Saw Ragtime at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake recently and can highly recommend it. Kate Hennig, who plays the firebrand activist Emma Goldman, is sensational. If I have one quibble about her role, it's that there isn't enough of her in this musical -- just two numbers where we really get to hear her great pipes.
The Toronto Star's influential critic, Richard Ouzounian, gives the production three stars out of four ("good but not great"), but singles out Kate for special praise ("...she creates a totally complex character who holds our attention at every entrance. She embodies the true message of Ragtime: you are what you believe in.")
http://www.toronto.com/article/729885--review-ragtime
He also heaps praise on Thom Allison as Coalhouse Walker. Allison left the Broadway production of Priscilla to do this musical and his love for the part is evident at every turn.
Ragtime runs at the Shaw Festival until Oct. 14, but be warned that more than half of the performances are already sold out.
A suggestion for out-of towners: Since the Shaw Festival is just a 30-minute drive from Buffalo, BETM fans could catch both Ragtime and BETM during the week on Sept. 25 to 30 as our favourite musical makes a stop then at the stunningly gorgeous Shea's Performing Arts Center.