couldn't get to its feet fast enough. Nearly twenty-three years and many productions
later, this original version in Toronto remains my favorite. But you know
something? After all this time, I still discover something new every time I see
the show. – at the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts (Apotex Theatre),
Toronto
Hey, Mr. Producer!: Ragtime
was produced by Livent, Inc, headed by Garth Drabinsky. Founded in 1989, Livent
quickly became a major player in the theatre, especially in his native Canada,
and put Toronto front and center on the theatre map, second only to New York.
He bought theatres, he produced musicals, all of which could justifiably use as
a subtitle, "Money Is No Object." Drabinsky spent the big bucks and
you could see every penny onstage. Ragtime
was a perfect example. He was on top of the theatrical world, but a short
decade after its formation, Livent declared bankruptcy when "accounting
irregularities" were discovered. Livent's assets, including the Ford
Center for the Performing Arts in New York, and Ragtime, which was playing at the Ford Center, were sold to SFX
Entertainment in August, 1999. Livent's bankruptcy, and, some Broadway insiders
believe, Ragtime's high operating
costs, forced what many consider a premature closing of Ragtime on January 16, 2000, after a too-short run of only 27
previews and 834 performances. Drabinsky and his partner Myron Gottlieb were
tried and convicted in Ontario on charges of fraud and forgery (damn, boys!)
and sentenced to jail time and fines. Drabinsky completed his sentence in 2016.
Even with production costs reaching into the tens of millions today for big
musicals, the lavishness of the Drabinsky era has never been duplicated and
probably never will be.
The Show Biz: Our Toronto program doesn't list "The Show Biz"
as one of the Act 2 songs, but both Bob and I distinctly remember it. It could
have been part of the song listed as "Atlantic City." Research on
genius.com says that "The Show Biz" was in the show during
rehearsals, but cut before the final staging, with elements sung by Harry
Houdini and Evelyn Nesbitt during "Atlantic City." Separate song or
incorporated into another, I remember the song in performance. It was
wonderful. Dry and sardonic, all elements of it were gone by the time the show
played Los Angeles a short few months later. A shame, too. We really liked the
song, and it gave the show a rare dose of genuine levity. To be fair, though,
it didn't really serve a purpose or advance the plot, and, in a three-hour
show, there's little room for an extraneous number. Thankfully, it's preserved
on the Toronto concept album. (An official original cast album would be
recorded when the show moved to Broadway.)
Above: the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts, then called the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts post-Livent bankruptcy. Below: a Ragtime brochure with some show info, prices, and theatre info.
What's In a Name?: When the Ford Centre opened in 1993, it was
called the North York Performing Arts Centre. In 1994, the city of North York
awarded management of the complex to Livent, and they sold the naming rights to
the Ford Motor Company of Canada. As the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts,
it would house long runs of Livent's Showboat,
Fosse, Sunset Boulevard, and, of course, Ragtime. With Livent's bankruptcy, the name changed once again,
this time to the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts. After a long run of Jersey Boys concluded in 2010, the large
main theatre had trouble attracting tenants, in part due to its distance from
Toronto's main theatre district. As a result, the main theatre was converted
into two smaller theatres, and in September, 2019, the complex was renamed once
more, this time as the Meridian Arts Centre. No longer housing mainstage
theatre, the Meridian Arts Centre keeps its theatres busy with music and dance
events.
An early ad for Ragtime in the LA Times.
Opening night ad. We saw it at the final preview the night before.
June, 1997. Nobody could ever accuse Garth Drabinsky of
following the rules. In May, 1997, while his 10-million-dollar production of Ragtime was still playing in Toronto,
Drabinsky and Livent took the unusual step of mounting a new 10
million-dollar-production of the show for its US premiere in Los Angeles,
rather than waiting for the Toronto production to transfer to Broadway, which
it would do in the winter. Incorporating changes made since the Toronto
opening, notably a new finale, this Ragtime
was as lush and expensive as its Toronto cousin. Heading up the cast was Brian
Stokes Mitchell recreating, in fine form, his Coalhouse Walker, Jr. His Sarah,
LaChanze, was superb and vocally sublime. I don't wish to be churlish, but,
despite his award-winning Broadway cred, I found John Rubenstein's Tateh to be
underwhelming, and Marcia Mitzman Gaven's Mother didn't quite have the elegance
and ease of Marin Mazzie in the same role. This was the final preview before
opening the following evening. The LA Times review was positive and flattering. It would run more than eight months in the City
of Angels. – at the Shubert Theatre, Los Angeles
The elegant entrance. Modern and sophisticated.
The Shubert looks vast, but the 2100 seat house in reality was suitably intimate.
The exterior.
The seat map. For the most part, it was continental seating at the Shubert. Kind of a pain if you're seated in the middle of the row!
RIP Shubert Theatre: The 2100 seat Shubert Theatre, part of the ABC
Entertainment Center in Century City, was brand-new when it opened its doors in
1972 to a post-Broadway engagement of Follies,
starring most of its original cast. Over the years, it would be the Los Angeles
home for many shows including long runs for Les
Miserables, Annie, Sunset Boulevard, Beauty
and the Beast, and, of course, Ragtime.
But ABC moved out of the ABC Entertainment Center, and the owners decided to
demolish the complex, including the Shubert, to make way for more profitable
office buildings. Though lacking in the old-school elegance of traditional
theatres, the Shubert was attractive and modern, and the liberal use of the red color palatte gave it warmth. Our seats were way up in the balcony, yet sightlines were good
and the sound was pristine. The Shubert faced the wrecking ball in 2002. It was
only thirty years old, a youngster by theatre standards.
