Ragtime................again!

My name is Fausto and I’m a Rag-aholic.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit that on a lark, I went and saw Ragtime again last night. Yes, it’s been less than a week since my last viewing. I don’t know what came over me. I guess after reading all those (mainly) glowing reviews, I just had to get on the “Rag” again (I’ll be here all week, folks - cue rim shot).

In all honesty, I was curious to see if positive reviews would affect the performance, having seen a recent preview for comparison. Well, one thing is for certain, the reviews didn’t seem to generate much box office heat. When I stopped by TKTS at 6 PM for a 7 PM performance, I pretty much assumed the pickings would be slim. Me: “What do you have available for tonight’s performance of Ragtime?” TKTS dude: “Eighth row center orchestra.” Really? Obviously, God wanted me to see last night’s performance, so I bought the ticket. I assumed the seat was probably just a random single house seat released at the last minute. But as the house lights went down, half my row was empty and there were empty pairs sprinkled all over the orchestra section. Yikes. Listen up, people, go and see Ragtime instead of crap like Mamma Mia!

I don’t know if I was suffering from heightened expectation or just over familiarity, having just seen and loved a performance just days prior, but I was slightly underwhelmed the second time around. I actually think I might have been sitting slightly too close to the stage. Many of the stage pictures that seemed spectacular and magical from the front of the mezzanine seemed less focused and clear from the front of the orchestra. Maybe it’s a Seurat thing. You need to step back to appreciate the big picture.

Anyhoo, the opening number looked much better from the orchestra section, though still - in my opinion - not quite up to par with the original staging. From our bird’s eye view in the mezzanine, the opening blocking resembled a well-rehearsed game of follow-the-leader. From the front, the crossing lines and contrary movement created the excitement and tension I found missing on our earlier visit.

The performances were pretty much consistent with what I reported last week. The development of Tateh and Mother’s relationship continues to be the most interesting new dimension to this Ragtime. Unfortunately, Stephanie Umoh’s stiff and bland performance was even more evident from the front of the house. And that “collapse” after “…buried you in the ground” is still painfully stilted and forced. Girlfriend is gorgeous and can belt crazy high, but her acting - yikes.

What was most interesting about last night’s performance was the audience’s reactions. Last week there was literally whooping and clapping before the end of just about every song. Not so last night. In fact, the audience seemed downright tame in comparison. My guess would be that more “real people” (i.e. non-theater folks) made up the bulk of last night’s audience. Since last week was a preview, I’d venture that many “insiders” and theatre geeks (like me!) were there to get the skinny on this new production. And theatre people, well, they can be a bit much. Anyway, I hereby promise not to buy a ticket to Ragtime until at least 2010.