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Ragtime, the musical snapshot of life at the turn of the 20th century, is a big show based on a novel by E.L. Doctorow. Terence McNally masterfully turned the sweeping story into a production packed with music by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.

The production is meant to be both powerfully affecting and entertaining and it is just that in a production at Northampton Community College Summer Theatre.

NCC artistic director Bill Mutimer has assembled a cast of great actors and singers who make it easy to care about them and the messages they deliver. During the Saturday night performance, audience members gasped, murmured or cheered at key moments and gave the cast a well deserved standing ovation.

The story follows three groups of people a white upper class family in New Rochelle, N.Y.; African Americans in Harlem facing discrimination and Eastern European immigrants trying to achieve the American dream. It explores their hopes, fears and struggles as they navigate life in a changing time. Although the novel is more than 40 years old and the musical 20 years old, the story somehow feels as contemporary as it is historical.

The cast is very large more than 50 but this is a case where the more is indeed the merrier, as their collective voices and presence create a swell of energy. Thats especially the case with the musical numbers, starting from the opener, Ragtime, featuring the entire cast, divided into their groups. More than three dozen songs do a good job of moving the story forward, although the play is not entirely sung.

The lead actors are exceptional, starting with Mother, played by Equity actor Valerie Hill. She is sparkling, charming, expressive, sensitive and strong in a Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music kind of way and she sings beautifully. Mother is guided by love and compassion. Father seems at times impossibly stubborn, unlikeable and one dimensional, but Matthew Walczer captures the subtleties of his personality and allows you to actually care about him.

Caleb James Grochalski as Tateh, a Jew from Latvia, effectively captures the breadth of the immigrant experience from determination to hopelessness and despair and then success bred from ingenuity, strength and resolve.

The African American experience is represented convincingly by Justin Boyd as Coalhouse Walker Jr., an aspiring singer/pianist, and Shannon Dionne as Sarah, the mother of his child. They are both charismatic and their chemistry is strong. Their voices beautifully combine for moving duets.

Supporting players are plentiful and noteworthy, including Evelyn Carpenter as Tatehs daughter (the role is doublecast), Claran Walsh as Mother and Fathers young son (also doublecast), and Colin White, who captures the conflict and passion of Mothers Younger Brother, and who sings well.

The historical figures woven through the musical also are appealing, especially Megan Schmidt as chorus girl Evelyn Nesbit and Sarah Thatcher as political activist Emma Goldman, who are charismatic in quite different ways. Thatcher also has a commanding voice and presence.

The staging is well done, with the large cast moving smoothly and props moving in and out without much disruption. Scenes with violence or destruction are handled with tasteful restraint to a powerful result.

There also is exceptional choreography by Christina Sohns-Williams. I loved the Henry Ford number with workers simulating a factory line.

Costumes are stereotypical, but that works well with such a big cast. The upper class people are in white from head to toe, the immigrants in layers of browns and greys and the African Americans with lots of plaid.

The simple set consists of a drawing of a Lincoln penny covering the floor and a catwalk to facilitate the movement of time and place.

The show is long about 2 and a half hours but well worth the time.

Ragtime, 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, Northampton Community College, Lipkin Theatre, Kopecek Hall, 3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem Township. Tickets: Tickets: $25; $20, seniors and students. http://www.nccsummertheatre.org, 866-967-8167.

jodi.duckett@mcall.com

Twitter @goguidelv

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See the article here:
Review: 'Ragtime' a moving musical at Northampton Community College - Allentown Morning Call

PH

The Reverend Osborne Whitworth is to Christian virtue what Kim Jongun is to international diplomacy.

Poldarks sex-crazed vicar visited prostitutes before his marriage and once he had ensnared a comely maiden in the shape of the naive, young Morwenna Chynoweth he proceeded to make her life a living hell with his remorseless demands and willingness to take her by force if she resisted his lustful advances.

