iTunes Exclusive Episode Ragtime

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Greetings to Empire member and our members.
If you are hearing the sound of my voice, it means the following conditions have been
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At least once in your life, you have listened to the Clubhouse podcast, your one-stop
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But it also means you subscribe on iTunes because it's time for another.
I told you, just go there.
The 209th one of these things, welcome!
My name is Rob.
I am the executive producer of the Clubhouse podcast and I am a lover of music.
Well, I'm not alone for this particular episode.
Joining me across the desk as he tends to do is my co-host and a man that he might be
able to make chopsticks on a piano, but that might be about it.
He is Chad.
Indeed, that's about it.
The hot cross buns, three blind mice, however you want to call it.
And chopsticks.
Also, joining us is the official fact checker of this show and a man, if you asked him
nicely enough, he might do the Charleston for you.
I mean, I almost found Don Go, but his mom and even Don Ford, I'm going to call him
Don Ford.
Welcome, sir.
Which one's his Charleston?
That's the one they do and it's a wonderful life.
Well, yeah, I do it for you, okay.
Yes, sir.
Whenever we do one of these things, it is to review something today as no exception.
We are here today to review for you a stage production currently being featured as part
of Dallas Summer Musicals.
For we start this thing, we have to make the man a myth-election.
Friends, this is cool.
Our friend, yep, Dallas Summer Musicals and everybody at Fair Park, he's a call fair
park.
Thank you so much for the invite.
All right, we're here to talk about Ragtime today.
Ragtime currently adds to the recording of this particular special edition, playing
at the musical at Fair Park in Dallas, through June 5th, through June the Feet.
Basically what you need to know takes place in the roaring 20s, three different storylines
all intertwining together.
What about mostly about freedom on different levels?
All right, gentlemen, are you ready?
Yes, we are.
All right, let's do this.
I was not able to attend this and I'm so sorry for in Cisco, I could not be there.
I was in a different time zone.
So I'm going to let the boys kind of drive this thing, but I'm curious myself as to how
this went.
Let's talk about the, I mean, this story has been told a bazillion different ways
in a bazillion different times.
How did the story telling in this particular version work for you guys?
Well, it's like you said, it's divided into three intertwining storylines across three distinctly
different character classes.
You have the African American contingent that's in Harlem, that's making popularizing
the form of music, that's the namesake of this thing.
Right.
That's white suburbia.
And then you have the European immigrants coming fresh off the boat, it's that in
Ireland.
Okay.
And how their lives kind of go separate ways, but they all managed across paths at some
point and how one affects the other, affecting the other, causing this constant turmoil
and tragedy and triumph throughout the entire storyline.
They've had their own stories to tell, but it's, it's, it's an interesting juxtaposition
even with, because it's established very early on in the opening number because you see
that they've got the stage divided amongst these three classes during the opening number
and like they'll step into the spotlight, sing a piece and then they'll completely shift
focus and they're all like, I want to say like the African American contingent had like
a red spotlight on them and they had the taxes and then the upper white class had white
type of all dressed in white, and I'm going to try to like just regular colored clothes
starting another clothes.
And I want to say it was like red spotlight, white spotlight, blue spotlight.
Yeah.
Merke.
But my thing with the plot is like Chad said there is about three different storylines
in this thing.
What got me is it got a little complicated because I think it went to storyline 1, 2, 3,
3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 3, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10.
But it did it flow right now.
Because I think it jumped too much.
You go 1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, then 1, then 2, then 1, and 3.
And you saw where they got together in certain times where they did, like in a walk,
the storylines where they put through a chance and made up with each other with other people
and you know, on each of the storylines.
But it just would jump back and forth too much, I thought.
Because you said the same thing about if then you didn't like the way that you did.
Yeah.
So yeah.
That's the one, one of the gripes I put in my written video,
www.copasplacas.com.
I have it to be our website.
Oh, thank you.
This was one of the few cases where you had a central character that had an accent,
where I didn't really have that much trouble understanding what he was singing
when he was singing.
Tate played by Matthew Corriano.
He's the eastern immigrant that comes over from, from Paul.
Oh, shoot.
I can't remember what his country was.
Yeah.
He comes from Europe.
He's from Europe.
He's from Europe.
He's, he's a European immigrant that definitely has a Jewish background.
He has a kind of a TVA.
Okay.
Uh, spin to him.
I'm also top.
Uh, I kind of think like, yeah.
They're a very much so.
They're enough.
Uh, and he winds up being an innovator in his own right.
