Middle of our third week of Ragtime (can that be possible) and we should finish staging this evening.  It is a MOUNTAIN.  About four times more music than the other musicals we’ve tackled.  But it is also glorious.

The work has jumped back and forth between nitty gritty sessions with Rick Lewis on the music itself (has taken us far longer just to learn the music than in years past.  It almost feels like the piece was written as a huge choral piece – which in fact it was – so it takes alot longer to work out the intricate harmonies) – to choreography.  Gavin and Lacreta are seen rehearsing the Gettin Ready Rag above.

The Opening has taken a loooonnng time to build and finesse.  Joel Ferrell, our wonderful choreographer, is (thank God) creating that piece with the actors, so I just get to watch it unfold.  And – listen to the astounding sounds coming out of this group of 21 singers.  At times, I literally get goosebumps on my arms, which is far more rare in my seat than you might imagine.

Staging the ‘performance/film’ section of Atlantic City has been particularly fun.  I start the scene with Mother and Father packing back in New Rochelle, while Harry Houdini and Evelyn Nesbitt ‘invade’ their reality – then Joel takes over when they actually hit the boardwalks – then I come back in when its revealed that we’ve been watching the filming of a movie.  After working together on  West Side Story, Cabaret and Guys and Dolls,Joel and I have developed cement toes, and have no problem stepping all over each other.

Lief Norby plays Tateh, the Latvian Jew who immigrates to America in search of a better life, and Alex Thede plays ‘Little Boy’ – the clairvoyant kid whose life in New Rochelle is rocked by the events of the era.  We’ll work through Act Two tomorrow, Act One on Friday – and try for our first run through on Saturday.  Fingers crossed.

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