Immigrants strive for success. Black people are treated unfairly by law enforcement. The rich run the country. Upset citizens protest in the streets.
These are the events of the musical “Ragtime,” set at the turn of the 20th century— but could easily occur in 2019.
Wheelock Family Theatre’s production of “Ragtime” is aptly timed. The themes of the American Dream, the meaning of justice, class divisions, and racial discrimination are as relevant as ever.
According to the Artistic Director at Wheelock Family Theatre, Emily Ranii, “the history of ‘Ragtime’ is cyclical. We remain a nation of immigrants grappling with our intersecting identities, the false promises of the American Dream, and the very meaning of justice. And still, we relentlessly pursue the human capacity for magic and love.”
The plot of “Ragtime” revolves around the intersections between three different groups of people in pre-WWI 1900s New York: a wealthy white family in New Rochelle, an African-American community in Harlem, and a Latvian Jewish immigrant and his daughter in the Lower East Side tenements. The three groups meet multiple times throughout the show. These meetings between the three groups are where the nuances of “Ragtime” truly shine.
“Ragtime” opens with introductions to the three groups and some major figures of the time period: tycoons J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford, activists Booker T. Washington and Emma Goldman, and celebrities Evelyn Nesbit and Harry Houdini. The opening number lacked energy, but was effective in its purpose of introducing the characters and setting the scene. The opening prologue had the children actors in modern-day clothing—a choice that felt confusing and distracting.
The New Rochelle Mother expressed her thoughts about her husband leaving to sail to the North Pole in “Goodbye, My Love,” a song that, while unremarkable, showed off Broadway-veteran Lisa Yuen’s soprano chops.
The energy level of the show increased very quickly with the fourth song, “The Crime of the Century,” featuring the exuberant Evelyn Nesbit telling her story of adultery and murder. Tara Deieso shined as Evelyn and hit every note and dance move perfectly.
Worlds meet when the mother of the wealthy white family finds a black newborn baby buried alive in her garden. When the police arrive with the baby’s mother, Sarah, Mother decides to take Sarah and the baby into her home.
The song “A Shtetl Iz Amereke,” “America is a shtetl” in Yiddish, featured immigrants of Jewish, Haitian, and Italian descents passing through Ellis Island and arriving in New York City. The staging of this number was excellent at showing the hope and optimism in the immigrants and introduced the audience to Tateh.
The setting changes to Harlem, where pianist Coalhouse Walker, Jr. is getting ready to win back the affections of his love Sarah, who now resides with the New Rochelle family. The excellent choreography in “Gettin’ Ready Rag” along with Anthony Pires, Jr. as Coalhouse with his velvety-smooth bass voice and formidable presence made this a memorable scene.
Tateh and Mother sing the awkward and amusing light song “Nothing Like the City” at the New Rochelle train station.
Coalhouse begins a ritual of coming to the house every Sunday to court Sarah and becomes friendly with the white family and begins to play ragtime music for them.
Sarah and Coalhouse go on a picnic together and sing the iconic song “Wheels of a Dream,” about their hopes for their child’s life. Pier Lamia Porter’s angelic voice mixed perfectly with Pires, Jr.’s as Sarah and Coalhouse.
In the city, Mother’s brother is increasingly becoming more radical in his politics and attends an Emma Goldman rally. Tateh has discovered his talent for making “moviebooks” and begins to make a solid living selling them.
After Coalhouse and Sarah are ambushed by racist men and Coalhouse’s car is destroyed, Sarah goes to a campaign rally to seek help from the government. She is racially profiled and killed by the Secret Service. This moment is where “Ragtime” takes a turn.
The first act ends with a powerful anthem about fighting for justice titled “‘Til We Reach That Day,” set at Sarah’s memorial.
The second act opens with Coalhouse vowing to get justice for Sarah by any means necessary. He becomes a vigilante of sorts, killing firemen and burning buildings until he gets his car back.
The New Rochelle family is uneasy at the turn of events and attempts to distract themselves by going to a baseball game. The baseball song “What a Game!” is fun and and brings some much-need joy to the audience.
The family then goes to Atlantic City, where they run into Tateh, who has become rich off making movies. Tateh tells Mother the truth about his origins and they take mutual joy in their children’s newfound friendship. The song “Our Children” was sweet and touching. Yuen excelled in showing Mother’s struggle between her obligations and her morals.
“Ragtime” reaches its climax when Coalhouse decides to take over J.P. Morgan’s library and threatens to blow it up if he does not receive his justice. Father goes to the city to help negotiate and becomes Coalhouse’s hostage. Coalhouse sings “Make Them Hear You,” a moving ballad that brings tears to the eye. With the promise of his new car and reassurance that he will get a fair trial, Coalhouse decides to surrender. As soon as Coalhouse leaves the library to surrender, he is immediately shot and killed by the police. This moment is horrifically unexpected and a mutual gasp could be heard from the audience.
“Ragtime” ends with a ‘where are they now’ of all the characters. We see Tateh and Mother get married after Father dies on the Lusitania and raise Coalhouse and Sarah’s son as their own in California. The show ends on a hopeful note for the future.
Wheelock Family Theatre’s production of “Ragtime” was a solid interpretation of the Tony-winning musical. The show’s direction excelled in the small, quiet moments like the mourning of Sarah and Coalhouse’s decision to turn himself in. There were parts of the staging that felt a bit gimmicky, like the ensemble members standing in the aisles of the theatre with candles during “Back to Before.” The casting was stellar, with the standout actors being Pires, Jr., Porter, Yuen, and Deieso. Of course, the children in the cast were adorable and brought extra energy to every scene they were in. The costumes and set were very impressive and clearly very well thought out. Overall, for a humble community theatre, it was an impressive production.
Wheelock Family Theatre excels at a factor that is becoming increasingly more important in theatre: accessibility. Two screens with running subtitles line the sides of the stage at every show and multiple ASL-interpreted performances are offered.
This is a production worth seeing. “Ragtime” is an important show that deals with themes that are eternally relevant. Prepare to laugh and cry and feel every emotion possible. The show will make you want to seek justice and hug your family a bit tighter.
See “Ragtime” at Wheelock Family Theatre until February 17.