PUP's 'Ragtime' visually dazzles but emotionally fizzles

In a weekend filled with the debuts of the nearly all-white casts of the Triangle Show, "My Fair Lady" and "Venting," Princeton University Player's "Ragtime" provides a welcome relief in our disproportionately white theater scene. With a still-resonant story of race relations and economic struggle in turn-of-the-century America and a strong message to the recruitment of ethnic minorities in theater, "Ragtime" should leave audiences pondering politics and race. Instead, this production is more likely to leave the audience preoccupied with the spectacle and uncertainty of the story.

Directed by Casey Ford Alexander '10, the show's production elements - from strobe lights to falling leaves and even bubbles - are rarely seen in the Princeton theater community, so at some level, the production deserves our respect. Unlike some theater on campus, "Ragtime" was not thrown together: Every choice required foresight - and funding. Still, what is painfully lacking is discretion about which moments warrant this over-the-top spectacle and which are better realized through simple, realistic staging. Though occasionally the imaginative staging meets the text head-on, the production seems to do everything in its power to discourage the audience from paying attention to the actors.

The most powerful moments come when the spectacle fades away and the voices are allowed to shine. Tunisia Hayward, from Westminster Choir College, transforms the stage with only her voice in the Act One finale of "Till We Reach that Day." The ensemble fills the second row of the audience and the center aisle, transporting the spectators to a church more effectively than any light or set change could. Later, Adam Hyndman '12's voice alone beautifully carries "Make Them Hear You," one of the last songs of the show, to its tragic conclusion. But even here, in a moment where two characters should shake hands, they are not even looking at each other. When the story ends, we are expected to sympathize with the characters, but after their humanity has been filtered through curtains and scrims and blocked by lights, sounds and bubbles, how can we find it? When the spectacle drowns the story, what are we left with?

The individual actors, when not overwhelmed by the staging, deliver several powerful and moving performances. Hyndman and Kemi Adegoroye '13 shine as a black couple torn apart by fear and circumstance. Further freshman talent includes the triple-threat portrayal of a Jewish immigrant father by Ethan Berl '13 and the appropriately one-note character of Evelyn Nesbit, squealed by Jillian Stein '13. Students from Westminster Choir College are also featured in the production, including the loveably genuine and naïve Younger Brother, captured by Caleb Whipple, and the fiery Emma Goldman, played by the commanding Elyse Langley.

The 12-person pit orchestra, massive by PUP standards, is situated upstage behind a scrim, where it competes with, rather than complements, the actors. In some ways, the size of the pit and the corresponding need to wire the actors with huge, clunky microphones is a failure of adapting to the small space of Matthews Theatre, a feat accomplished in the past by smaller cast and pit productions such as "Songs for a New World." But where on campus can a student group produce a 30-actor, 12-pit member piece? While the Program in Theater is able to commandeer the Berlind Theatre for its "My Fair Lady," student groups are left without access to such spaces. Originally proposed for performance in Richardson Auditorium, this Ragtime would be better suited in that venue, but the cost of renting the space is beyond the budget of a student group.

While Ragtime's music and book contain a historically resonant story, the world of the production is not New York City in 1902 - it is the mind of Mr. Alexander. His fingerprint is recognizable on every bubble. Yes, in some ways a play always exists within the world of its director, but that world must have rules and must abide by them. While the aesthetic qualities of the piece all seem to exist in the same half-absurd, half-real, unique, creative place of Mr. Alexander's mind, there is ultimately no underlying theme or message to be derived from their use. It is spectacle for the sake of spectacle.

In kind words, the production is eclectic; in harsh words, it is inconsistent. Still, PUP's "Ragtime" is one of the most imaginatively conceived and extravagant student productions to reach the Princeton stage this year. And for that alone, it warrants the cost of admission.

3 PAWS