Post-LA: When Ragtime
closed at the Shubert in March, 1998, Drabinsky packed the whole thing up and
sent the production out on a year-long tour, playing extended engagements in
five cities, including a four-month stint in Washington, D.C. Now that's not so
unusual in and of itself. What made it a bit out of the norm was that the
Broadway production had opened only two months earlier. Was launching a tour so
soon after the Broadway opening a brilliant business move or ill-advised? When
Livent declared bankruptcy in November, 1998, a closing notice was posted for
the Ragtime tour, effective with the
end of its Minneapolis engagement a few days later. But then, a happy ending.
Pace Theatrical Group acquired the touring rights and the show continued to
play the remainder of its scheduled tour.
– Ford Center for
the Performing Arts, New York
December, 1998. Bob was attending a Broadway lighting
master class. Since two of the keynote speakers/instructors were Ragtime's incomparable lighting
designers Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, tickets to Ragtime were part of the package. Ragtime was the first production at the old/new Ford Center, and
since the theatre was equipped with all the latest theatrical mod cons, Ragtime's huge production fit quite
nicely into the space. Lawrence Hamilton and Monica L. Richards filled in for
Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald, and, as is the case with New York
understudies, they performed their roles with talent and professionalism. Marin
Mazzie's performance was even more layered than in Toronto and her "Back
to Before" thrilled. Bob and his colleagues and their significant others
went backstage after the show for a tour of the stage. All of a sudden the
lighting folks went into geek mode and started talking in tongues, lighting
designer version, while we S.O.s rolled our eyes and stood around and took in the sights. I
think for Bob the backstage tour was the highlight of the evening. – at the
Ford Center for the Performing Arts, New York
What's In a Name? (Part 2): So you thought the Ford Centre for the
Performing Arts in Toronto had a lot of names. You ain't seen nothing yet! New
York's Ford Center opened in 1998 as part of an extensive Times Square renewal.
Occupying the sites of the condemned Lyric and Apollo Theatres, the facility combined restored elements of both theatres and ended up being a pretty barn seating
about 1900 people. Originally owned by Livent, Inc., ownership changed in 1999
to SFX Entertainment, which was bought by Clear Channel Entertainment. In 2005,
after an extensive renovation, the theatre was renamed the Hilton Theatre and
ownership changed to Live Nation. Then it became the Foxwoods Theatre, after a
deal was made between Live Nation and Connecticut's Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Classy! Not. Finally in 2013, the theatre was acquired by the Ambassador
Theatre Group, a major, very-expensive renovation took place, seating capacity
was cut down to just over 1600 seats, and in 2014, it was named the Lyric
Theatre, where it is currently home to Harry
Potter and the Cursed Child. Whew! Curiously, the theatre's address is
listed as West 43rd Street as opposed to 42nd Street. Whatever!
– Ford Center for
the Performing Arts/Oriental Theatre, Chicago
Look who was playing The Little Boy!
April, 1999. The 10-million-dollar Chicago sit-down
production of Ragtime was the perfect
vehicle to premiere the gorgeously-remodeled, long-dormant Oriental Theatre in
the heart of Chicago's Loop. A duplicate of the Broadway version, this
production received a glowing review by the Tribune's
Richard Christiansen and would run for eight months, not shabby by any
standards. With one glaring exception, the cast was up to the material. Barbara
Walsh's Mother was the best performance in the show, parlaying both strength
and warmth. Broadway vet and three-time Tony-winner Hinton Battle played
Coalhouse, and, frankly, I didn't like him. At all. Technically all the
elements were there, but his heart just didn't seem to be into it. Was he
bored? Was he tired? Was he reacting to the relatively sparse Tuesday night house? Whatever the case, his performance brought down the entire
evening. This production deserved better. – at the Ford Center for the
Performing Arts/Oriental Theatre, Chicago
Last Hurrah: The Chicago company of Ragtime was the last to have Livent as its producer. After its Chicago
run, the production shut down. Scenic elements from this company as well as the
recently-closed Boston company were used in a slimmed-down, scenically and
cast-size, new tour, licensed by Pace Theatrical Group, that began in Houston
in July, 1999, and closed two-years later. To date, the touring world would
never again see a musical of such opulence and extravagance as Ragtime. Drabinsky and pals may have
been crooks, but, damn, they knew how
to put on a show!
What's In a Name? (Part 3): When the theatre unveiled its beautiful
redo, it was called the Ford Center for the Performing Arts/Oriental Theatre,
the Oriental being the name of the theatre when it opened in 1926. Nobody in
Chicago called it the Ford Center, etc., however. It was always the Oriental,
but naming rights, blah, blah, blah. When Livent went under, the theatre, like
all the other Livent-owned properties, was acquired by SFX Entertainment, later
Live Nation. In 2007, Live Nation sold the theatre to the Nederlander
Organization, founder of Broadway in Chicago. In 2018, the Nederlanders
announced they would change the name from the Oriental Theatre to the James M.
Nederlander Theatre. A part of Chicago history was destroyed when the iconic and
singular Oriental Theatre name disappeared from the marquee and the name
Nederlander went up. Sad face.
Above: Billy Elliot was a long-run tenant at the Oriental. Below: the iconic sign. It will never, ever be the Nederlander.
With Livent going bust and the last Livent Ragtime closing, this is the perfect
place to end Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2!
© 2020 Jeffrey Geddes
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