The Jewish Community Center of Cleveland
in association with
Cuyahoga Community College Eastern Campus Theatre Arts Department
presents

Book by Terrance McNally
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow

COMPLETE REVIEWS OF RAGTIME, THE MUSICAL
Carolyn Jack, Plain Dealer
Roy Berko, Times Newspapers
James Damico, The Free Times
Fran Heller, The Cleveland Jewish News
Christine Howey, Cleveland Scene
Herb Hammer, Chagrin Valley Times
Teddi Gibson-Bianchi, The Sun Press
Linda Eisenstein, Cool Cleveland

Cleveland Plain Dealer Review
BIG APPLAUSE FOR RAGTIME AND ITS CREATORS
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
by Carolyn Jack
Plain Dealer Arts Reporter

Welcome to an era of great change.

It's not just the one represented by the politically tumultuous, 1906 setting of Ragtime. It's a new era of vision, teamwork and startling achievement into which Cleveland-area theater seems suddenly to have made its entrance.

There is a previously unheard-of level of collaboration and intermixing taking place here among theater organizations and artists. Companies such as Great Lakes Theater Festival, Cleveland Public Theatre, Karamu Performing Arts Theatre, Cleveland Shakespeare Festival and the Beck Center have begun making use of a wider pool of talent and taking dares on all sorts of productions they never would have considered in the past.

And those productions are leaping to the highest levels of artistic success.

The latest example is the musical Ragtime, which heralds the return of theater to the Jewish Community Center of Cleveland's schedule after a year's hiatus because of financial problems. It also introduces a partnership between the center and Cuyahoga Community College's Eastern Campus theater department that is without a doubt one of the most promising in the region. Their combined efforts have produced a magnificent show.

Frankly, this Ragtime is so big, so gorgeously professional and emotionally powerful that, at first, you only can gape at it, astounded that this work has come from the same Jewish Community Center that kept itself to the little Halle Theatre for so many years.

Thanks to grants from Cuyahoga County and the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, the show that opened Saturday at the CCC Eastern Campus Performing Arts Center boasts production values the equal of many Broadway tours.

But it isn't just the lovely and elaborate costumes by Dana Romeo, the evocative lighting by Colleen Dowling or the vivid sets and effects by Richard Gould and Richard Ingraham that impress. It's the way Fred Sternfeld, one of this area's best directors, shapes this complicated play and its enormous, talented cast into a tale that makes both individual human feelings and tangled sociopolitical forces instantly, involvingly understandable.

Based on E.L.Doctorow's novel of the same name, Ragtime creates three fictional clusters of people: a wealthy, white, Protestant family; a black couple and their friends; and an immigrant Jewish man and his little daughter. The show uses their interwoven stories, along with historical figures such as Booker T. Washington and Emma Goldman, to illuminate the unrest of the period, when nascent labor unions, a new population of immigrants and newly urbanized blacks were shaking the complacency of the white ruling class.

Of the cast of more than 50, only three are Equity professionals. Yet Sternfeld finds in every one of his actors a fresh, lively presence, truthful personality and fine voice. When all are massed onstage to sing, the rapturous force of their music-making simultaneously elates and moves.

A master with crowd scenes, Sternfeld also keeps the many bodies moving in effective, entertaining ways. It helps that the show supplies visual surprises, such as escape artist Harry Houdini (Robert Gibb) descending to the stage headfirst on a rope. But Sternfeld's inventiveness and attention to detail makes you feel as if you really were watching America live its own history.
The greatest strength of this Ragtime lies in the portrayals and excellent singing of its main characters from an icy, troubled Father (Matthew Wright) and fiery Younger Brother (Sean Szaller) to the shrewd, solid Houdini, Goldman (Amiee Collier) and Washington (Darryl Lewis).

In the show's most profoundly passionate performance, Marc Moritz plays Tateh, the Jewish immigrant father, with anguish and rich, desperate humor, embodying love, intelligence and the refusal to give up.

