Having already tackled and triumphed with such mega-musicals as Les Misérables and Miss Saigon, Coral Gables Actors’ Playhouse could hardly be accused of avoiding a challenge. Still, you would be excused if you had doubts that the Miracle Mile company could pull off the towering, demanding Ragtime, arguably the finest stage musical of the past 20 years.
But succeed director David Arisco and his nearly 40-member cast do, with a stunning production that would compare favorably to the work of any resident troupe in the country and is certainly a qualitative high point for the Playhouse.
Adapted from the sprawling novel of turn-of-the-last-century America by E.L. Doctorow, Ragtime chronicles the clashes and eventual commingling of three diverse cultures — a white-bread New Rochelle family, Harlem blacks and Eastern European immigrants — who in turn come in contact with such real-life figures as Harry Houdini, Henry Ford, J.P. Morgan and Emma Goldman.
Credit playwright Terrence McNally with being able to include so much of Doctorow’s intricate story while carving out space for the stirring score by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, full of anthems and power ballads that capture the flavor of the period and the three distinct ethnic groups.
How these groups intersect should remain among the show’s many surprises, but suffice it to say that at the musical’s center are a proud black ragtime piano player who meets racial injustice and retaliates with explosive violence, a WASP wife and mother who must become self-sufficient when her husband goes off on expedition and a poor Jew who reinvents himself as a moviemaker.
Keeping all three stories in focus and balance is the achievement of the writers, as well as director Arisco. The show has very specific casting requirements and Arisco has found ideal performers, from both South Florida’s acting pool and from beyond the area. Foremost among them are the primary characters of each grouping — bell-clear soprano Melissa Minyard as insecure, but increasingly liberated Mother, fiery, noble Don Juan Seward II as reluctant terrorist Coalhouse Walker Jr., and Tally Session as resourceful Tateh, who will do anything to protect his young daughter.
They each motor the triad narrative as they become swept up in character-shaping events, leading to the creation of a melting pot, post-racial family. But the Playhouse production succeeds so completely because of its strength throughout the cast. To single out just a few of the supporting players, there is impressive work from Sarah Nicole Batts as the mother of Coalhouse’s son, Irene Adjan as firebrand Goldman, Nick Duckart as the bullying fire chief and Dominique Scott as lovestruck Mother’s Younger Brother, who has a talent for blowing things up.
Ragtime has a cinematic sweep by necessity, which makes considerable demands on the scenic designer, which Tim Bennett handles with seeming ease and a busy turntable, all lit with skill by Patrick Tennant. Ellis Tillman coordinates the literally hundreds of costumes needed, culled and adapted from the Costume World treasure trove. Musical director David Nagy leads a sizeable orchestra through the stirring score, occasionally marred by errant sound design.
The sound problems are a minor quibble, however, next to the massive theatrical achievement of Actors’ Playhouse’s Ragtime. This is very early in the year, but this will be the production to beat at next year’s Carbonell Awards.
RAGTIME, Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables. Through Sunday. Tickets: $52-$59. Call:(305) 441-4181.