When Christopher Biggins played the part in the BBCs original 1975 adaptation of Winston Grahams novels he portrayed Ossie as such a repulsive individual that the villainous vicar was voted the most hated man on TV and people hurled abuse at the unfortunate Biggins in the street.

Now Christian Brassington appears to have pulled off a similar coup.

One reviewer wrote of a scene featuring the corpulent clergyman: With his eyes shut, plump cheeks flushed, brow damp with sweat, body convulsing in pleasure and making porcine noises, only 10 minutes after the watershed, the reverends tryst was enough to put anyone off their Sunday dinner.

Brassingtons feat is all the more remarkable if you see him pre- production: the 34-year-old looks more matinee idol than overweight lecher.

PH

But the actor who has become the man we love to hate realised he would have to bulk up if he was to convey the true awfulness of his subject. Ossie is an extremely greedy character who has champagne tastes on a beer income, says Brassington.

He is a vicar and he talks about being a man of God but he has also got this voracious sexual appetite, which seems impossible to satisfy. It is unreal what he gets up to.

Normally actors have to get into shape for a role rather than out of it but Osborne is described as being a rather large character and a man of a huge appetite so there was no getting around that I had to gain a lot weight.

ITV

And so in the months before filming the man who had once flaunted his super-slim physique dressed only in Y-fronts as Tony Blair in a drama about the former PMs university days went on a 3,500 calories-a-day diet that took his weight from 13 stone to 15.

I started off trying to do it healthily with lots of eggs and protein shakes, he told the Radio Times.

But I have to admit I moved away from that and lagers, burgers and ice cream came into it. It was pretty good. Lots of red meat! Going to the gym and doing the weights I felt pretty good but when I got to the top weight I have to say I didnt feel so fantastic.

BBC

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Poldark: What to expect in series 3

Brassingtons preparation for the role also included visits to various museums to examine paintings of upper-class figures from the period. He wanted to see how gentlemen in that age stood and held themselves, as well as what they wore. All of my costumes were ever so slightly too small for me on purpose so it looks like I am bursting out of my clothing, he says.

The poor costume team had to get me in and out of my shoes all of the time because trying to bend down meant buttons coming undone and flying off. Ossie spends all of his money oncanary [wine] and clothes and so it was a treat for the costume team to dress me up because there is quite a lot of poverty in Cornwall during this time but my costumes were very grand.

Born in Wellington, Shropshire, Brassington grew up in Basingstoke, Hampshire, where he attended a stage school run by his father Colin Flaherty.

Determined to become an actor he studied at Londons prestigious Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and got his big break shortly after graduation in Tony Blair: Rock Star.

A year later the young Brassington starred opposite Cate Blanchett as Charles II, the Archduke of Austria in Elizabeth: The Golden Age and in 2009 followed up his part as Blair with a portrayal of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson as a younger man in When Boris Met Dave, an account of how Johnson and David Camerons lives become intertwined.

In 2013 he married Jennie Fava, a director/ producer eight years his senior and looked set fair for a successful career.

But it would appear that the work dried up to such an extent that he began to experience financial problems and in May last year was declared bankrupt.

Following his spellbinding performance as the grotesque Whitworth, however, Brassington can surely expect to make a comeback. He is already working on a writing project with Georgia Moffett, 32, the wife of the former Dr Who David Tennant, 46.Brassington and Tennant became firm friends on the set of St Trinians: The Legend Of Frittons Gold and it was Tennant who introduced him to his wife Jennie.

Meanwhile Brassington must shed the pounds he put on for his Poldark role. But as he observes:

It takes much longer to lose weight than to put it on. I have worked it out with a nutritionist and personal trainer but it is much easier to sit here eating a burger than go for a run.

The final episode of Poldark, series three, is on BBC One next Sunday at 9pm.

Read the rest here:
Poldark's rotten reverend: Christian Brassington on playing the most hated man on TV - Express.co.uk

Someone you know needs to read these books.