Moritz's Tateh connects deeply and believably with Mother, the privileged Protestant woman glowingly played by Maggie Stahl Wirfel. In both of them, sorrow visibly wars with hope and tenderness as they step away from ruined expectations and embrace an entirely new life.

As Coalhouse Walker Jr., the dapper black pianist whose personal tragedy revolutionizes him and changes Mother's future, Kyle Primous creates the soul of elegance and dignity, his slim, expressive body conveying the physical joy of music, the yielding of love and the rigid fury of outrage.

On opening night, a few flaws made this Ragtime human.

The orchestra sounded weak and underrehearsed, with scattershot attacks and poor intonation. As an otherwise affecting Sarah, Coalhouse's love, Yolanda Christine Davis tended to convey great emotion by working her face constantly, a distracting mannerism that made her appear to be on the verge of hyperventilating.

And, as is a problem with all shows about children and passing time, it jars a little that young main characters don't look as if they've grown or altered over months or years.

But such faults leave few marks on an otherwise spectacular show one that, both onstage and in the community, demonstrates the value of change.

Times Newspaper Review
RAGTIME HITS RIGHT NOTES AT JCC
by Roy Berko
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)
THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS
Lorain County Times—Westlaker Times—Lakewood News Times—Olmsted-Fairview Times

RAGTIME, THE MUSICAL is an awesome undertaking. It can’t be done for full effect without a heavy investment in costumes, sets and special effects. It requires a huge and talented cast. But, most importantly, it takes a director who has the insight, creativity and ability to blend all these elements together. Fortunately for the newly revived Jewish Community Center’s theatre program, their production of RAGTIME has the talented cast, the expert technicians, and a quality director in the person of Fred Sternfeld.

RAGTIME is set in the early 1900s during the era of vast social changes. It was an era, much like ragtime
did for music, that transformed the United States into a new country.

The play, based on the epic book RAGTIME by E. L. Doctorow, chronicles the lifestyles of those blessed and not-so-blessed by weaving together the fictional stories of Coalhouse Walker, an educated African-American musician and Sarah, the love of his life; Tateh and his young daughter, Jewish immigrants seeking opportunity in America; and an upper-class family clinging to the “good life” in the affluent and peaceful community of New Rochelle, New York. Further woven into the plot are real historical characters in the personages of Harry Houdini, Evelyn Nesbit, Henry Ford, J. P. Morgan, and Emma Goldman.

The show was billed, on its New York opening as: “The number one theatrical event of the year.” Other comments included, “A brilliant work of musical storytelling, social comment that marks a glorious culmination for the American musical at the end of its first century.” Further, it was called “A powerful liberal statement at a moment when such statements are rare.” It was also declared that “RAGTIME is one of those rare musicals that can be mentioned in the same breath of SHOWBOAT, PORGY AND BESS and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF.”

I’m not an easy sell, but I echo those reviews. I consider RAGTIME to be one of the top ten musicals ever written.

With that said, I go into productions of the show with great fears. With the daunting production requirements, this is a musical, no matter the brilliance of the script and musical score, that can crash and burn with ease.

My fears evaporated early into the JCC‘s production, which is being staged in the theatre at Cuyahoga County Community College-Eastern Campus. It became apparent from the inspiring opening scene that Sternfeld had put the whole thing together with style and skill. Each person on stage was sure of what to do and how to do it. The chorus vocal blends were wonderful. Martín Céspedes’ choreography perfectly fit the multi-musical moods underscored by the ragtime sound. The costumes transport us back to the turn of century. And, in spite of the fact that the music was sometimes so loud it drowned out the spoken and sung words of the cast, the sound-feel was right.

Before us unfolded a large Victorian house in New Rochelle, New York. There is Harlem, with crowds dancing to the music of ragtime. There is a “rag ship” with a Lithuanian widower named Tateh (father) with his dreams of escaping with his daughter to America to be part of the “golden medina”—the country where the streets are paved with gold.

