Ragtime pianist Ethan Uslan plays Sunday at St. Alban's. Listen to an audio interview below.

Ethan Uslan was trained as a classical pianist, but that all changed when he ran into ragtime.

“When I discovered the music of the 1920s, it didn’t really seem that old fashioned to me in comparison. In fact, I think it sounds pretty fresh and hip,” the Charlotte-based Mr. Uslan said the other day.

Listen to an audio interview and clips of Mr. Uslan below.

Mr. Uslan will be featured in the next Music @ St. Alban’s concert this Sunday, Feb. 5, when he plays a two-part program: a concert of syncopated music from the jazz age, followed by a live accompaniment to Buster Keaton’s 1924 silent film “Sherlock Junior.”

In the film, Keaton plays an outlandish detective whose adventures culminate in one of cinema’s most elaborate and unforgettable chase scenes.

And a silent one. Mr. Uslan (YOO-slin) is just the man for the job of playing along. In an interview, he said he watches a film and develops a series of cues for different types of music appropriate to each scene.

The New Jersey-born Mr. Uslan studied classical piano as a child and was trained in classical piano performance at Indiana University. But lured by an “addiction” to ragtime, he ditched classical and launched a career as a performer of ragtime and traditional jazz.

Now living in Charlotte, he is a past winner of the World Championship of Old-time Piano Playing in Peoria, Ill. He has appeared in concerts and festivals nationwide, as well as on National Public Radio’s “A Prairie Home Companion.” (He said the “Prairie Home” appearance helped launch him into a full-time musical career.)

He has several recordings to his credit and has played accompaniment on a couple of silent film DVDs, including a collection of Charlie Chaplin’s early “Keystone” films.

You might catch him around Charlotte one of these nights. He plays regularly at Petra’s Biano Bar and Cabaret and Cafe Monte.

He said he doesn’t live on the road, “but I do go out of town when there’s a good opportunity.” He’ll be in Belgium in June.

And this Sunday, he’ll be at Davidson’s St. Alban’s Episcopal Church. (Yep, same time as that big football game.)

JAZZ PIANO AND SILENT FILM

Sunday, Feb. 5, 7:30 p.m., St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Davidson. Charlotte pianist Ethan Uslan will perform music from the jazz age, then provide musical accompaniment to Buster Keaton’s 1924 silent classic “Sherlock Junior” Tickets: $15 general admission, $10 seniors, children under age 12 admitted free. Tickets available at the door or by calling 704-941-0650. On the web: musicatstalbans.net or www.uslanmusic.com

4-MIN. INTERVIEW: ETHAN USLAN

Click the play button to listen to a short interview with Ethan Uslan by DavidsonNews.net’s David Boraks. Music clips played by Uslan. Can’t see the player or hear the audio? Click here.

(MP3, 5 mins., 15 sec.)

Davidson Community Players' cast of "Ragtime" fills the stage at Duke Family Performance Hall.

By CHRISTINA RITCHIE ROGERS
DavidsonNews.net

Davidson Community Players this weekend finishes its run of “Ragtime,” a musical set in early 1900s America amid racial and ethnic tensions and the rise of the syncopated, swinging musical genre of the same name.

For musicians, ragtime songs are simultaneously fun and challenging to play, as the right hand rarely knows what the left is doing. The music is a continuous back-and-forth between the two hands, replacing beats and trading power in a way that can be playful and flirtatious, or dramatic and contentious.

From left: Timothe Bittle as Coalhouse, Lisa Smith Bradley (Mother) and Zachary Halsey (Little Boy) are in the "Ragtime" cast.

In Davidson Community Players’ production, the orchestra and musical score demonstrate the musical genre’s full range, at one moment happily plunking piano keys while actors sing and dance in a speakeasy, and at another exploiting opportunities for musical swells and ebbs during times of sadness and confusion.

The orchestra is on stage – a permanent part of the set. Actors and sets come and go while the band’s lighted music stands glow in the background, a constant reminder that at the heart of the movement is a series of musical notes on a page.

The entire show is a ragtime piece “played” to perfection, as director Melissa Ohlman-Roberge coordinates not two hands, but hundreds of hands, expertly orchestrating more than 100 personnel – actors, musicians, technicians, designers, staff members, interns and community volunteers.

Set changes are seamless – parts exit right while others enter left, and vice versa, all the while never breaking the melody of each scene. And that is no small feat, as the set transforms into a boat, a trolly, an attic, New York slums, a speakeasy, a courthouse, and more.

Timothe Bittle plays Coalhouse Walker.

And the audience experiences a similar, back-and-forth, ragtime rhythm through the interactions between the characters, who trade positions of strength and restraint in a way that is at times haunting and at others joyful.

