This review by Simon Saltzman was published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on November 24, 1999. All rights reserved.
Rags, the musical that lasted only four performances on Broadway in 1986, has made a comeback at the Paper Mill Playhouse. This is the third and undoubtedly best version so far of the ambitious musical about the experiences of Eastern European Jews who immigrated to New York in 1910. This doesn't mean that the all too serious-minded show has been coaxed into hitsville. What has been accomplished is a major downsizing of the production-heavy show by its collaborators Joseph Stein (book), Charles Strouse (music), and Stephen Schwartz (lyrics).
This is a process that they began in earnest soon after the show closed on Broadway. When "Rags" reappeared a few years ago at the Jewish Repertory in an extremely modest production, one could still see the musical's virtues and in closer relief, still evident flaws. Now a middle ground has been achieved with a handsomely designed production, cleverly directed by Jeffrey B. Moss, imported to the Paper Mill Playhouse from Florida's Coconut Grove Playhouse. Performances continue at Paper Mill through December 12.
Despite the soaring, often glorious richness of the score by Strouse (composer of "Annie" and other hit musicals), and the trenchant literate lyrics of Schwartz, there is something about the downbeat earnestness of Stein's book that neutralizes our involvement and dissipates our pleasure.
Come on guys. What should have been fixed over the past 13 years wasn't. This is not the problem of Moss, the director, who does his best to keep the unpleasantness of so much of the plot at bay. Perhaps a bit more convoluted than inspiring, the musical follows the experiences of Rebecca, a young Jewish immigrant who arrives in America in 1910 with her son David, only to discover that her husband Nathan, who preceded her to America, is nowhere to be found. That is, for most of Act I.
The pair is befriended by Bella, a compassionate young woman and her stern, old-fashioned father Avram, and brought home to live with them. When Rebecca finds work behind a sewing machine in a sweatshop, she also cautiously finds romance with Saul, a union organizer. The real-life Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, in which some 70 women were killed due to doors and windows that were locked during working hours, inspires the tragic climax to a romance between Bella and Ben, her ambitious young suitor.
Although the "Rags" cast is an exemplary one, and despite the feeling one has that they are representations of types rather than real people, they ably fulfill both the dramatic and musical requirements. Jonathan Andrew Bleicher, as the young David, gets our attention as soon as he steps off the boat. His winning personality and exceptional voice adds considerable sparkle to the strains of the optimistic "Brand New World," a quartet he shares with Marilyn Caskey (Rebecca), M. Kathryn Quinlan (Bella), and Christopher Bishop (Avram). Caskey empowers the pivotal role of Rebecca with the kind of thrilling vocal power and sturdy dramatic force that propelled the role's originator, opera star Teresa Stratas. Caskey's soaring, aria-like lament about not having roots, "Children of the Wind," and the way she stirs up Rebecca's sensuality in the bluesy ballad, "Blame it on the Summer Night," are memorable moments.
No less impressive is Quinlan, whose distinctively contrasted soprano voice showcases the musical's exuberant title tune -- "Rags" -- in a lovely scene in which the squalid life of the ghetto is contrasted against a well-healed New York couple, waltzing about in their all-white finery. With its concentration on earthy drab tones, the costumes designed by Carrie Robbins have the look of homemade authenticity. Barbara Siman's choreography is minimal, but has, as its most receptive participants, a trio of dapper vaudevillians (Hunter Bell, William Whitefield, Angela DeCicco) who periodically appear to provide satiric observations about "greenhorns."
Another, more humorous romance blossoms between Abram, a middle-aged pushcart peddler, and Rachel, a widow with "Three Sunny Rooms." This delightful duet in which the street-wise and love-wanting Rachel aggressively woos the conservative Abram is worth the price of admission. Maureen Sillman's heart-warming chutzpah and Christopher Bishop's perpetuation of old-world values lift the otherwise dour doings of the musical out of the doldrums. The appearance of Nathan, who has political ambitions and has set his sights on being a ward leader for Tammany Hall, complicates life for Rebecca and Saul. Wayne LeGette is excellent as Nathan, the misguided political pawn who fails in his efforts to re-bond with his son ("Yankee Boy") or entice his wife ("Uptown"). Raymond Jaramillo McLeod makes a good impression as the tough union organizer with whom Rebecca falls in love.
An impressive, single unit setting by designer James Morgan provides the dark and cold architectural style of archways and columns that appear to replicate the old immigration center at Ellis Island. A modest stage lift is used effectively for action on the streets of New York and for the smartly compacted interior scenes.
"Rags," for all its worthy intentions, is something of a downer. It is a task to empathize with people who seem to be present only to reflect the political and social canvas of the era. Only in fits and spurts, and largely through the music, do the characters reach out and touch us. Otherwise the consideration of the political corruption of the times (so what else is new?), the exploitation of labor, and the pursuit of the American dream are all exposed through facile generalities. Governor Whitman was present at the performance I attended. I tried to catch her expression when Nathan said, "My job is to make people like me. In America, that means politics." I think she smiled. That brought the drama home.
-- Simon Saltzman