The Winners Institute Review: Ragtime at The Bishopsgate Institute

Natalie Blenford 17 June 2016

 

RAGTIME is a rarely performed piece that few people outside of the musical theatre world have heard of. And the question I kept asking after watching the triumphant opening night of Centre Stage London’s production at the Bishopsgate Institute, was why? 

Why is it not as loved as Les Miserables, as revered as Wicked or as well known as Showboat (which it reminds me of in more ways than one)? For its music is just as wonderful; its story just as emotional. And in this inventive devised production, directed by Toby Hine with great heart, the piece is given an authentic, powerful staging that makes it seem even more relevant today than it could possibly have been when it premiered on Broadway in 1996.