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Rags (musical)
Encyclopedia
Rags is a musical
with a book by Joseph Stein
, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
, and music by Charles Strouse
.
production opened on August 21, 1986 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre
with little advance sale and to mostly indifferent reviews, and it closed after only four performances (and 18 previews). Directed by Gene Saks
and choreographed by Ron Field
, the cast included Teresa Stratas
as Rebecca Hershkowitz, Larry Kert
as Nathan Hershkowitz , Lonny Price
as Ben, Judy Kuhn
as Bella Cohen, Dick Latessa
as Avram Cohen, Marcia Lewis
as Rachel Halpern, and Terrence Mann
as Saul, a union organizer. Despite its failure, it garnered a good deal of attention during the awards season.
In 1991, Sony
released a studio recording of the score. It featured most of the original cast joined by Julia Migenes
replacing Stratas.
Revised versions
In 1991 the creators reunited to present a dramatically rewritten and severely streamlined production at The American Jewish Theatre, New York City, directed by Richard Sabellico. The version had 9 actors playing all of the roles, and a reduced set, with two pushcarts on stage and imaginary windows, with the actors describing the exterior activity. The young immigrant mother has a best friend of almost equal importance, and the story is now told by David, the heroine's young son.
The Colony Theatre Company, Los Angeles, California presented Rags in 1993.
They reworked the show again, staging it first at Florida
's Coconut Grove Playhouse
(February 1999) and then the Paper Mill Playhouse
in New Jersey
in November 1999. The revised version cut the cast to 15, from the original Broadway cast of 30. According to Strouse, "We tried to do too much.And now it's tightened, more focused. People got lost in it...The diffuse, scattered story now centers on Rebecca Hershkowitz, a young immigrant mother who escapes to the Lower East Side after a pogrom, and her love affair with Saul, an American labor organizer trying to unionize the sweatshop where she works...The [original] score was influenced by Middle Eastern, Irish, Scottish, English folk, American honky-tonk, obviously jazz and ragtime and klezmer -- even Greek music of that day, and Broadway, too...It is now 'more impressionistic'."
In 2006, Schwartz, Stein and Strouse collaborated on the World AIDS Day Concert version of the musical, celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the show's Broadway opening. The concert was at Times Square's Nokia Theatre and featured Carolee Carmello, Gregg Edelman, Eden Espinosa, Lainie Kazan and Michael Rupert.
Act One
As a ship bearing hopeful immigrants steams toward Ellis Island
, a lone passenger reflects on the life he has left behind ("I Remember"). Rebecca Hershkowitz, a Jewish woman, has fled Russia with her young son David, hoping to find her husband, Nathan, who left for America years before and never wrote back to his family. Rebecca has made friends with Bella Cohen, a teenager emigrating to America with her father Avram ("If We Never Meet Again"); her brother Herschel remains behind in Russia. Bella has fallen in love with Ben, another passenger, but Avram does not approve.
On Ellis Island, the unfeeling immigration officials treat the immigrants like animals ("Greenhorns"). With no male relative to claim them, Rebecca and David are in danger of immediate deportation until Bella begs Avram to rescue her friend. Avram pretends that Rebecca is his niece, and persuades his brother, who lives in a tenement
on the Lower East Side
of Manhattan
to let Rebecca and David stay for the night. Bella, Rebecca and David marvel at the strange new sights in the streets below ("Brand New World"). Rebecca still feels lonely, and wishes that she can give her son a real home ("Children of The Wind").
Rebecca searches for her husband and takes a job sewing in a sweatshop, while David helps Rachel, a widow, sell trinkets out of her market stall. Bella works at home as a seamstress; confined to the tenement, she pines for Ben. Ben pretended that he had a wealthy uncle who would provide for him, but in reality, he has no uncle and works in a cigar factory. Avram, though an educated man in "the old country," hawks goods as a street vendor. Even so, the new immigrants remain upbeat ("Penny A Tune"). However, the business owners in the neighborhood are preyed upon by Mr. Rosen, a greedy man who demands they pay him for protection from his thugs.
Saul, a union supporter, confronts Rebecca, urging her to open her eyes to her poor treatment and unfair wages; he suggests that she better herself through education. Saul teaches Rebecca and David how to speak English, and tries to instill American values in them ("Easy For You"). To broaden their horizons, he takes them to see Hamlet
as performed by a Jewish theatre troupe ("Hard To Be A Prince"). Rebecca realizes that she is falling in love with Saul ("Blame It On The Summer Night").
Ben comes to visit Bella, and admits he is only a factory worker. He has a new plan, to sell gramophones
, and demonstrates one for her ("For My Mary"). As they dance, Avram returns and throws Ben out, forbidding Bella from ever seeing the boy again. Bella flies into a rage and accuses her father of not allowing her to achieve her own American dream ("Rags").