And as the play developed, the visual images continued to be crystal clear through both the development of the script and the interpretation of the music, music that carries us through the high and lows of the story. Songs like “Crime of the Century,” which tells of a murder which gained of nation-wide attention; “Goodbye, My Love” in which Mother bids farewell to Father who is joining Admiral Perry on an expedition to the North Pole; “Journey On” which gives us our exposition to Tateh and the Little Girl as they enter America; and, “Getting Ready Rag” which introduces us to Coalhouse Walker, Jr.

Highlight production numbers include: “The Tempo Club in Harlem” with has some electrifying dancing, “Henry Ford’s Auto Factory” in which humans become cogs in the machinery for producing the Model T, “Courtship” a well-staged composite singing number, and “What a Game” which was an obvious audience favorite.

The JCC cast is generally excellent. Kyle Primous makes Coalhouse a living symbol. His version of “Coalhouse’s Soliloquy” was powerful. His dance numbers were equally good. Maggie Stahl Wirfel brought understanding and compassion to the role of Mother. She has a fine singing voice which was well showcased in “Goodbye, My Love,” “Back to Before” and “What Kind of Woman.” “Our Children,” her duet with Marc Moritz (Tatah) was beautifully tender. Moritz’s Tatah was fine, except for the distracting accent which seemed inappropriate and kept coming and going.

Sean Szaller as Younger Brother perfectly captured the mood of the young man caught between his liberal ideals and WASP upbringing. As with all the cast, he displayed a fine singing voice which was used effectively in his segments of “He Wanted To Say.” Amiee Collier (Emma Goldman) and Primous helped make that song one of the emotional highlights of the evening.

Chris McCarrell (The Little Boy) and Emma Wahl (The Little Girl) both showed stage awareness beyond their youth. (Emma will leave shortly for NYC to join the original cast of the soon to open ‘CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG.’)

Yolanda Christine Davis (Sarah) has a beautiful voice but her facial expressions while she sung were sometimes distracting, creating looks of anguish rather than happiness. Kristin Netzband was not seductive and playful enough as Evelyn Nesbitt.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: As a line from the show says, “And we will ride on the wheels of a dream.” My recommendation: Go see this dream of a production!

The Free Times review
On the 20th Century
JCC’S RESPLENDENT RAGTIME LIGHTS UP THE STAGE
by James Damico

After a season in limbo, the Jewish Community Center was determined to revive its longstanding theatrical tradition with a bang. Rather than a mere paltry bang, its resplendent production of Ragtime: The Musical erupts with the explosive barrage of a Fourth of July fireworks celebration.

Providing the ammunition for this entertainment blast are supple, trim yet evocative scenery by Richard Gould; Dana Romeo’s kaleidoscopic costuming; the rarity of a full-bodied, 20-piece orchestra, methodically led by David Williams; Martín Céspedes’ vibrant choreography; a monster-sized but disciplined cast of 60, each of whose numerous principals is exemplary; and, above all, Fred Sternfeld’s consummate, vivifying direction. This splendid collaboration is in no way inferior – and occasionally much superior – to the Broadway touring edition of the admired musical that came through town several years ago.

Adapted from E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel, Ragtime mixes fictional characters with real-life luminaries like J.P. Morgan, Booker T. Washington and Emma Goldman. Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens’ songs capitalize on Doctorow’s metaphoric use of the early-1900’s craze for ragtime music to epitomize the momentous turmoil of the maturing 20th century. It was an America simultaneously coming of age and apart, stoked by visions of scientific and industrial advancement, ravaged by robber barons and threatened by the rising expectations or hordes of immigrants, social reformers and an awakening black population.

The show’s fictional types feature a well-to-do white family, an immigrant Jewish father and daughter, and the African-American ragtime pianist Coalhouse Walker, his love Sarah and their baby. These characters fancifully cross paths, and periodically the various historical figures, until Walker is victimized in a racial incident and Sarah is murdered, igniting the wrathful Walker on a terroristic binge that culminates in his threat to blow up the treasures of the Morgan Library.

