{"id":44789,"date":"2025-10-02T09:13:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T13:13:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=44789"},"modified":"2025-10-02T09:13:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T13:13:24","slug":"on-stage-ragtime-returns-to-local-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=44789","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: ‘Ragtime’ returns to local stage"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/div>\n
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Ragtime<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cRagtime,\u201d an award-winning musical from nearly three decades ago, is a show whose time has come again.<\/p><\/div>\n

The musical had its world premiere in\u00a0Toronto in December 1996, and ran for nine months.<\/div>\n
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A\u00a0concept album,\u00a0\u201cSongs from Ragtime: The Musical,\u201d featuring the Toronto cast was released in February 1996. In 1998, it was nominated for the\u00a0Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.<\/div>\n
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The\u00a0Broadway\u00a0production of \u201cRagtime\u201d opened on January 18, 1998. It was the first production in the newly opened\u00a0Ford Center for the Performing Arts.<\/div>\n

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The Broadway run of \u201cRagtime\u201d\u00a0closed on January 16, 2000, after 834 performances and 27 previews.<\/div>\n
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It led the 1998\u00a0Tony Awards\u00a0with 13 Tony Award nominations, but\u00a0Disney\u2019s\u00a0\u201cThe Lion King\u201d\u00a0won as Best Musical. \u201cRagtime\u201d won awards for Best Featured Actress (Audra McDonald), Original Score, Book, and Orchestrations.<\/div>\n
Now, \u201cRagtime\u201d is coming back to Broadway.<\/div>\n
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\u201cRagtime\u201d\u00a0will officially open at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on October 16.<\/div>\n
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Meanwhile in \u201cRagtime\u201d news closer to home, the Candlelight Theatre (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware,\u00a0candlelighttheatredelaware.org<\/a>) is presenting \u201cRagtime: The Musical\u201d now through October 26.<\/div>\n
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\u201cRagtime\u201d blends fictional narratives with authentic historical figures and events.<\/div>\n
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The story focuses on Coalhouse Walker, Jr., — and his beloved Sarah. Walker is a Black pianist who buys a Model T Ford and sets off a series of events that span all levels of New York City society<\/div>\n
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It also features magician Harry Houdini, industrialist Henry Ford, celebrity party girl Evelyn Nesbit, civil rights leader Booker T. Washington, architect Stanford White, anarchist Emma Goldman, a wealthy white family living in suburban New Rochelle led by matriarch Mother and Tateh (a Jewish Latvian immigrant who becomes a movie director) and his little girl.<\/div>\n
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The show explores themes of racism, injustice, hope, and dreams amid the changes in society, music, and culture rising in New York City — and across America.<\/div>\n
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At the center of the story are Mother, Coalhouse Walker Jr. and Tateh.<\/div>\n
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Playing the lead role of Coalhouse Walker Jr. is Shawn Weaver while Anne Bragg plays his beloved Sarah.<\/div>\n
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Other key players are Paul McElwee as Father, Alexa Wilder as Mother, Jason Lindner as Tateh, JJ Vavrik as Harry Houdini, Jonah Phillips as Mother\u2019s Younger Brother and Malik Muhammad as Booker T. Washington.<\/div>\n
The cast also features West Chester\u2019s Owen Ahlmer as Little Boy. Ahlmer is in seventh grade at CPFA\/USP.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI auditioned back in May with the hope that I\u2019d be considered for the part,\u201d said Weaver, during a phone interview Wednesday evening from his home in Claymont, Delaware.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI didn\u2019t know if it was a character I\u2019d be ready to handle.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Weaver needn\u2019t have worried. He not only got the part — he nails \u00a0it onstage every show.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m very familiar with \u2018Ragtime,\u2019\u201d said Weaver. \u201cI\u2019ve seen some bootlegs on You Tube, including the original cast with Audra McDonald.<\/div>\n
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\u201cFor me, \u201cRagtime\u2019 has been a bucket list show \u2013 but not one I expected to do. \u2018Ragtime\u2019 is a difficult play to do.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Weaver, an Upper Darby High alumnus, spent his college years in Chester County and graduated from Lincoln University in 2016 as a vocal performance major. He is an active actor, voice coach and director.<\/div>\n
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His stage experience includes \u201cIn the Heights\u201d at the Broadway Pitman Theater, \u201cGodspell\u201d and \u201cRent\u201d at Swarthmore Players and \u201cSomething Rotten.\u201d<\/div>\n
