RAGTIME, The Musical
RAGTIME is without a doubt one of my most fulfilling experiences as a director. First the challenge and confrontation from a producer who said “You must be the first immigrant to direct Ragtime.” His comment tasted like shit to me, but it greatly motivated the approach and work we brought to this production. Not only is the history of immigrants in the United States captured with such efficiency by the authors of this show, but the representation of the Afro-American culture and even more, the importance of the female voice that even in the production remains absent in many ways. We found ways to provoke the public through the scenery and the lighting, slowly dimming the lights, upstaging Sarah’s most important song. Leaving the audience with the experience the absent voice of a black woman.
The most beautiful thing for me was when they came and asked me “why a single beam of light” in this wonderful song with that wonderful actress and my answer every night was because for the first time, you have wanted to hear her voice./Luis Salgado/
Press
“You will be blown away by the incredible voices of the cast of ‘Ragtime’ at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center. Alex Gibbs as Coalhouse Walker Jr. and Marion Grey as Sarah deliver a soaring “Wheels of a Dream” that alone is worth the price of admission. Luis Salgado’s direction and choreography are masterful and creative and with a cast of nearly 30…The nine-member musical ensemble is superb and fills the Axelrod Performing Arts Center to the brim with Stephen Flaherty’s syncopated music…Only thing wrong with ‘Ragtime’ is the songs and voices are still stuck in my head. Oh, wait, that’s not a problem…” – Gretchen Van Benthuysen, Two River Times, Theater Critic
“The proverbial ‘theatrical mirror’ is in no way hidden from view as RAGTIME’s award-winning and socially aware director/choreographer has brilliantly meshed current climate with the palpable past…” – Full Article