Librettist Terrence McNally now and then resorts to shorthand caricaturing, but overall the book is substantial and often genuinely moving, as in the touching scene between the Jewish immigrant (a superb, appealing Marc Moritz) and the white mother (the strong, lucid-toned Maggie Stahl Wirfel) that leads to their delicate duet, ‘Our Children.’

The heart of the enterprise, though is the score, which artfully blends respectable examples of traditional show tunes and ballads with syncopated ragtime facsimiles captivating enough to be Scott Joplin rediscoveries. The title number, for instance, is a marvelously infectious preview of the entire evening that, in Sternfeld’s and Cespedes’ scrupulous staging, symbolically interweaves and opposes the story’s three ethnic blocs.

One might quibble that the occasion goes on too long, with too much filler in the second act; but it’s never less than entertaining. Major contributions are a host of fine performances. As the wealthy father, Matthew Wright is simultaneously staunch and flawed, while Sean Szaller displays a nicely developing voice as his rebellious son. In a part that finally allows him to exercise his multi-talents, Kyle Primous is a dynamic Walker, combining acting, singing and dancing to create a compelling, doomed anti-hero of some stature. Yolanda Christine Davis’ Sarah is persuasively sympathetic, with a powerhouse voice that would be more effective if used less at ear-shattering volume. Among the historical celebrities; Robert Gibb is an entirely believable Harry Houdini; Darryl Lewis an immensely dignified Booker T. Washington; Amiee Collier a striking Emma Goldman; and Kristin Netzband an eminently cuddly Evelyn Nesbit, ‘The Girl on the Red Velvet Swing.’ Thoroughly professional efforts are turned in by child actors Emma Wahl, Chris McCarrell and the teeny Charles Anthony, Jr.

The resounding success of this JCC return to the theatrical wars is largely due to Sternfeld’s strategy and generalship. The director has the unique ability to handily manage and extract all the entertainment values from the musical intricacies and populous casts of large-scale productions; and yet always keep the main focus riveted on the human stories at their cores. It’s a rare and most welcome knack.

Cleveland Jewish News review
RAGTIME - EPIC PRODUCTION OF AN EPIC MUSICAL
By: FRAN HELLER Contributing Writer

American Jewry is celebrating 350 years in this country, and the immigrant experience is part of that celebration.

Ragtime, the epic musical that melds the immigrant, WASP and black experiences of the previous century, is a perfect choice to celebrate such a pivotal event. The mesmerizing Jewish Community Center production is itself something to celebrate.

Based on E.L. Doctorow's 1975 novel of the same name, the 1998 Tony Award-winning musical created by Terrence McNally (book), Stephen Flaherty (music), and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) is a sprawling mosaic of fact and fiction set in the tumultuous early decades of 20th-century America.

In the JCC production, director Fred Sternfeld has created a larger-than-life epic of his own making, a perfect confluence of direction, performance and design that can only be described as magical.

You can see it in the eyes of every member of the 60-plus ensemble, who sing and act their hearts out. You can hear it in the hypnotic sounds of music director David Williams' orchestra which brings the syncopated ragtime rhythms to life. And you can relate to it in the story of the tenacious Jewish immigrant who survives hardship and misfortune to achieve the American dream.

This production does more than entertain. It transports us to a time in history where we can see with certainty how far we've traveled as Americans and Jews, and which buoys our collective spirits for a far less certain future.

The challenges are daunting, from the huge cast, to the show's cinematic structure, in which scenes rapidly unfold, like the Jewish immigrant Tateh's moving-picture books of silhouettes he creates for his young daughter.

The seamless transitions, even without the help of turntables, make the lavish spectacle even more astounding.