This is something that you really don't see coming of who he winds up being.
Okay.
He winds up having like a historical impact, a significance.
But I think the true American dream project.
It really is.
It's like he has to come here for.
He's, he's avoided a tragedy in his life.
I think that his, his marriage just did not end well.
So he's basically now a single father.
Okay.
Um, and he's coming to stake his claim and make, you know, make his way to find the American dream.
And I think that honestly his story is.
One of the more.
It would have nothing else is the most uplifting of the, of the, of the, of the three stories.
It's out of doubt.
It's out of doubt.
Uh, but overall.
Yeah.
So it starts out.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
His, his does anyway.
Yeah.
But I do want to ask though, as, as much as Don didn't like the story jumping.
How did it work for you?
It's a bit convoluted.
Okay.
I mean, I, I do agree with him there that I'm, I'm just like, there's,
They, it's almost coming at you at such a rapid fire pace.
And that you can't really tell where the blending happens.
The, the, the, where they, where they try to blur the lines.
It's kind of hard to tell where one gets off and another one starts.
Okay.
That's the story with Cole House.
There are some good points, but it turns to real dark for the second half.
Okay.
But at that way.
Fair enough.
So I mean, but overall, the happiest one would have to be your opinion.
I'm a grant on that one.
And, and, and, and, and it seems like the upper class white suburbian family kind of gets caught in the middle of between both of them.
They're trying to, you know, make things, life is, you know, most possible.
Yeah.
They're trying to maintain their balance.
Yes.
We like where we are.
We don't like it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Did the performances, um, were they able to carry it for it?
The acting I thought was good.
Um, Kate Turner was good.
Kate, the mother of the, of the, of the white suburbian family.
And I've already mentioned Matthew Coriano.
I didn't mind Chris Sam's as Cole House Walker Jr.
But I felt that at times we've, we've, we, you and I've experienced this a lot.
Done.
Yeah.
Where I think we both kind of see eye to eye on certain performers that they're,
they're voice seems to be a little bit too big for the role that they're portraying.
And I know his voice.
His character calls for a big voice.
But sometimes I think he kind of goes overboard.
Maybe we're not that big.
Yeah.
Didn't need to be that big.
He comes across more like, like, go with me on this time.
Yes.
Could you see him playing Lola in Kinky Boots?
Mmm.
That's all I could see.
Yeah.
I could see him playing.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yes.
A very, you know, wow, boisterous.
He wants somebody who's kind of quiet and stuff.
That'd be very tough.
Yeah.
He needs to, I think he just need to be a little bit more even killed because he comes off as
very operatic.
And I don't think it really call for an operatic range that, you know, just kind of...
It could be a little key with this character.
Yeah.
And I think he kind of should have been.
But he comes off more like a cross between the, the Broadway version of Mufasa and the Broadway
version of Sebastian.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm the first to admit it.
You know, there's some roles I would not be in it.
Just put it out there.
But, you know, but when it came to my shining star has to go, I have to kind of
two, but mine goes to Sarah.
The one who was played by, uh, hold on.
Let's look at her.
Leslie Jackson.
Oh, yes.
Yes.
That one song, um, your daddy's son broke, he breaks your heart in a piece.
And it's tiny, tiny little shards.
And then, of course, the guy who plays the, um, immigrant and the whole thing.
Matthew, Matthew, you know.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Those are my two roles.
But, yeah.
She belted it when she's saying that song.
Yeah.
Incredible.
Incredible.
I think she's the emotional anchor of the piece.
And she's kind of like the, she almost comes across like she's the, the
the piece is subconscious.
And how she could start off being such the quiet role.
Yeah.
She's almost like a non presence.
And then all of a sudden when she, when she starts.
Oh, she starts.
Yeah.
It makes an impact beyond belief.
It's a matter of it.
I just had to figure out how I'm going to frame the next question because
it sounds like you guys really enjoyed it as, as a substance.
But I'm not sure given the fact that I've read both of your views.
Yeah.
That you necessarily enjoyed it from a style standpoint.
Well, only going by other reviews that I've read of previous productions of this particular story.
But you've been to other productions.
Yeah.
So your opinion is valid.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, I've seen people talk about previous statings of it like maybe from just a few years back
about how visually stunning the stage presentation was like they have a full functioning
Model T4 that co-house gets threatened.
Yeah.
And they've got like fireworks going off on stage.
None of that was here.
Like it was very bare bones.
Yeah.
It was a bare bone stage.
Just set was very simple.
Very sparse.
