2nd Ragtime revival

[C.Jack]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 7:54pm

With all the turmoil in our country, do you thinks ragtime revival would work. With full set and a star studded cast I think it could work. Maybe Brandon Victor Dixon as Coalhouse and Jake Gyllenhall as Tateh?

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 8:06pm

I agree that a Ragtime revival is needed, but I really don't love the idea of Brandon Victor Dixon as Coalhouse.  He has a nice voice, but I think Joshua Henry or Norm Lewis would be better choices.  Cynthia Erivo would be a great Sarah, but I'm sure that she wouldn't accept.  Kelli O'Hara and Danny Burstein would be great as Mother and Tateh.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 8:09pm

^ Sign me up for this.

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 8:13pm

Though a good production, the last revival was a massive flop. I can't imagine another revival 8 years later would do much better.

Updated On: 4/15/17 at 08:13 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 8:16pm

I love Ragtime.  Saw the revival 2x in its short life.   But I doubt its coming back....it flopped.  And it closed just over 6 years ago.....so if it ever does, it wont be for quite some time.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 8:38pm

Not unless it's produced by a not-for-profit organization like Lincoln Center or Roundabout.

[wonkit]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 8:50pm

Love Jake Gyllenhal but frankly he is the last person I can imagine as Tateh.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 8:55pm

I'm about as big a Ragtime fan as you will find. I consider it one of the great American musicals. 

That being said, no. The last revival, for a whole slew of reasons (near non-existent marketing, opening in the dead of winter, some questionable casting choices, and the fact that Brantley hated it the first go round and was certainly going to hate it this time) was a massive, massive flop. No commercial producer will take a chance on this show for quite awhile. 

And some of these casting choices suggested are a bit off base, anyway. Norm Lewis would have been a remarkable Coalhouse in the last revival (and has spoken publicly about being in final callbacks for the role), but he's too old now. Mother needs to be able to belt, and Kelli O'Hara, talented as she is, isn't known for her belting. Burstein would be a serviceable Tateh, but I would worry that he'd just open his old bag of tricks unless he had the right director to reign him in. Anyway, it doesn't matter as none of this is ever happening. 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 9:10pm

icecreambenjamin said: "I agree that a Ragtime revival is needed, but I really don't love the idea of Brandon Victor Dixon as Coalhouse.  He has a nice voice, but I think Joshua Henry or Norm Lewis would be better choices.  Cynthia Erivo would be a great Sarah, but I'm sure that she wouldn't accept.  Kelli O'Hara and Danny Burstein would be great as Mother and Tateh.

I think Norm is a little old to play that role now outside of a concert production. It changes the power dynamics between him and Sarah and also affects how you feel about his reactions later in the show. I think David St. Louis would sound gorgeous singing it but I don't think he could act it as convincingly. Joshua Henry can probably do anything. 

Cynthia would be a devastating Sarah but I think there are many actresses who could really shine in that role if given the chance. 

Someone made a suggestion for Mother a while back that I was obsessed with. It might have been Kate Baldwin. 

[gypsy101]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 9:47pm

icecreambenjamin said: "I agree that a Ragtime revival is needed, but I really don't love the idea of Brandon Victor Dixon as Coalhouse.  He has a nice voice, but I think Joshua Henry or Norm Lewis would be better choices.  Cynthia Erivo would be a great Sarah, but I'm sure that she wouldn't accept.  Kelli O'Hara and Danny Burstein would be great as Mother and Tateh."

why don't you think Cynthia would accept? Audra had 2 Tonys when she played Sarah in 1998 so it's not like Tony winners are ineligible.

Kelli would be terrific as mother! I also think Carolee would do great things with it.

 

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 9:50pm

gypsy101 said: "icecreambenjamin said: "I agree that a Ragtime revival is needed, but I really don't love the idea of Brandon Victor Dixon as Coalhouse.  He has a nice voice, but I think Joshua Henry or Norm Lewis would be better choices.  Cynthia Erivo would be a great Sarah, but I'm sure that she wouldn't accept.  Kelli O'Hara and Danny Burstein would be great as Mother and Tateh."

why don't you think Cynthia would accept? Audra had 2 Tonys when she played Sarah in 1998 so it's not like Tony winners are ineligible.

Kelli would be terrific as mother! I also think Carolee would do great things with it.

 Carolee is too old. You realize it came down to she and Marin for the role in the ORIGINAL production, right?

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 9:57pm

What was Miss O'Hara doing in BRIDGES if not belting?

***

As for a revival, I agree: much as we may love it (and I do), the show has failed twice in a relatively short period. Who would put up the money for a third try so soon?

Personally, I think RAGTIME has a structural problem that no one has been able to fix: the first act is sheer perfection and ends on such a high (dramatic) note that the second act can never be anything but a let down. So spectators leave thinking "that was good" but not "that was so good I must tell everyone to see it".

Updated On: 4/15/17 at 09:57 PM

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 9:57pm

Norm was AWFUL in the concert production of Ragtime. I'm so tired of seeing his name tossed around. He's always a disappointment when I see him on stage. 

