This article appeared in the July 29, 2004 Jewish Advocate.

Newton theatre group presents classic musical "Ragtime"

By Susie Davidson

Advocate Correspondent

Edgar Lawrence Doctorow’s 1975 novel Ragtime was an instant literary success, receiving the first National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction in 1976 as well as the Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy and National Institute of Arts and Letters. The Tony Award-winning musical, with a classic score by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, will be brought to the local arena by Newton Summer Stage on July 30, to run through Aug. 5, at the Newton North High School’s Lasker Stage.

Adapted from the book by Terrence McNally which was based on Doctorow’s novel, the production spans a vast story line, set in the decade prior to World War I, that entwines the lives of a Latvian Jewish immigrant, an upper class New Rochelle family and an African-American jazz pianist. Appearances by figures such as Sigmund Freud, Emma Goldman, Scott Joplin, J.P. Morgan, Evelyn Nesbit, Booker T. Washington and Emiliano Zapata cast a historic tone to the story’s events, which are both real and imagined.

One of the show’s three main characters is Tateh, a Latvian Jew who is first seen about to emigrate to America with his young daughter, in the hopes of providing a better life for her. Played by Newton resident Mike Naugler, Tateh, a penniless artist, bitterly questions the concept of the American Dream as he struggles to make it in his new homeland. Ultimately, through hard work and ingenuity, he becomes a successful movie director, finds love, and reaches an understanding of the country’s diverse ideals.

According to producer/production manager Joe Katz, Harry Houdini also exemplifies the image of the successful Jewish immigrant. Jewish actors in the cast include Brina Waldoks (Rabbi Moshe’s daughter) as Evelyn Nesbit and Dan Lurie as Houdini, as well as ensemble players Anna and Matt Cohen, Erica Horowitz, Lauren Lietzke, Arielle Linsky, Jeremy Schwartz, and Ariel Yelen.

E.L. Doctorow wrote the novel while he was a Guggenheim fellow and a Creative Artists Service fellow. Born in New York on Jan. 6, 1931, he attended the Bronx High School of Science, earned a bachelor’s degree in 1952 from Kenyon College, and did graduate work at Columbia University. His literary career has included positions as senior editor for New American Library and editor-in-chief of Dial Press. Doctorow has also taught and written at the University of California, Sarah Lawrence College, Yale University Drama School, Princeton University, and New York University, where he holds the Glucksman Chair in American Letters. His other works include the novels "Welcome to Hard Times," "Big as Life," "The Book of Daniel," "Loon Lake," "World’s Fair" and "Billy Bathgate," and the play "Drinks Before Dinner."

Produced by Katz and directed by executive producer David Bloom, the NSSP show features a full orchestra under the direction of Ben Green. The three are Newton residents, as are assistant musical director Rachael Ziering, choreographer David Janett and assistant director/associate producer Dan Rakowski. Since its beginning four years ago, the group, which is allied with the Newton Summer School, staged “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” in 2001, “42nd Street” in 2002, and last summer, “The Who’s Tommy.”

Newton Summer Stage, through special arrangement with Music Theatre International, presents the Tony Award-winning musical “Ragtime” July 30-31 and Aug. 5-7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lasker Stage at Newton North High School, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, August 1. Tickets start at $10, and can be purchased at the door, at Newton North High School from 5-7p.m. Monday-Friday, or by calling 617-559-6443.