The genteel upper-class WASP family of suburban New Rochelle, the black denizens of Harlem, and the immigrants of the teeming Lower East Side are fictional characters intertwined with real-life historical figures. The latter include Jewish labor organizer Emma Goldman, Jewish magician Harry Houdini (born Eric Weiss), WASP industrialist Henry Ford; black educator Booker T. Washington Jr., and American beauty Evelyn Nesbit.

The outstanding opening prologue number, which includes the entire company and introduces all the characters, both real and fictional, is perfection; it sets the standard for all that follows.

The story begins in New Rochelle where the affluent WASP family, generically named Father, Mother, Younger Brother, Boy, and Grandfather, reside. Here there are no immigrants or Negroes. A photographic image of a comfortable suburban manse sets the stage for the family's introduction. Richard Ingraham's projections are key to each changing scene.

Every character finds its credible match in the actor who portrays him or her.

The excellent Matthew Wright looks the part of the patriarchal, aloof Father. The soaring vocalism of Maggie Stahl Wirfel rattles the rafters as Mother, who changes from compliant housewife to a woman charting her own course. The abundantly talented Chris McCarrell is perfect as The Little Boy, whose sixth sense predicts the future, and Sean Szaller is outstanding as the Younger Brother in search of meaning in his life. Frank Mularo is suitably grumpy as the irritable Grandfather.

The milieu segues to Harlem where piano man Coalhouse Walker Jr. enchants his listeners with the new music, ragtime, which serves as the driving melody and metaphor for the show.

Kyle Primous delivers a charismatic performance as the doomed Coalhouse, whose quest for the American dream in racist America leads to tragedy. Yolanda Christine Davis has to stretch for the high notes as his sweetheart Sarah. The two sing a soaring duet about their hopes for the future which becomes a bittersweet refrain in the tragic aftermath.

Darryl Lewis does nicely in the cameo role of Booker T. Washington, the most influential Negro of the era.

The third group of characters are the immigrants, including the hopeful Tateh and his daughter.

Mark Moritz is sublime as the fiercely protective Jewish father Tateh, whose rags-to-riches metamorphosis serves as a microcosm of the American immigrant success story. No less enchanting is the adorable Emma Wahl as Tateh's daughter, the little Girl. Wahl, a fourth grader at Hawken School, packs both personality and talent in her diminutive frame.

Amiee Collier is especially fine as the fiery anarchist, Emma Goldman. Her sardonic description of the infamous murder trial involving American beauty, Evelyn Nesbit (a sultry Kristin Netzband) as the "crime of the century" is especially ironic. The trial scene with a bewigged judge and jury is a comic highlight.

The muscular Robert Gibb makes a spectacular entrance as the escape artist, Harry Houdini.

Special plaudits must be given each of the unnamed ensemble members who play all the cameo roles. They serve as the chorus and crowd, undertaking countless scene and costume changes with flawless precision.

Martín Céspedes's choreography, from an assembly line of workers to a bunch of brawling spectators at a baseball game, is a joy to watch.

Dana Romeo's mouth-watering smorgasbord of period costumes provides a visual feast.

Richard Gould's malleable set design includes a painted backdrop of colorful gears that works as an eye-catching symbol of the industrial age.

Richard Ingraham's baleful sound effects and Colleen Dowling's lurid lighting hype the violence during a racist incident.

The musical illustrates the triumph of the American dream for some like the Jewish immigrant Tateh, and the tragedy of that dream denied others, most notably blacks. The Hollywood-style ending is as illusionary as the movies Tateh makes.

Under Sternfeld and company's collective efforts, Ragtime amply demonstrates musical theater at its best.

Cleveland Scene Review
Culture Collision
ETHNIC GROUPS BATTLE AND BLEND IN A TASTY RAGTIME MELTING POT
by Christine Howey

Caught in the gears of our daily lives, we can find it easy to forget what a remarkable social invention the United States really is. No other country has ever brought together such widely disparate ethnic and religious groups, in such large numbers, to live relatively peacefully on the same turf. At least, that was the concept.