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He has also performed in a number of other shows at the Candlelight Theatre, including \u201cInto the Woods,\u201d \u201cMama Mia!,\u201d \u201cNine to Five,\u201d \u201cThe Fantasticks\u201d and \u201cHello Dolly!\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cI was in \u2018Mamma Mia!\u2019 at the Candlelight in 2022,\u201d said Weaver. \u201cFrom Day One, I was already hooked on the Candlelight. The place has great energy.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI loved the people \u2013 including Maryanne (Buffet Manager Maryanne Van Neerden). She used to give me a piece of cheesecake before every show and that got me ready to perform.\u201d<\/div>\n
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For cast members, \u201cRagtime\u201d is a challenging show to perform.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe music is beautiful \u2013 but very difficult,\u201d said Weaver. \u201cIf you can\u2019t fill out the demographic, that makes it tough.<\/div>\n
\u201cThe show is very beloved \u2013 and very well-known. Learning more about the show encouraged me to dig deeper.<\/div>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll ever find a role this difficult. It\u2019s a character that has taken me in and morphed me.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe song \u2018The Wheels of a Dream\u2019 \u2013 that\u2019s the energy I want to put out. And the song \u2018Make Them Hear You\u2019 is a great song about trying to empower others.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Three social castes in turn-of-the-century New York introduce themselves to the audience.<\/div>\n
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The first is an upper-class white family from\u00a0New Rochelle — the Little Boy (Edgar), his Father (who runs a fireworks factory), Mother, Mother\u2019s Younger Brother, and Grandfather. They live a genteel life and enjoy a lack of racial and ethnic diversity.<\/div>\n
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The second is the Black residents of\u00a0Harlem, including a beautiful young woman named Sarah, who adores the pianist Coalhouse Walker Jr.<\/div>\n
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The third are immigrants from Europe on the\u00a0Lower East Side, among them \u201cTateh,\u201d a Jewish artist from\u00a0the Baltic states and his young daughter.<\/div>\n
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These three worlds are connected by narration from the luminaries\u00a0— J. P. Morgan,\u00a0Henry Ford,\u00a0Booker T. Washington,\u00a0Emma Goldman,\u00a0Harry Houdini, and\u00a0Evelyn Nesbit.<\/div>\n
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The main story focuses on Coalhouse and how he reacts the unjust situations.<\/div>\n
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In New Rochelle, Coalhouse and Sarah are stopped by Will Conklin and the fire squad. Conklin demands a fictitious toll. Coalhouse refuses and, as a result, his car gets trashed.<\/div>\n
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A lecture by Booker T. Washington on patience and dignity ironically underscores the white firemen\u2019s destruction of Coalhouse\u2019s new Model T.<\/div>\n
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Incensed, Coalhouse vows legal action — postponing his marriage to Sarah until he gets justice. No-one in the justice sector will listen to his pleas.<\/div>\n
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Sarah hears of a campaign rally nearby and goes to ask for help from the vice-presidential candidate. As she approaches, an onlooker shouts \u2013 \u201cShe\u2019s got a gun!\u201d — and Sarah is beaten to death by the Secret Service.<\/div>\n
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Coalhouse has vowed to get justice on his own terms and now terrorizes New Rochelle while demanding his car be restored to him and that Will Conklin be delivered to him.<\/div>\n
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Things continue to spiral downhill for Coalhouse, and he does not find a happy ending.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe hardest thing about playing Coalhouse was allowing myself to feel the negativity \u2013 to feel the sadness and that anger,\u201d said Weaver. \u201cThey are not emotions I like to portray to the world in real life.\u201d<\/div>\n
Weaver does find many things to like about his character.<\/div>\n
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\u201cHe\u2019s just a guy,\u201d said Weaver, who lives a few miles from the Candlelight Theatre with his wife Anne Marie.<\/div>\n
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\u201cHe\u2019s just a piano player. He\u2019s flawed but he wants to do right by him and by his family. I wanted to put my own spin on it. Audiences like this show because it pulls on the heartstrings.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Even though \u201cRagtime\u201d is set in the early 20th century, it shares troubling topics with today\u2019s world \u2013 stifling prejudice, xenophobia and unrelenting racism.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe show is paralleling a lot of realities of today,\u201d said Weaver. \u201cBut it does lift you up if it\u2019s done right.\u201d<\/div>\n