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About the Author

Colin Flaherty is an award winning reporter and author of the #1 best selling book White Girl Bleed a Lot: The Return of Racial Violence to America and How the Media Ignore it.

His new book is Knockout Game a Lie? Aww, Hell No.

Both books are about black mob violence, black on white crime and the Knockout Game.

His work has appeared in more than 1000 news sites around the world, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine. His story about how a black man was unjustly convicted of trying to kill his white girlfriend resulted in his release from state prison and was featured on Court TV, NPR, The Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune.

Thomas Sowell: Reading Colin Flahertys book made painfully clear to me that the magnitude of this problem is greater than I had discovered from my own research. He documents both the race riots and the media and political evasions in dozens of cities. National Review.

Sean Hannity: White Girl Bleed a Lot has gone viral.

Allen West:At least author Colin Flaherty is tackling this issue (of racial violence and black on white crime) in his new book,White Girl Bleed a Lot: The Return of Racial Violence to America and How the Media Ignore it.

Los Angeles Times: a favorite of conservative voices.x

Daily Caller: As the brutal knockout game sweeps across the U.S., one author isnt surprised by the attacks or the media reaction.Colin Flaherty, author of the bookWhite Girl Bleed A Lot: The Return of Racial Violence to America and How The Media Ignore It,began chronicling the new wave of violence nearly a year ago revealing disturbing racial motivations behind the attacks and a pattern of media denial.

Alex Jones: Brilliant. Could not put it down.

Neal Boortz: Colin Flahertyhas become Public Enemy No.1 to the leftist media because of his research on black culture of violence.

From the Bill Cunningham show. It is official: Colin Flaherty is a great American.A wonderful book.

Breitbart.com: Prescient. Ahead of the News.Garnering attention and sparking important discussions.

David Horowitz: A determined reporter, Colin Flaherty, broke ranks to document these rampages in a book titled, White Girl Bleed A Lot

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Books from Colin Flaherty - White Girl Bleed a Lot, Knockout ...

Quarterback should have expected there would be a price to protest

With support continuing to build in the media for Colin Kaepernick, Christopher L. Gaspers column deftly illuminates the blind spot sports journalists have regarding the quarterbacks refusal to acknowledge the national anthem (Kaepernick saga cuts against the grain, Sports, July 23). Football fans expect professional athletes, especially overrated professional athletes, to focus fully on the task at hand. It irritates them that one would use a televised sporting event to display his displeasure with society. Worse for Kaepernick, he chose a forum for protest that pits him against a huge slice of the public least likely to sympathize with him.

Racial and social justice continues to be a significant problem in this country, as it does almost everywhere. However, it is jarring to see an NFL quarterback take a knee in protest before a game. I believe Kaepernick is now boxed in by his stance; he wants to play football, but he cant separate himself from his protest without looking foolish. Hes learning the hard way that there are consequences for millionaire professional athletes turning their backs to the flag.

Sean F. Flaherty

Charlestown

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Fairness and justice, like beauty, are often in the eyes of the beholder. In todays multibillion-dollar NFL, justice is what 32 wealthy business owners say it is, no matter how arbitrary this may appear to Globe sportswriter Christopher L. Gasper (Kaepernick saga cuts against the grain).

Gasper is a knowledgeable and respected football guy. However impassioned and reasonable his arguments on Kaepernicks behalf seem to be, he missed the point. No fair person would deny Kaepernicks civil rights to free speech or his personal political beliefs. Most football fans couldnt care less about his haircut or his political viewpoint. However, many see his act kneeling during the national anthem as disrespectful to our countrys flag and to those men and women who selflessly serve in the US military on behalf of all Americans.

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The 29-year-old is at a crossroad in his life play football for a living or be a political activist. Or maybe both, but not at the same time.

Girard J. Fortin

Burlington

There is no question that Colin Kaepernick is not being hired because of his demonstrations against the national anthem. Football statistics are a nonfactor. However, what Christopher L. Gasper apparently doesnt grasp is that Kaepernick was making his protest at the same time he was being paid to do his job.

