I was at Civic yesterday for opening night of Ragtime. I had really been looking forward to it because i had seen the show a few years ago at Devos and really loved it. After the first time i saw it, the songs got stuck in my head; I had to go out and buy the CD the next day. Unfortunately i think the CD and the previous production set up very high expectations of enjoyment that the Civic production just did not hold up to.
I was disappointed by most of the vocal performances. When the cast sang as a chorus, they sounded great; but when just one or two people were singing at a time, imperfections were noticeable and distracting. Of course, the exception to this was Edye Evans Hyde who played Sarah. Each one of her songs was incredible. None of the male counterparts came close to being in the same league.
I'm really glad that i didn't end up crewing for the show. There were so many set pieces that i can't image there was all that much room off stage. Obviously they were tight on space because when a big wagon would go off, you could hear it bumping into things and making other loud noises. Things must have been crazy because i saw hands popping out from behind set pieces and heads getting in the way of the projector.
My only other complaint was that it was pretty obvious that some things got more attention than others. For example, the train wagon seemed so unfinished; as though it had been thrown together last minute. In addition, Harry Houdini's magic wasn't, well, magical. Once again, i guess it just came down to expectations. I know that community theatre doesn’t have an unlimited budget to spend on sets and props; i just don’t like it being so noticeable.
This was a very big show and it’s obvious the entire cast worked very hard to pull it off. I’m sure they’ll hit their stride with a few more performances as the clumsiness is replaced by confidence. Ragtime is a great show full of wonderfully melodies. The show runs though March 17 and tickets are still available.
Posted by Matthew at February 20, 2004 06:00 PM