The show\u2019s artistic team includes Peter Reynolds (Co-Director), Julianna Babb (Co-Director), Grant Uhle (Music Director), Jeff Reim (Scenic Designer), Matthew J. Kator (Light Designer), Beck Wetzel (Costume Designer), Anthony Connell (Props Master) and Clayton Stacy (Hair\/Wig\/Makeup Designer).<\/div>\n
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The show will run now through October 26.<\/div>\n
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Tickets, which include pre-show dinner and free parking, are $75.50 for adults, $35 for children (ages 4-12) and $35 for \u201cShow Only.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Dinner and Show times: Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances, 6 p.m. for meal and 8 p.m. for show; Sunday Matinees, 1 p.m. for meal and 3 p.m. for show; Wednesday Matinees, 11 a.m. for meal and 1 p.m. for show.<\/div>\n
Candlelight\u2019s Quizzo Night is scheduled for October and the monthly Candlelight Comedy Club will be held on October 23.<\/div>\n
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Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) is hosting Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius along with The Tea Club on October 5.<\/div>\n
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Joe Deninzon<\/p><\/div>\n

Deninzon\u00a0began his career as a recording artist with a solo release, \u201cElectric Blue,\u201d in 1998 on Wilbert\u2019s Blues Records. Right from the start, he was a busy musician<\/p><\/div>\n

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Now, a quarter of a century later,\u00a0Deninzon\u00a0is still very busy \u2013 maybe busier than he\u2019s ever been.<\/div>\n
Deninzon\u00a0is currently a founding member of the band Stratospheerius and, since May 2023, the violin player for rock legends Kansas.<\/div>\n
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Stratospheerius\u00a0is an American\u00a0progressive rock\u00a0band based in New York City. The band is led by electric violinist Joe\u00a0Deninzon, who also plays the\u00a0mandolin\u00a0and serves as the band\u2019s\u00a0lead vocalist.<\/div>\n
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Joe\u00a0Deninzon\u00a0& Stratospheerius\u2019 set will feature some of the band\u2019s well-known older material, as well as new music.<\/div>\n
Deninzon\u00a0is the violinist with legendary rockers Kansas, which recently celebrated their 50th anniversary. He has played violin for the Who, Bruce Springsteen, 50 Cent, Sheryl Crow, and as the concertmaster for Renaissance.<\/div>\n
Other members of Stratospheerius are drummer Jason Gianni, guitarist Michelangelo Quirinale and bassist Paul Ranieri.<\/div>\n
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The band took a break as\u00a0Deninzon\u00a0and bassist Bob Bowen teamed up with guitarist Steve Benson in 2010 as the\u00a0Joe\u00a0Deninzon\u00a0Trio\u00a0to record the acoustic jazz album, \u201cExuberance.\u201d In 2011,\u00a0Deninzon\u00a0joined the faculty of the Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp.<\/div>\n
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Despite numerous personnel changes,\u00a0Deninzon\u00a0kept Stratospheerius alive \u2013 and stayed very busy.<\/div>\n
After creating the SonicVoyageFest Tour, Stratospheerius performed in Chicago\u2019s Progtoberfest 2017, and at ProgStock in 2019, 2020 and 2021.<\/div>\n
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Stratospheerius plays a style of music that defies categorization \u2014 a blend of straight-up rock, jazz, folk, fusion, prog-rock and funk.\u00a0Deninzon\u00a0describes the band\u2019s sound as \u201cpsychojazz trip funk.\u201d\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cNowadays, people expect you to come up with new stuff all the time,\u201d said Deninzon, during a phone interview from his home in Old Tappan, New Jersey. \u201cBut, as a musician, you want your music to be good \u2013 and that takes time.\u201d<\/div>\n
Deninzon, who plays a special seven-string Trident electric violin known as The Viper, has a diverse music background and a long history with his band Stratospheerius.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve had the band for quite a while now \u2014 in a lot of configurations,\u201d said\u00a0Deninzon. \u201cI recorded my first CD when I was in Cleveland.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt was called \u2018Electric\/Blue\u2019, and it was a jazz fusion album. Over the years, I wanted to go in a more rock direction.<\/div>\n
\u201cWhen I moved to New York, I formed the Joe\u00a0Deninzon\u00a0Band, and it later became Stratospheerius. I\u2019ve always loved rock and folk music.<\/div>\n