Meanwhile, Nathan, Rebecca's husband, is contemplating his position in the ranks of Tammany Hall
, where he is promised great things if he manages to secure the Jewish vote for an anti-union Democratic candidate ("What's Wrong With That?"). He believes his wife is still in Russia until he discovers that she has placed an ad in the paper seeking him.
At the street market, Mr. Rosen comes to collect his bribes from the shopkeepers. Emboldened by the Socialist doctrine Saul has taught him, David stands up for Rachel and is beaten by Rosen's thugs. Rebecca blames Saul for corrupting her son and vows that she won't be fooled by any more idealistic notions of America. Nathan suddenly arrives to collect his wife and son ("Nothing Will Hurt Us Again").
Act Two
Nathan explains to Rebecca and David how he has managed to climb up from the ghetto of the lower East side to a better life ("Yankee Boy"). Rebecca is unsettled that her husband has given himself the American name "Nat Harris" and distances himself from the Jewish community; however, she also likes the idea of having a better life for her son ("Uptown"). She also longs for Saul, though they both realize their love can never be ("Wanting").
Avram and Rachel have fallen in love, enabling Avram to move out of his brother's house and provide Bella with a more stable family life ("Three Sunny Rooms"). Bella and David help Ben sell his "Magic Music Machine" to excited customers ("The Sound Of Love"). The three are natural salesmen, and Bella is delighted to think that soon they will have enough money to marry. To help out, she goes against her father's wishes and takes a job at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
("Rags" reprise).
Rebecca accompanies Nathan to a costume party and feels unhappy with her husband, who acts ashamed of her. When David interrupts the party to tell Rebecca of a fire at Bella's shop, Nathan forbids her to leave. Knowing Bella is in danger, she goes anyway, but it is too late. Bella has jumped to her death from the burning building. Avram is destroyed by the death of his daughter, and Rebecca is confused and guilty ("Kaddish").
Rebecca leads the sweatshop workers in a strike protesting the unsafe conditions that lead to the deaths of the girls at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
("Bread and Freedom"). As the demonstration reaches near-riot levels, Nathan shows up to try and persuade his wife to come home with him. Rebecca sees Saul in the crowd and knows she must follow her heart and stand up for what is right ("Dancing With The Fools"). She refuses Nathan.
Avram is still grieving for Bella and is planning to return to Russia and the son, Herschel, he left behind when Ben comes to pay his respects. He tells Avram that leaving America would mean Bella died for nothing and gives him the gramophone, which plays a recording of Bella's voice. While Rebecca sings of her new life with Saul and David, Rachel and Avram welcome Herschel off the boat as a new wave of immigrants arrive ("Children of The Wind reprise/Finale").
Act I
Act II
Songs marked with an (*) are not included on the Cast Recording. Songs marked with a (^) are not consistently included in later versions of the musical.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book by Joseph Stein
Joseph Stein
Joseph Stein was an American playwright best known for writing the books for such musicals as Fiddler on the Roof and Zorba.-Biography:...
, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Schwartz (composer)
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
, and music by Charles Strouse
Charles Strouse
Charles Strouse is an American composer and lyricist.-Life and career:Strouse was born and raised in New York City, the son of Ira and Ethel Strouse...
.
Production history
The BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production opened on August 21, 1986 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre
Mark Hellinger Theatre
The Mark Hellinger Theatre is a generally used name of a former legitimate Broadway theater, located at 237 West 51st Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City. Since 1991, it has been known as the Times Square Church...
with little advance sale and to mostly indifferent reviews, and it closed after only four performances (and 18 previews). Directed by Gene Saks
Gene Saks
Gene Saks is an American stage and film director.-Life and career:Saks was born in New York City, the son of Beatrix and Morris J. Saks...
and choreographed by Ron Field
Ron Field
Ronald Field was an American choreographer, director, and dancer.-Biography:Field was born in New York City, New York where he made his Broadway debut as a child in Lady in the Dark with Gertrude Lawrence...
, the cast included Teresa Stratas
Teresa Stratas
Teresa Stratas, OC , is a retired Canadian operatic soprano. She is especially well-known for her award-winning recording of Alban Berg's Lulu.-Early life and career:...
as Rebecca Hershkowitz, Larry Kert
Larry Kert
Larry Kert was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for creating the role of Tony in the original Broadway version of West Side Story.-Early life:...
as Nathan Hershkowitz , Lonny Price
Lonny Price
Lonny Price is an American actor, writer, and director, primarily in theatre. He is known for making statements on current events in versions of his musicals. His acclaimed May 2008 New York Philharmonic production of Camelot was making a statement about the current war including having different...
as Ben, Judy Kuhn
Judy Kuhn
-Life and career:Kuhn was born in New York City and grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. She attended Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C.She entered Oberlin College in 1976. Although she was very interested in singing and theater, she began Oberlin in the College, not the Conservatory. After taking...
