Review: RAGTIME Rides on the Wheels of a Dream at The Ruth

RAGTIME rides on the wheels of a dream of founders, artists, and donors as it opens the brand-new home of the former Hale Center Theater Orem.  The magnificent musical is the inaugural production in the Smith Grand Theater at the beautifully designed, spacious yet intimate Ruth and Nathan Hale Theater (The Ruth) on the dōTERRA campus in Pleasant Grove.

RAGTIME (book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens), based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow, won four Tony Awards in 1998, including best score and book. One of the greatest musicals ever written, it is a tapestry of stories from turn-of the-20th-century America, woven from the threads of the major ethnic and cultural groups of the time – upper-class Caucasians, African-Americans, and immigrants.

Major characters include a family known only by Father, Mother, Little Boy, and Younger Brother; Coalhouse Walker and his sweetheart, Sarah; and Jewish immigrant Tateh and his daughter. Their stories are intertwined with those of well-known personalities of the time, including Henry Ford, Booker T. Washington, and Emma Goldman.

Aria Love Jackson is riveting as Sarah (double cast with Brittany Andam), and it’s easy to see why she is the muse and inspiration of Coalhouse, played by Kiirt Banks (double cast with Yahosh Bonner).

Brittany Sanders goes on a journey as Mother (double cast with Amy Shreeve Keeler), and Dustin Bolt is tender as Tateh (double cast with Taylor Morris).

Kelton Davis is the breakout star of the show as Younger Brother (double cast with Isaac Moss) with a smoldering performance, and Dianna Graham is extremely compelling as Emma Goldman (double cast with Marcie Jacobsen).

Additional memorable performances come from David Morley-Walker as Father (double cast with Christopher Higbee), Michael Smith as Grandfather (double cast with Jeff Thompson), Amanda Baugh as Evelyn Nesbit (double cast with Morgan Fenner), Sibley Snowden as Sarah’s Friend (double cast with Jenny Rock), Aaron Salazar as Little Boy (double cast with Porter Sparks McCormick), and Tessa Jensen as Little Girl (double cast with Hailey Burnham), among others.

The direction by Jennifer Hill Barlow, music direction by Anne Puzey, and choreography by Joshua Whitehead work together with the design to tell this important story in intriguing ways.  The playing area could sometimes be filled with more stage business (which the former smaller space didn’t allow), but numbers such as “Journey On,” “A Shtetl iz Amereke,” and “New Music” make full use of the new venue with impactful, larger-scale staging.

The striking set by Jo Winiarski is comprised of brick, steel, and a polished wood thrust floor, wrapped around a wall of warehouse windows.  It is lit by Ryan Fallis to create haunting silhouettes and to emanate emotion, especially as songs draw near their close. The multitudinous detailed costumes by Dennis Wright, with period-precise hair and makeup by Bekah Wilbur, are continuously changing across the cast, illuminating a story that is not only larger than life, but at its core a compelling human drama that is as relevant today as ever. 

RAGTIME plays through February 22, 2025.  For tickets, call the box office at 801-226-8600 or visit www.theruth.org.

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