Playwright: Terrence McNally; Score: Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty. At: Drury Lane Oak Brook, 10 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace . Phone: 630-530-0111; $31-$45. Runs through: May 23
It's wise to be wary of any work of art branded by critics as "The Great American" to mean the best and most representative of this nation. But I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Ragtime deserves the laurel of "The Great American Musical," and you need only to catch Drury Lane Oak Brook's superlative and deeply moving production to see why.
Based upon E.L. Doctorow's 1970s novel set in the early 1900s, Ragtime insightfully deals with all sorts of American issues that are just as relevant today as they were in the show's historical setting. Race relations, immigration, class differences, women's rights, celebrity scandal, film escapism and even anti-government militias are all brought up in Terrence McNally's expertly efficient libretto and emotionally expounded upon in the soaring anthem-filled and ragtime-tinged score by lyricist Lynn Ahrens and composer Stephen Flaherty.
Though not quite as lavish as the 1998 production that reopened Chicago's Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre, Drury Lane's Ragtime is a visual pageant from start to finish. Santo Loquasto's original Broadway costume designs are used, while set designer Kevin Depinet and projections designer Sage Marie Carter create a stately and fluid framework to encompass the ambitious sprawl of it all.
Director and choreographer Rachel Rockwell wisely utilizes some of the ideas pioneered by original Broadway director Frank Galati. ( The image of J.P. Morgan atop a bridge to crush immigrant laborers is a particular favorite of mine. ) Yet, she also finds new ways of staging the material that are just as valid ( the Prologue's game of entitlement musical chairs ) or often more lucid than in the original. ( The violent factory strike at Lawrence, Mass., and Tateh's reunion with his daughter are particularly touching moments. )
There truly is no weak link in the big cast of 33. The folks at Drury Lane are particularly lucky to have the majestic Coalhouse Walker, Jr., of Quentin Earl Darrington and the Sarah of Valisia LeKae. Both were in the gone-too-soon 2009 Broadway Ragtime revival, and the deliver towering performances here.
Cory Goodrich makes you root for Mother's proto-feminist journey from a pampered wife to a more caring and free-thinking woman able to stand up to the obstinate Father of Larry Adams. Mark David Kaplan delivers a beautifully sung Tateh, whose ingenuity takes him and his daughter from rags to riches.
Ragtime holds up well when produced on an intimate scale ( as in Porchlight Music Theatre's 2007 revival ) , but it truly blossoms when an extra dose of spectacle is applied, as in Drury Lane's marvelously cast production. This "Great American Musical" is produced with such scope, scale and insight that you would be remiss to miss it.