Just, you know, you had the backdrop which changed images and stuff like that.
But beyond that, it was a couple stair stairwells that came in and out in a few other
options that they moved around to configure in different ways.
We've seen other performances where they don't need a big set.
Use your imagination, which you didn't this one.
And when I thought that one fine, I mean, it wasn't going to be like the Phantom of Opera set,
which, you know, we've seen in the past.
But very, very simplistic.
But I thought it still worked.
Because it's one of those use your imagination.
Well, I know that the complicated set that they stage originally with this thing first hit Broadway
is kind of what did it in that they couldn't afford to maintain this elaborate
expensive sense.
So they've been stripping it down ever since.
And they really said it's bareest essentials with this particular production.
And I think for people that were coming back for a second or third viewing of it,
that are fans of this production felt kind of let down because it was so sparse.
Is that the only thing?
No, no, no, no.
Okay.
I'm just saying what they were talking about in particular because I've never seen it on stage before.
Now.
Yeah.
The elephant in the room.
We have to address the elephant in the room.
We've been sitting around for five minutes.
We love DSM.
We've seen.
We're big fans.
Yes.
We love the Dalsam.
We love Francesco.
We love everybody there.
And we've seen some incredible in the sound in that place is immaculate.
And let's be honest.
Every day can't be burnt.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Now, as of the taping of this particular episode, it can be mine in 33 days.
How weapon?
I'll all come back to that.
Yes.
However.
The sound.
The.
The night in question that we attended this thing.
Opening night if I'm not.
Right.
The sound presentation had.
It didn't have issues.
It had subscriptions.
Yes.
From the opening bell.
This thing had problems.
And first and for start or something that I didn't realize was that.
And I didn't even pick up on it.
There's no live orchestra there.
So.
I don't know if you knew about this.
No.
There was no live orchestra.
No.
There was no live orchestra with other people around town have have addressed because
I have major issues with that.
But because you'll notice that throughout the entire production.
The one thing that remained consistent.
Volume wise.
Was the music.
The singing kept running into issues because I don't know if it was.
I don't know what the origin of it was.
But I mean, from the opening number to the closing number.
There were static issues.
Mike's dropping out.
Dialogue that you would completely miss.
Songs that were completely.
Unintelligable because of the Mike phasing or I don't know.
What's the challenge?
Rackling sound you get when you're trying to connect something.
And it kind of goes in and out that kind of.
Yeah.
And I mean, it was almost like you're at a movie.
And you have a.
Fussy baby in the seat right next to you.
Yeah.
You can't not hear it.
You can't get past it.
There's no, I mean, let's be honest.
There was no way we did not hear everybody.
No, there's no getting around it.
So it's like it's like you're trying to watch something with really dark glasses in a dark theater.
And you're hoping like when they did that first.
Remember we talked about with everybody out there when somebody would move.
You heard that understanding still was fine.
So it's the connection issue or something.
And we're hoping when these people got off the stage.
And it's only one person on the stage.
They're like fixing it.
Yeah.
Or even at the intervention.
Yeah.
I was halfway expecting at some point that they were.
Because we saw a production earlier in the year that they had a technical issue.
And they literally stopped.
They made an announcement.
That's how it was.
And a different facility over the house mics.
It's like stop production.
Stop production.
We have an issue.
We have to address.
And they addressed it like that.
Yeah.
And the show went on.
Yes.
But they.
This problem never went away.
And you and I spoke on the phone a couple of days before we recorded this.
Right.
And it gave you even though I wasn't there from what you were telling me.
There were some theories that I had that the problem was.
And if those were the problems and you have bigger issues than you think you did.
Right.
And I know that in a lot of cases when these companies come to town.
They bring their own music.
Yeah.
They don't necessarily bring in orchestra.
They don't hire an orchestra when they get there.
They bring their own sound guys.
And a lot of case they even bring their own equipment.
They bring their own mics because they work with us.
So we don't know if it was the music hall or was it the company.
I don't know.
Yeah.
I haven't heard any other reports back from from from subsequent viewings of this of this production.
If the problems have been addressed and fixed.
All I can speak on is the production that we the specific night that we attend.
It was opening.
And it was it was rough.
It was really, really rough because it's it's hard to enjoy a musical when you can't understand anything.
It's going to hear the music.
It goes out literally.
You see what's moving.
You can barely hear like a mouse on the stage kind of thing.
And my heart goes out to everybody involved.
I mean, because they put they put their out.
They put their all on.
They leave it out on stage.
They don't they they save nothing.
