- Website for 'Ragtime' at: www.RagtimeBroadway.com
- See the original Kennedy Center Production website for behind-the-scenes videos and details.
- What the critics are saying:
"In its glorious opening tableau, "Ragtime" finds its purest, most exhilarating
Expression . . More successfully than the lavish Broadway original -- Dodge
manages to make the idea of a turbulently evolving America the star. . ."
-- Peter Marks, Washington Post"Can less truly be more? Director and choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge
gives a definitive answer to that often-asked question with her glorious,
high-powered revival of Ragtime, now at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower
Theater. Dodge has carved away some of the original Broadway
production's indulgences, and, as a result, the story of America becoming
itself in the early part of the 20th century evokes even stronger emotions
than before."
-- Michael Toscano, DC Metro"Director/choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge concentrates on telling
the story, not competing with the memory of the earlier production. Her
swirl of the full cast in the openings of both acts are beautiful pieces of
stagecraft."
-- Brad Hathaway, Potomacstages.com"The new production of the musical “Ragtime” at the Kennedy Center
in Washington is explosive and thrilling…"
-- Jim O’Connell, Bloomberg.com"Kennedy Center's $4.4 million staging is astounding . . .This restaging
of the musical based on E.L. Doctorow's 1975 novel is exquisitely sung,
superbly acted and emotionally stirring."
-- Mary Carole McCauley, Baltimore Sun
"Given America's recently heightened respect for racial equality, what
could be more appropriate than a revival of 1998 tuner "Ragtime" in the
nation's capital? The Kennedy Center has shrewdly obliged with Marcia
Milgrom Dodge's lavish and impeccably mounted production, which is
simply stunning in every detail. . . Credit director- choreographer Dodge
for her methodical unveiling of this weighty story, particularly the fluid
transitions from intimate scenes to crowded ensemble numbers, and perky
moments of comic relief. The usical builds to a powerful conclusion,
tugging at every emotion en route."
-- Paul Harris, Variety
"Marcia Milgrom Dodge’s staging is never better, to my mind, than when
the full 37-member cast starts tiny and builds big on bold ragtime edifices
like the dazzling opening “Prologue”—an old-school Broadway overture
reinvented, deftly introducing time, place, characters, and most every
musical theme you’ll hear all night."
-- Trey Graham, City Paper
"What makes this revival of Ragtime so successful is Marcia Milgrom Dodge's choreography and direction."
-- Susan Davidson, Curtain UpThe Kennedy Center’s revival of Ragtime is nothing short of “astounding,” said Mary Carole McCauley in the Baltimore Sun. The musical, based on E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel, has been given a “breathtaking” makeover with a $4.4 million budget and a cast of 37. This production’s centerpiece is a hulking, 8-ton, multitiered scaffolding, with each level representing one of the various groups that formed the melting pot of 1906 America. One tier houses an African-American pianist, Coalhouse Walker, and his sweetheart, Sarah. Another shows the life of Mother and Father, “an upper-middle-class” WASP family, and still another the life of Tateh, a recent Jewish immigrant from Latvia. The top tier is reserved for the era’s most important figures, from Booker T. Washington to Henry Ford. It’s an impressive “visual metaphor for the relentless thrust of history.”
Despite this production’s gargantuan proportions, it’s actually more intimate than the
“indulgent” original, which debuted on Broadway in 1998, said Michael Toscano in
Theatermania.com. Orchestrator William David Brohn gives brilliant new lift to the music—a first-rate collection of marches, ragtime, and gospel. Director Marcia Milgrom Dodge achieves maximum emotional force by tightly focusing on librettist Terrence McNally’s characters “and on the storytelling found in Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens’ score.” She skillfully intertwines the show’s many narratives, which eventually culminate in Coalhouse’s “all-consuming quest for justice” after bigots destroy his cherished Model T.This is “the best-sung show the Kennedy Center has mounted in years,” said Peter Marks in The Washington Post. Dodge has assembled a cast “without brand names” but with a surplus of talent. As Coalhouse, Quentin Earl Darrington displays “the necessary vocal artillery” onthe crowd-pleasing “The Wheels of a Dream.” Jennlee Shallow is a “plaintive powerhouse” as Sarah, her sharp vocals shining on songs like “Your Daddy’s Son.” Ensemble numbers such as “New Music” and the gospel-inflected “Till We Reach That Day” “fill the auditorium with harmonies nothing short of heavenly.” These songs, about a country struggling to overcome its flaws, will likely strike a chord with audience members “dreaming about better days to come.”
- Download reviews of Marcia's production of "Ragtime" in PDF format: Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, Bloomberg, Broadway World, Metro Weekly, DC Theatre Scene, Variety, Curtain Up, Washington City Paper
- Features on Marcia and "Ragtime": Washington Post (Front Page), Washington Examiner, Washingtonian, Broadway.com, Freep
- Download Hi-Resolution versions of Marcia's headshots (as seen above) here and here.