Star Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Gary Gisselman's grand production, which opened Friday at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, unequivocally aims for our hearts with these stories. Yet it would diminish the value of both the musical and Gisselman's treatment here to label the work merely sentimental. "Ragtime" takes a brisk and unflinching assessment of a society caught in the jaws of change, and creates central characters defined by bravery, pain, decency and a bedrock dedication to life. The portrayals are necessarily thin because "Ragtime" is more or less a narrated pageant; but writer Terrence McNally and lyricist Lynn Ahrens mine enough of Doctorow's plot to provide texture."
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How Was The Show - Highly Recommended
"...Ragtime is a big play; ergo, I lack space to adequately praise all the artists who have made it work. Still, I must applaud music director/pianist Denise Prosek. I was constantly (and pleasantly) aware of her guiding presence behind the scrim. As Mother and Father, Christina Baldwin and Lee Mark Nelson, with solid technical prowess, anchor the proceedings. I was delighted every time they appeared. Harry Waters excels as Walker. As Sarah, Brittany Bradford gives a nuanced and powerful performance. This young woman has some chops – and she sings beautifully. Dieter Bierbauer is a marvel as Tateh; ditto Aleks Knezevich as Younger Brother. I have to stop."
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