E.L. Doctorow captured the innocence of this idea, along with its ugly dark side of bigotry and racism, in Ragtime. His novel was set at the turn of the last century and blended the stories of three groups -- WASPs, African Americans, and European immigrants -- with the dream images of the time embodied by celebrities. A few years ago, an adaptation of this grand story was assembled by Terrence McNally (book), Stephen Flaherty (music), and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics); it has all the exhilarating highs (and a couple of the lows) inherent in such epic theater.

As performed under the shared auspices of the Jewish Community Center and Cuyahoga Community College, Ragtime, the Musical is largely a genuine treat, offering the kind of sweeping imagery and large-cast singing and dancing that few theaters can mount anymore. Director Fred Sternfeld fills the enormous stage at Tri-C's Eastern Campus with a gaggle of impressive production numbers, but he's at his best conveying the small moments when two people intersect or split amid the cultural forces at work. And while it would have been advisable for the composer and lyricist to cut a couple of the numerous heartfelt (but musically redundant) ballads and bring the show in under three hours, one can't deny the captivating result.

The ambitious script focuses on three families. One, a well-to-do brood in New Rochelle, New York, considers privilege and wealth their birthright. But that bubble is burst immediately in an elegant prologue, as separate groups of Negroes and immigrants begin to share geography with the rosy-cheeked clan. We soon learn that the Caucasian daddy, dubbed Father (played with upper-crust disdain by Matthew Wright), is a run-of-the-mill bigot, not due to any mean streak, but just because that's the culture with which he's familiar. His wife, referred to as Mother, is rendered by an earnestly open-minded Maggie Stahl-Wirfel. She is a civilizing force in the family, and after she finds an abandoned black baby in her garden, she insists on giving the infant and his soon-discovered mother, Sarah, shelter in their home. The father of the child, Coalhouse Walker Jr., is a traveling ragtime piano player whose melodies happily punctuate the proceedings.

Meanwhile, the third family in this multicultural stew is represented by the Jewish immigrant Tateh and his small daughter. Once they debark in New York, Tateh tries to eke out a living cutting paper silhouettes of passersby for a nickel each. Now and then, famous and infamous icons show up to convey the zeitgeist of the era. Harry Houdini (convincingly portrayed by Robert Gibb) makes his first entrance hanging by his heels and being lowered from the flies in a straitjacket -- surely one of the more compelling entrances you're likely to see. There's also sassy showgirl Evelyn Nesbit (a thoroughly delightful Kristin Netzband), famous for being the centerpiece of "the crime of the century" in 1906, when her new husband killed the famous architect who had seduced and deflowered her.

The most telling dramatic moments, though, are delivered by Coalhouse and Tateh, the representatives of the two ethnic classes trying to forge a new existence in this rich land of promise. As interpreted by the magnetic Kyle Primous, Coalhouse is a dazzling combination of simmering sexuality and rock-ribbed pride, qualities that combine to lead him into serious trouble. His duet with Sarah, "Wheels of a Dream," is one of the more memorable tunes in a show not loaded with toe-tappers. Marc Moritz makes Tateh a fascinating combination of self-deprecating humor, naked ambition, and touching tenderness. His second-act duet with Mother, as they explore their tenuous feelings for each other through comments about "Our Children," is perfectly lovely.

Indeed, the entire tapestry of this production is so finely wrought that the clinkers fairly scream out. A supposedly funny baseball-fan scene is jammed into the second act, its irrelevancy oozing from every word. And a standoff between bomb-laden Coalhouse and his black brothers at the J.P. Morgan library is a clumsily forced way to generate emotion at the final curtain.
With the exception of those small quibbles, this is a highly polished gem that owes a debt of gratitude to the entire production team. The splendid efforts of music director David Williams, choreographer Martín Céspedes, set designer Richard Gould, and costume designer Dana Romeo are most critical to providing an enthralling evening of theater.