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\u201cBack then, I had two things going \u2014 playing guitar and singing in coffee shops and playing jazz music with my band.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Deninzon\u00a0had diverse influences.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI looked at artists like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Popper \u2014 bands that were instrumentally great and were fronted by a vocalist,\u201d said\u00a0Deninzon, who was born in St. Petersburg (Russia) and moved to Cleveland as a boy when his father landed a position as violinist for the Cleveland Orchestra.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI was also influenced by progressive rock bands from the 1970s such as Yes, the Mahavishnu Orchestra and King Crimson.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m a big rock fan \u2014 always have been. I studied jazz in college, but rock is what I wanted to play. Vocals are important.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe have a lot of instrumentals but 70 per cent of our songs feature vocals. With all the different genres, I was finding my way over the years.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cStratospheerius has grown into a progressive rock band \u2014 a progressive rock band with cool vocals. Our stuff has gotten more structured. But I also like the element of freedom. I never play a song the same way twice.\u201d<\/div>\n
Video link for Joe\u00a0Deninzon\u00a0& Stratospheerius \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/3niTH8OlkFE<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show at Kennett Flash, which will start at 7 p.m., also feature The Tea Club with Dan McGowan, who is the bassist for Kansas.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $25<\/div>\n
Another show at the venue this weekend will be Jeffrey Gaines on October 3.<\/div>\n
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On October 3, Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org<\/a>) will present another edition of its pop-up Beer Garden series — an open-air celebration of community, live music, food, and fun.<\/div>\n
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Friday\u2019s event will feature\u00a0Puppy Pals Live along with lawn games and live music by Ray Adkins.<\/div>\n
Puppy Pals Live, which is billed as an \u201cAction-Packed Comedic Stunt Dog Show,\u201d is a hilarious presentation starring mostly rescued dogs.<\/div>\n
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Puppy Pals Live features a variety of stunts and acts — climbing and diving off ladders, ninja-warrior-like stunts, doggy backflips, high-wire walks, comedic acts, balancing tricks, audience participation, and many other challenging, fun and exciting surprises.<\/div>\n
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Video link for Puppy Pals Live — https:\/\/youtu.be\/s5nlN_Lrwoc<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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Show Time is 7 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $35 for adults and $30 for children (12 and under).<\/div>\n
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On October 4, Uptown! will present \u201cNew York\u2019s Finest Tribute to Sting & The Police.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The show is a live musical tribute to the hit songs of Sting and The Police.<\/div>\n
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NYF was founded on a dare for a classic album tribute night in New York City.<\/div>\n
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NYF\u2019s tribute show steers concert fans through The Police\u2019s early punk era and evolves to the more sophisticated material of their later records along with Sting\u2019s solo catalog.<\/div>\n
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A dazzling HD visual spectacle accompanies the hit parade of songs as audiences get a panoramic view of the band in action in real time.<\/div>\n
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NYF stays true to the three-member line up of The Police with Mark Rinzel (\u201cJessie\u2019s Girl\u201d band), Oscar Bautista (session and Broadway orchestra guitarist) and producer\/engineer Alan Camleton.<\/div>\n
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Video link for NYF — https:\/\/youtu.be\/vlpmHY3ClVQ<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show on October 4 will start at 7:30 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $40.<\/div>\n
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Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985, www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>) will have Dave Marshall and the Mojo Band on October 2, Sam Robbins on October 3, Kat Rivers and the Second Night and Modbeats on October 4, and The Philly Blues Kings featuring Clarence Spady on October 5.<\/div>\n
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Elkton Music Hall (107 North Street, Elkton, Maryland, www.elktonmusichall.com<\/a>) will have The One Hit Wonderers on October 3, \u201cEchoes: Pink Floyd Tribute\u201d on October 4, Carolyn Wonderland with Diamond Jim Greene<\/a>\u00a0on October 7 and Perpetual Groove on October 8.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times \u201cRagtime,\u201d an award-winning musical from nearly three decades ago, is a show whose time has come again. The musical had its world premiere in\u00a0Toronto in December 1996, and ran for nine months. A\u00a0concept album,\u00a0\u201cSongs from Ragtime: The Musical,\u201d featuring the Toronto cast was released in February 1996. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[6518,9726,15282],"class_list":["post-44789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-joe-deninzon","tag-ragtime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44789"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44790,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44789\/revisions\/44790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}