The cast of Broadway's musical, "Ragtime" gave a superb performance last night at Emens Auditorium.
The musical deftly wove the story of musician Coalhouse Walker, Jr., immigrant Tateh and his young daughter, among others. Historical figures such as Evelyn Nesbit, Henry Ford, Harry Houdini, Booker T. Washington and J.P. Morgan were all characterized.
The beginning of "Ragtime" featured whites, immigrants and blacks squaring off against each other as each group was the play's central focus. A young boy opened the show by blowing off dust from a book while pictures from the past illuminated the screen behind him. So the tale of "Ragtime" and the era it mirrored began.
"Ragtime" told the story of racial injustice, as Coalhouse Walker Jr.'s car was confiscated and vandalized by Willie Conklin, an anti-black fire chief.
Seeking justice, Walker's one true love, Sarah, went to talk to the president at a speech he was giving. Mistaking her for having a gun, security guards savagely beat Sarah to death. What follows in Walker's quest for revenge.
The actors gave a gripping performance with beautifully choreographed dancing from the period. The play was a little long and grew tiresome before its three hours were over. Some of the songs were repeated numerous times. "Ragtime," "Wheels of a Dream" and a mantra sung by Booker T. Washington all became redundant after a while. Quentin Earl Darrington, who played Walker, gave the most rousing performance of the show. Other actors such as Scott Difford and Patrick Scott Minor, who doubled as The Little Boy, and Kenita R. Miller, who played Sarah, also turned in great performances. The actors didn't always enunciate loudly enough both when speaking or singing and it was difficult to understand Tateh's immigrant accent. The screens behind the actors were changed for each scene, adding various affects settings such as Atlantic City, or effects such as torches carried by rioters. The costumes were also brilliant examples from the period. Women's outfits weren't complete without a parasol. Also, a great dance was done during the song, "Gettin' Ready Rag." Mother called for Little Coalhouse at the end, and 5-year-old Muncie native Jeremiah Bailey made his acting debut running onstage. "Ragtime's" stage directions call for a local boy to be given a non-speaking part at the end of each production. Although the actors all gave great performances and the singing was magnificent, the play was rather long. It seemed the show could have been condensed into a shorter version. Hearing some of the songs over and over didn't help much either. Despite knowing "Ragtime" is a musical, there was more singing than anticipated. After every few sentences, it seemed the characters would break into song, which made for a long night. It was easy to see, however, why "Ragtime" is the winner of four Tony awards.
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