Do I wake or sleep?

Friday evening I left work a little early to go see Paula in Ragtime. I took the W (an express train) to 36th St. and then transferred to the R but it still wasn't enough to get me to the theater on time. Jason (into whom I ran on the train) and I were wandering for quite some time in the darkness before blundering toward the entrance. Very confusing. Luckily they'd held the curtain and we didn't miss anything.

Paula of course was quite good, if under-utilized. One thing I noted was how crisply she executed the very simple choreography--she made the choreo look good, the mark of a true performer. She also pulled this random HIGH kick from out of her ass in the "Gettin' Ready Rag" and then selfishly refused to repeat it. I was left hanging! I had no idea she had such extension--talk about the vacuum packed-snatch (a joke between Susan and me--Susan would do stretches in the dressing room at the Lazy Susan, a craptastic dinner theater where we met and did many shows, and Susan's extension is from God. She'd pull her legs so far apart, we would joke about her vacuum packed-snatch).

Typically, the community theater talent was uneven. Sarah was probably the best, but I hated the way she performed "Your Daddy's Son." Sang it beautifully but grimaced and mugged her way through the song. Girl, the emotion is written into the song. You don't have to add anything--just sing the song. It was too much. Coalhouse was pretty good but he had this distracting habit of twisting his mouth (and opening it very wide) when he sang. Father was actually pretty good but he was in the wrong show. Completely miscast--short and slight when he needs to look domineering (or at least like a leading man), and the dude had a very noticeable lisp. It's too bad because he was actually quite funny in the "What a Game" number. The guy's a character actor. Stay away from WASP patrician roles. Mother's Younger Brother was pretty good. Tateh got on my nerves quite a bit--in some scenes he was pretty good and was really able to lose himself, and in others he displayed a colorful variety of tics and twitches that made me want to shake him. Tateh's Little Girl was absolutely precious and I need to adopt her. Along with Coalhouse Walker III.

Mother was really boring in the role--it's a boring part that translates better to screen than to stage, because Mother is gentle, thoughtful, respectful--undramatic. And she gets a lot of thoughtful ballads that are--boring. That said, a good actress can bring some passion and fire to the role, but this was not that actress. She also has a good voice underneath that break somewhere--it was hard listening to her because I kept wondering "can she support this note? Is she going to flip into her chest voice mid-note?" She would do well with a really good voice teacher because she does have a good instrument under all that. "Back to Before" should be this soaring journey of realization. She should be re-experiencing her change from dependent "wife of" to independent woman--the audience should feel her excitement, especially during the bridge. (I always get a kick out of that lyric about people who aren't afraid to have a feeling--we cold and analytical WASPs know nothing of such foolishness. Feelings are for hoi polloi.) I still have never seen an actress who did a great job with that song.

The direction was pretty good but I thought I recognized some of it. Jason confirmed after the performance that it was lifted bit for bit from the Broadway staging. One thing I thought they changed (for the better) was Evelyn Nesbit's number, "The Crime of the Century" which as I recall in the original had Evelyn in a swing above the stage. This makes Evelyn a much more static character--an observer rather than a participant. This production brought Evelyn down on the same level as the others--better, but I would still get her out of the swing some. She should work the swing, and the crowd--use the swing as a prop, as it were. It gets boring just seeing her swing through the entire number. The Evelyn was too young for this role and came off as rather too girlish and unfinished. She seemed to be posing, rather than embodying the character. However I was impressed with her gracefulness. Give her a few years.

Regarding the show itself--after seeing it a second time (my first was the tour in '98), I'm not sure Evelyn is really that necessary. I don't think she really serves much plot purpose other than spurning Mother's Younger Brother which starts his journey of Searching For a Cause. And I'm not sure what thematic importance she holds. The "Warn the Duke" bit needs to go as well; it's completely random.

Overall I was very impressed with the production--it was amazingly ambitious for community theater. However, I was outraged later to find that the cast was responsible for supplying their own costumes. That's just unconscionable. They're already supplying their talent for free. Apparently the suggestion was even made that they should rent their costumes. Unbelievable. That production charged a decent sum for tickets, plus it solicited donations and sold tons of ad space. Where'd all that money go? Why did they force the actors to ante up for their own costumes?