Ragtime - The Musical (1998 Original Broadway Cast)

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Music reviews of Ragtime - The Musical (1998 Original Broadway Cast)

Music Review: Theatrical Perfection.
Rating: 5 Stars

E.L. Doctrow's novel, "Ragtime" is an amazing read, a sweeping epic, and this musical seems to hone into the characters and the situations even more, making them seem that much more real and believable, thus, their pain becomes ours, in songs like "Atlantic City", when father asks himself 'Say, when did they change the song?', you can hear the hopelessness of a man who doesn't know how to save his marriage, and in Coalhouse's "Make Them Hear You", you feel stirred to the very core of your soul to fight when he utters 'And I could not put down my sword when Justice was my RIGHT!', not to mention all the other great moments of this show.

There are three things that make this the greatest musical recording of our time: the music, the vocalists, and the relevance. First of all, the music is treated like various authentic pieces of music rather than interpretations, leading to a more authentic, down-to-earth feel, which is key for a show with such grand themes and stories. As well as that, just as there are themes in the story, there are themes in the music, there are certain pieces of music which will be heard more than once, bringing to you a richer emotional connection to the story-one of the best uses is the 'new music' music which creeps in every so often, bringing with it a sense of sorrow. As well as 'Ragtime', which shows up in the completely opposite sense in 'Coalhouse's Soliloquy', stirring rage and violence rather than awe and wonder as it was originally used in the opening song?

As for the vocalists are neither actors who sing, or singers who act, but rather both actors who use their voices to emote and singers who use their bodies to emote. With just their voices you know exactly who they are and what they want. Marin Mazzie as Mother is breathtaking, on songs like 'Goodbye My Love/Journey On', you can hear the trapped and confinement that many Victorian women were forced into and 'Back to Before' is one of the most gloriously delivered songs ever recorded, the CD is worth buying for this song alone, but she also has these hidden gems of performance, like at at the end of "What Kind of Woman". Audra McDonald (sp?) is glorious as Sarah, and though she only has a few songs, she delivers each note, making it count, and making Sarah seem like the young girl of 19/20 she's supposed to be as opposed to Audra McDonald's 25-ish at performance. Brian Stokes Mitchell's Coalhouse is the epitome of Male Lead. His voice is so strong and powerful; he is one of the few male leads in Broadway History who possesses a true stage presence, strong enough to hold his own against the powerhouse women he performs with, but still soft and pliable enough to strengthen and bring out the best of whomever he's singing with. On top of his showmanship as a vocalist, he also has the most amazing ability to portray Coalhouse as a lovesick man, a reformed sinner, and a justified vigilante all with a single note.

As for the relevance. This is the hardest part to write about, in modern times, with the US in the middle of a global tug-o-war, this show shows us just what gave America its strength and its character and its greatness and begs us not to forget it-while still showing us all the work we need to do with songs like "Till We Reach That Day" (Undoubtedly the best song of the entire CD), It's a powerful show, and it's not until the last notes of the show, with the entire cast singing "Well, when he is old enough, I will show him America, and he will ride, our son will ride, on the wheels of a dream!", that you grasp just how amazing North America is, forever going through tragedy and still possessing an optimism that's to be envied!

Listening to this CD, you are filled with so many emotions at once, and one of them comes from the fact that a show so amazing and relevant is lost admits the crowds of the Disney pre-packaged productions like "The Lion King" and "Aida". Ragtime is an epic, a TRUE epic, and so well crafted that it is in my eyes no longer a musical, but rather a straight play that uses music as another tool of expression.

Last Word: The Greatest Musical Ever Produced.

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