Ragtime the Musical by Original Cast (CD, Nov-1996, Livent Music)

The Ragtime original cast recording is a musical masterpiece. Even if you haven't seen the production of the show, the CD is well worth its purchase price. It takes a little while to get into the music, as the introduction may seem slow and a little confusing to the first time listener. But clever characterizations, creative melodies, and some lyrical genius, each and every song will eventually find itself stuck in your head.

In a nutshell

Ragtime is not fluff. It deals with a lot of heavy subjects, centered in New Rochelle, NY around the turn of the century...meaning 1900. Themes of racism, crime, and violence are central to the plot. But there are light moments to break up the seriousness, including songs highlighting Harry Houdini and Evelyn Nesbit. I won't give a plot summary, because letting you know too much too soon would completely ruin the first time for you. But there most certainly is plot, though a little confusing at times.

I bought this CD because my friends were raving about it. In my opinion, the highlights of the CD are Coalhouse (Brian Stokes Mitchell) and Sarah (Audra McDonald), but the other cast members are equally talented. The emotional "Your Daddy's Son" and the playful "Gettin' Ready Rag" are two of my favorite songs. But don't ignore the other characters, especially Tateh (Peter Friedman) and Mother's Younger Brother (Steven Sutcliffe).

The characters are all introduced in the very first song, as they give both a brief bio and explain their motivation all at once. The children are given a lot of credit in my book, billed simply as Little Boy (Alex Strange) and Little Girl (Lea Michele).

A brief overview of musical style

"Crime of the Century" is a strangely upbeat song, done as a vaudeville act by Evelyn Nesbit (Lynette Perry) on her swing. It recounts the tale of her relationship with architect Harry K. Thaw and her fated affair with Stanford White, who ended up biting the big one when Harry found out. Usually, you wouldn't expect to hear about sex and murder in a song of this style, but that's how they keep you from getting too depressed too quickly.

I've already briefly mentioned "Your Daddy's Son" in passing. But it deserves a little more attention. This song is sung by Sarah to her son, who had just been brought back to her after one of the most shocking acts of Post Partum Depression and possibly a brief psychotic break you've ever seen. Sarah sings heartfelt and powerfully about how much her son is like his daddy, who left her before he even knew about the child. Critics say that Sarah is perhaps a little too eloquent for someone of supposedly so little education, but I can ignore that fact.

"The Night That Goldman Spoke at Union Square" is another (surprisingly) powerful song. It starts out as a narrative describing a workers' rally with Emma Goldman (Judy Kaye) - but ends up adding Mother's Younger Brother into the mix. Though he is definietely of a different social class, Goldman speaks to him - both literally and in his very heart and soul. One of the many times fireworks are used as symbolism in this story, he joins the workers' rally singing "Like a firework / unexploded / all my life / and never knowing how / till now!" Punctuate this song with the rally cry "Strike! Strike! Strike!" and you've got yourself a winner.

Overall

If you want to own a CD filled with music you'll listen to over and over again, get this one. I will never tire of listening to Ragtime.