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 10:12pm

The score of Bridges was written specifically to showcase Kelli's extraordinarily beautiful soprano voice. Her vocal performance in that show was certainly not belted. 

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 10:25pm

I don't know why anyone would think that Mother requires a belter.  The part could easily, and beautifully, be played by a legit soprano like Kelli O'Hara.  She may not "belt", but she has a ridiculously strong mix.  Her Back to Before would be beautiful.  After all, I wouldn't call Marin Mazzie a belter either.

Danny Burstein is a brilliant singing actor that could bring something very special to Tateh.  I think that Norm Lewis is still the right age for Coalhouse (barely, but he could still play it), but Joshua Henry would be the better choice, IMO.  Cynthia Erivo expressed that she would only be interested in playing a part that was revolutionary, but I think that Sarah is a very important character with an important story that Cynthia may be interested in telling.  Jane Houdyshell would make a terrific Emma Goldman.

I think Bartlett Sher and Lincoln Center could do wonders with Ragtime.

Hopefully I clarified some stuff from my previous post.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 10:31pm

^^^ That O'Hara is a soprano has nothing to do with whether she is belting.

The former is a range, the latter is a technique. They are related only in that most (but not all) singers will tend to belt in the lower part of their range. Most (but not all) have to switch to their head voices to hit their highest notes.

O'Hara is justly famous because her belt and head voice sound very similar and she shows little to no break between them, but that doesn't mean she doesn't use both techniques. And, in fact, much of the BRIDGES score is fairly low for her.

You could hear the difference more clearly when Elizabeth Stanley sang the role in the national tour. Her head voice has a somewhat different vibrato and can be easily distinguished from her belt; she used both and it made her sound a little more "operatic", which suited the Italian woman she was playing.

 

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 11:25pm

Did someone really just say that Mazzie is not a belter?  

She's a MONSTER of a belter when needed.  Her 'Back to Before' live was the gold standard to which other singers usually fail.  Effortless, clear, powerful and emotional.  I've also had the pleasure of hearing her in a variety of small rooms, where her belt is even more impressive.  She does perhaps one of the best versions of 'Chief Cook and Bottle Washer' I've ever heard.

As for a revival of Ragtime, it's one of my favorite shows, but it's the last revival was a complete mess and probably ruined investors from looking at it in the future.

 

 

 

Updated On: 4/15/17 at 11:25 PM

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 11:28pm

BenjaminNicholas2 said: "Did someone just say that Mazzie is not a belter?  Clearly, they aren't familiar with her voice or have seen her live in many things.  She's a MONSTER of a belter when needed.  Her 'Back to Before' live was the gold standard to which other singers usually fail.  Effortless, clear, powerful and emotional.

I've also had the pleasure of hearing her in a variety of small rooms, where her belt is even more impressive.  She does perhaps one of the best versions of 'Chief Cook and Bottle Washer' I've ever heard.

 
I'm not saying that she can't belt, I'm just saying that I've never thought of her or the role of Mother as being a "belter."

 

[C.Jack]

Posted: 4/16/17 at 2:01pm

Maybe Aaron Tveit at Mothers Younger Brother?

[Valentina3]

Posted: 4/16/17 at 6:22pm

Since everyone's talking about age, interesting to note that Kelli was replaced by Marin in the recent TKAI revival. A majority of people here are casting Kelli in a role ~20 years after Marin played it on Broadway. There's a fifteen-year age difference between the two, so I'm not saying she's inappropriate for the role, but it's just interesting.

I have a very different suggestion for the mother. Beth Malone. I'm curious to see her play a character like that.

As for Cynthia - the girl's going to be busy for next couple years with already announced 2 movies she's going to be in. There's a remote possibility she might get cast for the live action The Lion King as well. I'd like to see someone different take on Sarah, not quite sure if I have a suggestion though.

Joshua Henry can really play anything, so he'd be very well cast in this.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 4/16/17 at 6:41pm

It would be great if Roundabout decided to produce this in a few years.  I am sure it would do well on a limited engagement, as there as so many people who know and love it...not the same audience numbers required as an open ended run.

On a side note, I have already read that the Ogunquit Playhouse and the Asolo in Sarasota are doing it in their coming season.  I take this as a sign of encouragement that it is being re-discovered in the hinterlands.  That gives me some hope that it will one gay get the respect that it deserves.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 4/16/17 at 6:49pm

I wouldn't mind jake in the show, if it had to come in with a name star appearing in it. I think Lincoln Center would do the show more justice than roundabout. 

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 4/16/17 at 6:59pm

I would love to see a lush and full revival of Ragtime at Lincoln Center but please, not Bart Sher as director. 

[5377brian]

Posted: 4/16/17 at 11:24pm

Definitely.  I've been waiting for a Carol Channing Sarahfor years now

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 4/17/17 at 7:45pm

My favorite show, but it's too soon after the most recent revival which I happened to love.  

I had no idea that Carolee Carmello was up for Mother in the original production.  She would have been wonderful.  I always thought Donna Murphy was mentioned for Mother as well (from what I remember when she left the King and I revival).

Updated On: 4/17/17 at 07:45 PM