Timothe Bittle plays Coalhouse Walker Jr., an African-American musician in early 1900s Harlem who is in love with Sarah, a Harlem woman and the mother of his child, played by Kimberly Monique Butler. Separately, each actor’s voice is powerful and exceptional. And when the two combine, as they do often throughout the show, their sound consumes the audience, who can’t help but smile when they smile and cry when they cry.

Also effective are the musical interactions between Mother and Father, which amplify the ways in which their WASP union is an empty one. Played by Lisa Smith Bradley and Steven B. Martin, their right hand/left hand musical exchanges overlap, and at times they are singing more to themselves than to each other. Theirs becomes the epitome of a relationship lacking communication, passion and caring – quite the opposite of Mr. Bittle’s and Ms. Butler’s characters – and It allows for the sharp contrast with interactions between Ms. Bradley and Kevin Roberge, who plays Tateh, a dynamic and attentive Latvian immigrant with whom she later falls in love.

The lead characters are joined by a cast of supporting characters, each exceptionally talented, sharing the journey of love, loss, prejudice and rage. And they do so in a way that is never cliche or heavy-handed. The show invites audience members to enjoy the song and dance, to remember the past and to look critically at the world today, exercising restraint without losing the magic of musical theater. It reminds us of just what community theater can and should be.

‘RAGTIME’
By Terrence McNally
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, Music by Stephen Flaherty
Directed by Melissa Ohlman-Roberge
Based on the novel “Ragtime,” by E.L. Doctorow
WHERE: Duke Family Performance Hall at Davidson College
REMAINING PERFORMANCES: Thurs. to Sat., Jun 23-25, 8 p.m., and Sat. June 25, 2 p.m.
TICKETS: boxoffice@davidsoncommunityplayers.org, or 704-892-7918
INFO: www.davidsoncommunityplayers.org

Davidson Community Players will take the road less traveled when it stages the critically acclaimed musical “Ragtime” next month at Davidson College’s Duke Family Performance Hall.

The company says this will be one of the biggest productions in its 46-year history. Since premiering on Broadway and winning Tony Awards 13 years ago, “Ragtime” has toured nationally several times, played London’s West End, and recently has enjoyed a Broadway revival. The show is big in every respect: a cast of 50 men, women and children; an elaborate set; quickly changing scenes; an intriguing storyline; a monumental musical score; and a subject that embraces the indomitable nature of human will.

E.L. Doctorow’s novel comes to life in this song-and-dance show that looks at three New York families just after the turn of the 20th century: a wealthy white couple; a Jewish immigrant father and his motherless daughter; and an African American piano player who teaches them about the interconnections of the human heart, the limitations of justice, and the consequences of letting go of a dream. Historical figures like Harry Houdini, J.P. Morgan and Emma Goldman inhabit the moving epic, but it is the stirring musical score that carries the show, including gospel, marches, cakewalks and — of course — ragtime.

DCP Artistic Director Melissa Ohlman-Roberge directs, with choreography by Felicia Davis, musical direction by John Smith, sets by Anna Sartin, with props by Lisa Altieri. Jamey Varnador has designed the costumes, lighting is by Bruce Auerbach, and sound design is by Ryan Clark.

The cast includes new and old faces. Guest Artist and full-time actor Timothe Bittle plays Coalhouse Walker Jr. Also in the cast: Kevin Roberge (Tateh) and Lisa Smith-Bradley (Mother); Amanda Roberge (Evelyn Nesbitt) and Issac Josephthal (Harry Houdini), along with Kimberly Butler (Sarah), Brianna Smith (Emma Goldman), Erik D’Esterre (Younger Brother), Carranza Pryor (Booker T. Washington); Robert Watson (J.P. Morgan), B.J. Facemire (Henry Ford), Stuart Spencer (Willy Conklin), Robert Nipper (Harry K Thaw), Gino Pietrantoni (Grandfather), Steven Martin (Father) Eliza Robinson (Little Girl), and Zachary Halsey (Little Boy).

Performances are June 16-18, 8pm; June 23-25, 8pm; Sun Jun 19 and Sat Jun 25 at 2pm. Tickets are $22 adults, $20 for seniors (65+) and $12 for students. The show is recommended for ages 13 and over. For tickets, call the box office (704-892-7953) between 9am and 4pm (M-F), or purchase tickets online anytime at www.DavidsonCommunityPlayers.org. Discounted tickets with reserved seats are available for groups of 10 or more.

Timothe Bittle (Coalhouse), Lisa Smith Bradley (center, Mother) and Zachary Halsey (Little Boy) star in "Ragtime" at Davidson Community Players.