as Bella Cohen, Dick Latessa
Dick Latessa
Richard Robert "Dick" Latessa is an American actor.Latessa was born in Cleveland, Ohio to a mother who was an automotive upholstery maker. Latessa made his Broadway debut in The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N in 1968...
as Avram Cohen, Marcia Lewis
Marcia Lewis
Marcia Lewis was an American character actress and singer. She has been nominated twice for the Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical and twice for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical .-Biography:Lewis was born in Melrose, Massachusetts and raised in...
as Rachel Halpern, and Terrence Mann
Terrence Mann
Terrence Vaughan Mann is an American actor, director, singer, songwriter and dancer who has been prominent on the Broadway stage for the past three decades...
as Saul, a union organizer. Despite its failure, it garnered a good deal of attention during the awards season.
In 1991, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
released a studio recording of the score. It featured most of the original cast joined by Julia Migenes
Julia Migenes
Julia Migenes is an American mezzo-soprano working primarily in musical theatre repertoire. She was born on the Lower East Side of New York to a family of Greek and Irish-Puerto Rican descent...
replacing Stratas.
Revised versions
In 1991 the creators reunited to present a dramatically rewritten and severely streamlined production at The American Jewish Theatre, New York City, directed by Richard Sabellico. The version had 9 actors playing all of the roles, and a reduced set, with two pushcarts on stage and imaginary windows, with the actors describing the exterior activity. The young immigrant mother has a best friend of almost equal importance, and the story is now told by David, the heroine's young son.
The Colony Theatre Company, Los Angeles, California presented Rags in 1993.
They reworked the show again, staging it first at Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
's Coconut Grove Playhouse
Coconut Grove Playhouse
The Coconut Grove Playhouse was a legitimate theater in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States.The building was originally constructed as a movie theater called the Player's State Theater. It first opened on January 3, 1927 as a part of the Paramount chain. The movie house...
(February 1999) and then the Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theatre with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey, less than 25 miles from Manhattan. Due to its location, it can draw from the pool of actors who live in New York City. Its location, as well as its focus on producing large-scale shows, makes...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in November 1999. The revised version cut the cast to 15, from the original Broadway cast of 30. According to Strouse, "We tried to do too much.And now it's tightened, more focused. People got lost in it...The diffuse, scattered story now centers on Rebecca Hershkowitz, a young immigrant mother who escapes to the Lower East Side after a pogrom, and her love affair with Saul, an American labor organizer trying to unionize the sweatshop where she works...The [original] score was influenced by Middle Eastern, Irish, Scottish, English folk, American honky-tonk, obviously jazz and ragtime and klezmer -- even Greek music of that day, and Broadway, too...It is now 'more impressionistic'."
In 2006, Schwartz, Stein and Strouse collaborated on the World AIDS Day Concert version of the musical, celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the show's Broadway opening. The concert was at Times Square's Nokia Theatre and featured Carolee Carmello, Gregg Edelman, Eden Espinosa, Lainie Kazan and Michael Rupert.
Plot
The following synopsis applies to the rewritten production and not the show that originally appeared on Broadway. As such, some musical numbers and subplots are not accounted for.Act One
As a ship bearing hopeful immigrants steams toward Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
, a lone passenger reflects on the life he has left behind ("I Remember"). Rebecca Hershkowitz, a Jewish woman, has fled Russia with her young son David, hoping to find her husband, Nathan, who left for America years before and never wrote back to his family. Rebecca has made friends with Bella Cohen, a teenager emigrating to America with her father Avram ("If We Never Meet Again"); her brother Herschel remains behind in Russia. Bella has fallen in love with Ben, another passenger, but Avram does not approve.
On Ellis Island, the unfeeling immigration officials treat the immigrants like animals ("Greenhorns"). With no male relative to claim them, Rebecca and David are in danger of immediate deportation until Bella begs Avram to rescue her friend. Avram pretends that Rebecca is his niece, and persuades his brother, who lives in a tenement
Tenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
on the Lower East Side
Lower East Side, Manhattan
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
to let Rebecca and David stay for the night. Bella, Rebecca and David marvel at the strange new sights in the streets below ("Brand New World"). Rebecca still feels lonely, and wishes that she can give her son a real home ("Children of The Wind").
Rebecca searches for her husband and takes a job sewing in a sweatshop, while David helps Rachel, a widow, sell trinkets out of her market stall. Bella works at home as a seamstress; confined to the tenement, she pines for Ben. Ben pretended that he had a wealthy uncle who would provide for him, but in reality, he has no uncle and works in a cigar factory. Avram, though an educated man in "the old country," hawks goods as a street vendor. Even so, the new immigrants remain upbeat ("Penny A Tune"). However, the business owners in the neighborhood are preyed upon by Mr. Rosen, a greedy man who demands they pay him for protection from his thugs.