Chagrin Valley Times review
RAGTIME IS MUST-SEE MUSICAL
By Herb Hammer

Barely into the first two minutes of Ragtime you find yourself astonished. Where does Fred Sternfeld find all these wonderful performers? How is the Jewish Community Center able to costume this sprawling epic musical with its cast of over 40? There is even more to keep you in a state of wonder and, yes, in a state of bliss.

The JCC has moved its stage productions to the cavernous auditorium at the Cuyahoga Community College Eastern Campus near the corner of Harvard and Richmond Roads. They couldn’t have chosen better. The sprawling stage is exactly what Ragtime requires.

And the JCC couldn’t have chosen a more competent director in Mr. Sternfeld to take us on this magnificent trip through the early part of the 20th century.

As opening numbers go, Ragtime outperforms anything you might have experienced in the past. The entire cast, choreographed by the remarkably talented Martín Céspedes, moves into the scene all singing the rousing opening title song. David Williams’ musical direction will bring thrills and chills.

Based on E.L. Doctorow’s enormously popular 1975 novel, Ragtime is loosely based on the intertwining lives of three families at a time when America was coming face to face with a new century filled with promise.

The stories of the Negro piano player, his lovely young love and their baby, the waspy, uppity New Rochelle, N.Y., white-bred wealthy family, and the Jewish immigrant and his daughter are the ties that bind the plot. The show is so remarkably expansive that the plot is only a small part of what makes Ragtime such a grand stage experience.

As in the original book, playwright Terrence McNally brings in the historical figures of J.P. Morgan, Harry Houdini, Evelyn Nesbit and Booker T. Washington, among others. The plot aside, we witness the coming of age of a nation reaching into the modern world. It’s miraculously stunning.

Credit director Fred Sternfeld for putting this incomparable production of Ragtime together. His show is pure magic. It’s as though he invented this extraordinary cast and turned it into pure Broadway.

The plot centers mostly on Coalhouse Walker, the piano player, with his brand new Ford car. Maybe he abandoned Sarah and their newborn, but he makes up for it only to find his wonderful car destroyed by racist men in the nearby firehouse.

There’s also the woman known simply as ‘Mother’ and her perfect family, including her adventurous husband who goes off on an expedition with Admiral Peary.

And then there is Tateh, the Jewish immigrant, and his daughter as they try to survive in the new world.

Stephen Flaherty’s music and Lynn Ahrens lyrics are at times thrilling. Mr. McNally has been able to take the songs, the story and the entire experience of 1900 New York and turn it into a show for the ages.

The show surely has its weaknesses. A baseball game in Act II is entirely out of place. A tighter grip on the upbeat, rousing hymns would make you like them better, and a little more explanation on how Tateh went from street vendor to movie director is surely in order. These minor glitches take nothing away from the show and its wonderful cast.

Kyle Primous is a natural Coalhouse Walker, the trim song-and-dance man who can play ragtime music that soothes the soul. His willful determination gets under your skin.

If Ragtime itself wasn’t such an enormous production, Maggie Stahl Wirfel would have stolen the show. As the kindly, strong-willed Mother, she not only envelopes the part, but her incredible voice stirs you.

All of this and splendid costumes by Dana Romeo and a full and excellent orchestra, and you’ve got the must-see musical of the year.

The Sun Press review
RAGTIME IS STRONG COMEBACK FOR JCC
By Teddi Gibson-Bianchi

It’s big, it’s splashy and it’s one terrific way to show that the Jewish Community Center’s theater program is back in giant capital letters.

After a year’s hiatus, JCC is mounting a remarkable version of Ragtime, a show that has just about everything – major social themes, emotionally charged story telling and some memorable songs performed here by a huge and gifted ensemble.

Based on E.L. Doctorow’s novel of the same title, Ragtime is a montage of early 1900s America. It was an era of progress and turmoil, a time that held promise and hope but only, as it turned out, for a relative few.

As Doctorow fans may recall, the plot mingles historical figures like Emma Goldman with three sets of fictional characters whose intersecting lives typify the tumultuous forces that shaped the following decades.

