Ragtime: As current as today's headlines

Photo by Dan Norman

A year ago, I considered topping off my review of Theatre Latte Da's fall show with a headline like, "Holy fuck, go see 'Sweeney Todd.'"

I can pretty much say the same thing about Latte Da's autumn show for this year, "Ragtime."

Strong performances from top to bottom anchor Peter Rothstein's deep and thoughtful production. That the play -- based on a novel from 4 years ago about events more than a century in the past -- is utterly  current only adds to its impact.

Set in and around New York City at the turn of the 20th century, "Ragtime" tries to compress the American experience into a two-and-a-half hour package. That comes through in three interlocking stories. There is an upper-class family, an immigrant father and daughter right off the boat, and a black musician and his lover.

The link comes from the son of Coalhouse Walker, Jr. and Sarah. The out-of-wedlock child is abandoned by Sarah and is found by Mother (the wealthy family is not identified by names). Instead of passing the child and mother off to the authorities, she instead takes them into their home.

Coalhouse tries to woo his lost lover to marriage, and does it in a decidedly American way: buying a flash Model T. A black man in a nice car doesn't sit well with those in New Rochelle. That is especially true of some racist volunteer firemen.

Coalhouse's hope is dashed when his car is trashed. In an effort to get justice, Sarah is killed by the police when they think she is going to attack a politician. That drives Coalhouse to acts of revenge, as he begins to burn down firehouses around New York.

Meanwhile, recent immigrant Tateh and his daughter struggle to make their way in their new world. Rising from intense poverty, Tateh finds the kind of success that America promises, but can never shake the feeling that his real background marks him as an outsider.

That's already a lot, but the musical also tosses in plenty of historical figures, from Henry Ford to Harry Houdini to Booker T. Washington.

If you are familiar with Latte Da's work, you know "Ragtime" features tight, expertly sung and well-rounded performances. The stark staging focuses our attention on these characters rather than the set dressing. (Coalhouse's Model T, for example, is a baby grand piano.)

The only weakness is out of the creative team's control. The musical itself struggles to find its footing in the second act, as we move away for long stretches from Coalhouse's story to other less compelling parts of the story, such as a baseball game that Father and Little Boy take in at the old Polo Grounds in New York.

That doesn't undercut what works here, such as the act one closer, as we don't just watch and hear, but absolutely feel the grief that Coalhouse (and the family) feel after Sarah's death. Director Rothstein intensifies this in an incredibly simple way. After the finale is over, there isn't a blackout. Instead, the actors hold their positions on stage, waiting for the loud applause to finally die out, and then silently march off stage. For a show where the lively, no life-affirming music of the early 20th century is so present, this silence says as much as a million words about the state of America.

"Ragtime" runs through Oct. 23 at the Ritz Theater in Minneapolis. Visit online for tickets and more information.