If I were disrupting my employers business with my social protests during working hours, or if Gasper were disrupting his, I am sure we would both find our employability status greatly affected as well. There is a time and place for social commentary, and during working hours isnt one of them.

Richard Swenson

Wareham

Link:
The pocket closes around Kaepernick - The Boston Globe

It was a fitting end to an exciting series.

FRANKLIN It was a fitting end to an exciting series.

Heading into Game 3 after splitting its first two playoff games, both Franklin and Bellingham had reason to believe it was going to advance in the Central Mass. Senior Babe Ruth playoffs.

And in the series finale, both teams followed a familiar script with the outcome coming down to the wire.

Ian McSweeney of Bellingham and Bryan McGrath of Franklin both pitched complete games, but Franklin plated two runs in the fourth inning to win 2-0 and advance to play Medway in the South division of the playoffs.

Franklin will head to Medway to play Game 1 of the series at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.

This was a mirror of the first time we played Bellingham this season, Franklin manager Phil Chisholm said. We have played these guys more than anybody the last couple years. We have played them in the playoffs every single year and every game is a battle.

Franklin did not have much success against McSweeney overall, but managed to get a few hits in the fourth inning.

Andrew Chisholm had a one-out single before Steve Ferguson struck out. Then Cam Benham singled to put runners on first and second base with two outs.

Cam Lupien then launched a double to center field, allowing both Chisholm and Benham to score what proved to be the decisive, and only, runs of the game.

The two runs came on the heels of Franklin threatening to score some runs an inning prior.

Lupien led off the inning with a single. Ferguson was then hit by a pitch and Matt Dumart walked to load the bases.

Colin Flaherty proceeded to line a ball right at Bellingham shortstop Sean Williamson, who caught it and then tossed it over to third base for a double play. Joe Corsi was then hit by a pitch to reload the bases before Mike Skaza flew out to end the threat.

The story of the game, however, was the pitching from both McGrath and McSweeney.

The Franklin starter struck out nine batters over seven innings while walking three and allowing three hits.

I was tired a little bit, McGrath said. But its a big game and you [have] to pull through especially in the playoffs here and you have to do it for the guy next to you. Thats what I did and got the win.

McGrath had to pitch as well as he did, because on the other side stood McSweeney, who went six innings while walking one and allowing two earned runs off of six hits.

He pitched very well tonight, McGrath said of his counterpart. That double by Lupien was nice, it got me some run support, and that felt huge going out there the next inning.

It was nice that Bryan could go the whole game, Chisholm said. It saved pitchers for the next series, and we also have Cam Lupien, who started Game 1 for us, got the big hit and drove in two runs for us. It seems like every game we have a different kid whos contributing, and when I pull guys off of the bench they are contributing as well. It just leaves everybody with a really good feeling.

Game 1 saw Franklin dismantle Bellingham in a 11-1 mercy-rule game, and then Bellingham bounced back to win a tightly-contested Game 2 by the score of 10-8. It was anyones guess to what would transpire in a win-or-go-home Game 3, but McGrath seemed confident going into the contest.

We know were a good team, McGrath said. We come out every single day and work hard in the infield and outfield, and were always ready to play. So, today, we knew we were going to win, to come in and get the W and thats what we did.

Falling in Game 3 ends Bellinghams season, but Bellingham manager Jeff Dunn was pleased with his teams effort and progress.

Franklin is probably the toughest team we faced all season, he said. Its unfortunate that were on this end. Obviously only one team can win, but I think we definitely progressed throughout the season and got better, and we really put up a tough fight against them

We really set the tone in Game 2 to set us up for this third game, and give us an opportunity to get to the next round.

See the rest here:
Franklin 2, Bellingham 0: Fitting finale in playoff series win for Franklin - Milford Daily News