Joplin, Berlin Meet, but Past Gets in the Way
By Lauren Yarger
What would it have been like if Scott Joplin and Irving Berlin had met? That’s the question asked and answered by Mark Saltzman’s The Tin Pan Alley Rag, playing Off-Broadway at Roundabout Theatre Company.
Some 24 musical numbers, or parts of them, are presented in between and as backdrop for memories shared by the two men at a fictional meeting at Berlin’s New York publishing office, depicted amidst two pianos in the brown walled-office (Beowolf Boritt, set design) that provides a frame for scenes from the two men’s lives recalled and reflected during the meeting.
The play, directed by Stafford Arima, is set at the early part of the 20th century after the men both had achieved some commercial success in the music industry, but hadn’t met. Joplin (Michael Boatman), not in good health and hoping the more famous Berlin (Michael Therriault) will publish his opera Treemonisha, arrives at the office of Berlin and his partner Teddy Snyder (an engaging Michael McCormick ) and tries to pass himself off as a manager representing Joplin’s work. Berlin soon recognizes the talent at his piano, however, and the two men hit it off. They have a lot in common, it seems, including being “transposed” by falling in love, then tragically losing their wives, Dorothy (Jenny Fellner) and the Treemonisha-inspiring Freddie (Idara Victor), after short marriages.
Walls rotate and floods of brilliantly attired people (Jess Goldstein, costumes) dance around the stage (Liza, Gennaro, choreography) as moments are recalled and relived. The effect is to detract from the otherwise interesting meeting between the two music giants. Past scenes depicted upstage or off stage might have effectively communicated the past without obliterating the present scene. Too much time spent on the past stories and excerpts from Treemonisha leave us wanting more conversation and ragtime.
The Tin Pan Alley Rag runs through Sept. 6 at the Laura Pels Theatre, 111 West 46th Street, NYC. For tickets, call (212) 719-1300. For group rates, click here (and make sure you indicate that the charity you wish to support is Masterwork Productions by clicking on “religious” and then on our name).
Christians might also like to know:
No notes. Acceptable for all ages.
Some 24 musical numbers, or parts of them, are presented in between and as backdrop for memories shared by the two men at a fictional meeting at Berlin’s New York publishing office, depicted amidst two pianos in the brown walled-office (Beowolf Boritt, set design) that provides a frame for scenes from the two men’s lives recalled and reflected during the meeting.
The play, directed by Stafford Arima, is set at the early part of the 20th century after the men both had achieved some commercial success in the music industry, but hadn’t met. Joplin (Michael Boatman), not in good health and hoping the more famous Berlin (Michael Therriault) will publish his opera Treemonisha, arrives at the office of Berlin and his partner Teddy Snyder (an engaging Michael McCormick ) and tries to pass himself off as a manager representing Joplin’s work. Berlin soon recognizes the talent at his piano, however, and the two men hit it off. They have a lot in common, it seems, including being “transposed” by falling in love, then tragically losing their wives, Dorothy (Jenny Fellner) and the Treemonisha-inspiring Freddie (Idara Victor), after short marriages.
Walls rotate and floods of brilliantly attired people (Jess Goldstein, costumes) dance around the stage (Liza, Gennaro, choreography) as moments are recalled and relived. The effect is to detract from the otherwise interesting meeting between the two music giants. Past scenes depicted upstage or off stage might have effectively communicated the past without obliterating the present scene. Too much time spent on the past stories and excerpts from Treemonisha leave us wanting more conversation and ragtime.
The Tin Pan Alley Rag runs through Sept. 6 at the Laura Pels Theatre, 111 West 46th Street, NYC. For tickets, call (212) 719-1300. For group rates, click here (and make sure you indicate that the charity you wish to support is Masterwork Productions by clicking on “religious” and then on our name).
Christians might also like to know:
No notes. Acceptable for all ages.
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