Saul, a union supporter, confronts Rebecca, urging her to open her eyes to her poor treatment and unfair wages; he suggests that she better herself through education. Saul teaches Rebecca and David how to speak English, and tries to instill American values in them ("Easy For You"). To broaden their horizons, he takes them to see Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
as performed by a Jewish theatre troupe ("Hard To Be A Prince"). Rebecca realizes that she is falling in love with Saul ("Blame It On The Summer Night").
Ben comes to visit Bella, and admits he is only a factory worker. He has a new plan, to sell gramophones
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
, and demonstrates one for her ("For My Mary"). As they dance, Avram returns and throws Ben out, forbidding Bella from ever seeing the boy again. Bella flies into a rage and accuses her father of not allowing her to achieve her own American dream ("Rags").
Meanwhile, Nathan, Rebecca's husband, is contemplating his position in the ranks of Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
, where he is promised great things if he manages to secure the Jewish vote for an anti-union Democratic candidate ("What's Wrong With That?"). He believes his wife is still in Russia until he discovers that she has placed an ad in the paper seeking him.
At the street market, Mr. Rosen comes to collect his bribes from the shopkeepers. Emboldened by the Socialist doctrine Saul has taught him, David stands up for Rachel and is beaten by Rosen's thugs. Rebecca blames Saul for corrupting her son and vows that she won't be fooled by any more idealistic notions of America. Nathan suddenly arrives to collect his wife and son ("Nothing Will Hurt Us Again").
Act Two
Nathan explains to Rebecca and David how he has managed to climb up from the ghetto of the lower East side to a better life ("Yankee Boy"). Rebecca is unsettled that her husband has given himself the American name "Nat Harris" and distances himself from the Jewish community; however, she also likes the idea of having a better life for her son ("Uptown"). She also longs for Saul, though they both realize their love can never be ("Wanting").
Avram and Rachel have fallen in love, enabling Avram to move out of his brother's house and provide Bella with a more stable family life ("Three Sunny Rooms"). Bella and David help Ben sell his "Magic Music Machine" to excited customers ("The Sound Of Love"). The three are natural salesmen, and Bella is delighted to think that soon they will have enough money to marry. To help out, she goes against her father's wishes and takes a job at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York and resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history...
("Rags" reprise).
Rebecca accompanies Nathan to a costume party and feels unhappy with her husband, who acts ashamed of her. When David interrupts the party to tell Rebecca of a fire at Bella's shop, Nathan forbids her to leave. Knowing Bella is in danger, she goes anyway, but it is too late. Bella has jumped to her death from the burning building. Avram is destroyed by the death of his daughter, and Rebecca is confused and guilty ("Kaddish").
Rebecca leads the sweatshop workers in a strike protesting the unsafe conditions that lead to the deaths of the girls at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York and resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history...
("Bread and Freedom"). As the demonstration reaches near-riot levels, Nathan shows up to try and persuade his wife to come home with him. Rebecca sees Saul in the crowd and knows she must follow her heart and stand up for what is right ("Dancing With The Fools"). She refuses Nathan.
Avram is still grieving for Bella and is planning to return to Russia and the son, Herschel, he left behind when Ben comes to pay his respects. He tells Avram that leaving America would mean Bella died for nothing and gives him the gramophone, which plays a recording of Bella's voice. While Rebecca sings of her new life with Saul and David, Rachel and Avram welcome Herschel off the boat as a new wave of immigrants arrive ("Children of The Wind reprise/Finale").
Song list
Act I
- Overture/I Remember
- If We Never Meet Again*
- Greenhorns
- Brand New World
- Children of the Wind
- Penny a Tune
- Easy for You
- Hard To Be a Prince
- Blame It on the Summer Night
- For My Mary
- Rags
- What's Wrong with That?
- On the Fourth Day of July*^
- In America*^
- Nothing Will Hurt Us Again
Act II
- Entr'acte
- Cherry Street Cafe^
- Yankee Boy
- Uptown
- Wanting
- Three Sunny Rooms
- The Sound of Love
- For My Mary (Reprise)
- Democratic Club Dance*
- Kaddish
- Bread and Freedom
- Dancing With the Fools
- Finale
Songs marked with an (*) are not included on the Cast Recording. Songs marked with a (^) are not consistently included in later versions of the musical.
-
- This song was originally scripted to be sung by Ben almost immediately after "If We Never Meet Again" (and still remains so in some publications), however it was changed for the original Broadway production.
Awards and nominations
- Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Musical (nominee) - Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Original Score (nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Stratas, nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Choreography (nominee)
- Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Stratas, winner) - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Kuhn and Lewis, nominees)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestration (nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music (nominee)