They put it all out.
They like nothing was going on.
They were enrolled.
They were totally professional.
And I'm assuming they're wearing like headsets or earpieces or something so they can hear
everything.
They've got to have any monitors at this point, right?
Sometimes they do use floor monitors or depends on the production.
Because I mean, a part of me wonders where they hearing exactly what we were hearing.
Well, I'll put it to you this way.
I've been in performances where I've heard no issues in my ears.
But people were telling me there were issues all over the place.
Okay.
Because I mean, if if they were hearing what we were hearing, they didn't face.
Oh, they they acted peer professional.
Yeah, but as a professional, you have to be as a soldier.
They did they did soldier throw.
But what I'm saying is like, how do you react unless you're just so program with no
with your script?
They have to be because when it's happened to me and sometimes when I've actually heard issues,
you just act like there's nothing going on because you don't even though you know on a certain level,
you're going to lose the audience a little bit in that moment.
You don't want to be the one that contributes to the audience being lost in that moment.
Yeah.
You have to stay in that moment in the hopes that the audience is just going to kind of roll with you.
Yeah.
And that's what they did.
And that's why you get the big ones as an actor.
Everybody heard it.
I mean, during the intermission when I was using the facilities that people were talking
in there, they everybody was just bringing that unfortunate issue up.
I'm just going to, isn't unfortunate issue.
And you know, that's, but that's the nature of the game.
It just did the audience just kind of roll with it.
There wasn't a lot of that's good news.
I mean, that's always gets to be a scary thing.
Even from an audience member standpoint, as you don't want people getting stupid with it.
Yeah, I mean, I was, I mean, not to sound cruel, but I was half expecting to see people just getting so frustrated
with it that they would just get up and walk out because they couldn't follow it.
But even that's milder than audiences can be.
Yeah.
I mean, I know that people can get stupid.
We've seen it happen.
Absolutely.
But I'd like to think that there's a little more decorum about them to where that wouldn't
be the cause.
But that's good news that there was.
Yeah.
There were, there were no issues within the audience.
But it's just, you could definitely tell, you saw the shifting going on.
And people like, okay, maybe this will go away.
And it just, it never went away.
And, you know, my heart goes down to everybody that had to, had to fight through it
because I know that couldn't have been easy.
Anything else we want to talk about for we get to the final analysis?
We're good?
No.
That's the primary issue we really needed to do.
The way we get the final analysis on this show, we're not going to give you thumbs-up,
thumbs-down, letter grades, numbers, stars, anything like that.
Our audience whom we affectionately refer to as the empire, they want us to go deeper
so we're going to go deeper.
I'm going to ask these gentlemen two questions.
Question number one is, would you see this production again?
The answer is no, we're done here.
If the answer is yes, we're going, do we do stage productions a little bit different?
Then we do film.
We're going to ask them if they would see it again.
You know, because we based on how much would you are you willing to pay?
Were you willing to sit to see this thing?
Don't let's start with you.
Would you see this again?
Let's still see it.
You know, hopefully the king's will be knocked out.
Okay.
Where would you want to sit?
I would say, due to the plot and everything going, being composed, you'll go back
and forth back forth.
I'm just going to say something like top balcony, something like that.
Okay.
Fair enough.
Give me a good view of it.
Yeah.
Probably not.
Really?
Yeah.
It's just that the pacing isn't what I enjoy.
It was a very slow moving story.
It's an incredible downer.
And it's, I don't know.
It's just, it's not the kind of thing that I really get into.
Fair enough?
Yeah.
It's like if the movie were to come on, I'd probably pass on it too.
Okay.
So it's not indicative of the production itself.
No, no, no.
No, no.
It's just not my cup of tea.
Fair enough.
For we at this thing, we again have to thank the man Francisco.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Awesome.
Musicals.
We love you.
And everybody at musical fair park.
Thank you so much, guys.
Celebrating season 76.
Just a couple more productions.
Then we start talking about season 77.
And if you were with us for the Dallas summer musicals, high school musical awards.
We know why we've gotten a little preview.
Yeah.
They're teasing the same.
They're teasing the same.
And there's a poster that the thing they're saying here's what's an
incredible clue.
And each one.
And that would be.
Yeah.
You have seen it.
It's on the website, too.
It's season six episodes 35 A B and C.
So if you want to check those out, those, that's where those are.
All right, gentlemen, let's do the plugs.
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So until next time for Don, for Chad, for the empire,
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Clubhouse is closed.
Britain Palmer probably could have saved it.
Just saying it.