A telling and dazzling opening number introduces all of them – a parasol toting white society, repressed blacks and newly arrived immigrants – in an uneasy circling dance.

Characters break out now and then to introduce themselves and put the interlocking storylines into motion. There’s an affluent white family from New Rochelle, identified only as Father and Mother and their son. Then there’s ragtime pianist Coalhouse Walker and his lover Sarah, who is taken in by Mother. Finally, there is a widowed Jewish immigrant who seeks a better life for his daughter and who eventually discovers that his knack for making silhouettes is a path to success.

Stephen Flaherty’s deft score propels the action, a blend of Scott Joplin-esque ragtime music, traditional show tunes and full-throated anthems like ‘Wheels of a Dream’ that are hard to resist.

Ragtime could easily be shortened, and it leans to the sentimental, but that doesn’t mar the pleasures of hearing the first-rate singers in this production, presented in association with Tri-C East. The cast of nearly 60 performers, plus a 20-piece live orchestra, bring an earnest passion and humanity to the stage that lifts the show from mere pageantry.

Director Fred Sternfeld again shows that he’s an expert at maneuvering on-stage throngs effectively and, happily, has flair for focusing on the more intimate moments of the script.

Also, he’s amassed a cast with practically no weak links. Marc Moritz makes a very welcome return to local stages as the widowed Tateh, in a performance that shows the character’s fears and strengths. Especially moving is his ‘Journey On’ and ‘Our Children,’ a delicate duet performed with the warm-voiced Maggie Stahl Wirfel as Mother.

The multi-talented Kyle Primous is excellent as Coalhouse Walker, compelling and charismatic in his portrayal of the pianist turned anti-racist firebrand. As his doomed lover, Yolanda Christine Davis displays a powerhouse voice, and among the historical celebrities, Amiee Collier stands out as the fiery Emma Goldman.

With talents like these, one can only say more please.

Cool Cleveland review
Ragtime @ JCC/Tri-C East 11/5

What: A stunning epic musical version of E. L. Doctorow’s Great American Novel, the stories of 3 families whose lives entwine at the turn-of-the-20th century: a prosperous white family, a black ragtime pianist and his lady love, and a struggling Jewish immigrant artist. With a cast of 60 and an orchestra of 20, this 1998 Tony Award-winning show is a "don’t miss". It's equal in quality to most of what you’ll see on a Playhouse Square Broadway tour – but with top local actors, for a fraction of the ticket price.

Reasons to go: A wheelbarrow of accolades aren’t enough for this triumphant production captained by director Fred Sternfeld. Without shortchanging the epic scope of the storytelling – with its vaudeville turns, parade of historical figures, and social criticism -- Sternfeld brings us into the intimate heart of the families’ struggles. Among a cast of consistently strong, passionate performers, Kyle Primous makes a charismatic Coalhouse Walker Jr., whose journey from graceful, sexy entertainer to heartbroken revolutionary is utterly compelling. So are Marc Moritz’ Tateh, fiercely protective of his Little Girl, a luminous Emma Wahl; Maggie Wirfel Stahl’s compassionate Mother; and Amiee Collier’s fiery Emma Goldman. Beautifully designed and well-sung, it’s a feast for the eyes and ears, while providing fuel for many an after-show conversation about the making and meaning of the American dream.

Caveats: Get your tickets in advance: between the word-of-mouth and the unanimous critical raves, the 600-seat theatre ought to fill up fast.

Backstory: This is the Jewish Community Center’s first production since it closed its Halle Theatre and took a year off to regroup. Major kudos go not just to all the artists involved, but to philanthropist Roe Green who made a major gift to underwrite the new season.

Target audience: Adults to preteens.

Details: Thru 11/14. Cuyahoga Community College – Eastern Campus, 4250 Richmond Rd. (at Harvard near I-271). Call 382-4000 X 274.

from Cool Cleveland contributor Linda Eisenstein Linda@coolcleveland.com