Ragtime

A couple nights ago I saw the musical Ragtime. It was revived from 12 years ago and is still in previews. I hadn't even known it was coming back until a few days ago. Apparently the year it opened was the same year Lion King opened and of course Lion King took all the Tonys that year. Ragtime was a brilliant show, and its revival is true to the original. I was lucky to get the best seats in the entire house (7th row, center orch). Not sure how that happened, but I was thrilled. Right before the curtain went up, the actor, Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) sat down in the seat directly in front of me.

As the curtain went up, the entire cast of about 35 people was already onstage and the theater broke out into thunderous applause. I'm sure that many of the audience were friends of the cast and of the show, but many had seen the show 12 years ago and were so happy to see it again. At any rate, the energy from the audience was the best that any cast could ever want, and the show seemed to float on top of that love. Not a cue was missed, everyone gave great performances and everyone had a real voice, something that seems more and more rare in broadway musicals these days. It was a great piece that was executed flawlessly. You laughed, you cried, you cheered and when it was over you gave an immediate and enthusiastic standing ovation. It was indeed a memorable Broadway experience. I highly recommend this show. The last time I felt this strongly about a great show was when i saw Wicked 5 or 6 years ago.