Davidson Community Players have cast a big collection of familiar faces and newcomers in their upcoming production of Terrence McNally’s musical “Ragtime,” running June 16-25 at Duke Family Performance Hall at Davidson College. Also on the local theater schedule: Warehouse Performing Arts Center in Cornelius will stage a series of short plays called “Grave Comedies,” June 2-12. Plus news about youth auditions ahead at Davidson Community Players’ Connie Co. children’s theater.

GET READY FOR ‘RAGTIME’

Davidson Community Players will take the road less traveled when it stages the critically acclaimed musical “Ragtime” next month at Davidson College’s Duke Family Performance Hall.

The company says this will be one of the biggest productions in its 46-year history. Since premiering on Broadway and winning Tony Awards 13 years ago, “Ragtime” has toured nationally several times, played London’s West End, and recently has enjoyed a Broadway revival. The show is big in every respect: a cast of 50 men, women and children; an elaborate set; quickly changing scenes; an intriguing storyline; a monumental musical score; and a subject that embraces the indomitable nature of human will.

E.L. Doctorow’s novel comes to life in this song-and-dance show that looks at three New York families just after the turn of the 20th century: a wealthy white couple; a Jewish immigrant father and his motherless daughter; and an African American piano player who teaches them about the interconnections of the human heart, the limitations of justice, and the consequences of letting go of a dream. Historical figures like Harry Houdini, J.P. Morgan and Emma Goldman inhabit the moving epic, but it is the stirring musical score that carries the show, including gospel, marches, cakewalks and — of course — ragtime.

DCP Artistic Director Melissa Ohlman-Roberge directs, with choreography by Felicia Davis, musical direction by John Smith, sets by Anna Sartin, with props by Lisa Altieri. Jamey Varnador has designed the costumes, lighting is by Bruce Auerbach, and sound design is by Ryan Clark.

The cast includes new and old faces. Guest Artist and full-time actor Timothe Bittle plays Coalhouse Walker Jr. Also in the cast: Kevin Roberge (Tateh) and Lisa Smith-Bradley (Mother); Amanda Roberge (Evelyn Nesbitt) and Issac Josephthal (Harry Houdini), along with Kimberly Butler (Sarah), Brianna Smith (Emma Goldman), Erik D’Esterre (Younger Brother), Carranza Pryor (Booker T. Washington); Robert Watson (J.P. Morgan), B.J. Facemire (Henry Ford), Stuart Spencer (Willy Conklin), Robert Nipper (Harry K Thaw), Gino Pietrantoni (Grandfather), Steven Martin (Father) Eliza Robinson (Little Girl), and Zachary Halsey (Little Boy).

Performances are June 16-18, 8pm; June 23-25, 8pm; Sun Jun 19 and Sat Jun 25 at 2pm. Tickets are $22 adults, $20 for seniors (65+) and $12 for students. The show is recommended for ages 13 and over. For tickets, call the box office (704-892-7953) between 9am and 4pm (M-F), or purchase tickets online anytime at www.DavidsonCommunityPlayers.org. Discounted tickets with reserved seats are available for groups of 10 or more.

NEW PLAYS AT WAREHOUSE

In 2010, Warehouse PAC in Cornelius announced its first playwriting competition for North Carolina and South Carolina playwrights. They asked writers to submit short 10-minute comedies set in a graveyard or funeral parlor with four characters or less. Forty playwrights from all over the Carolinas submitted scripts. A committee picked seven short comedies to produce, and they’ll open as “Grave Comedies” on Thursday, June 2.

“Grave Comedies” is part of a two-week festival that also features staged readings of three new, full-length plays by N.C. playwrights as well as playwriting workshops by Judy Simpson Cook (whose works have appeared at DCP and Charlotte Repertory) and David Radavich (vice-president of Charlotte Writers Club).

The Festival runs from June 2-12. Tickets to Grave Comedies are $20 for general admission, $15 for students, seniors and groups of 8+. Reservations may be made via email at tickets@warehousepac.com or by calling the box office at 704-619-0429

Workshops are planned:

Saturday, June 4th 10 a.m. – noon – Judy Simpson Cook – “What Happens After ‘The End?’ A Guide To Producing, Publishing and Promoting Your Play” – $20

Saturday, June 11th – 10 a.m. – noon – David Radavich – “Building the Body of the Play” – $20

New Full-Length Staged Readings (free events): “The Movie Notebook,” by Ann Marie Oliva, Saturday, June 4th at 8:00 PM & Saturday, June 11th at 2:00 PM; “Masquerade,” by Mark Havlik, Wednesday, June 8th at 7:00 PM; “Of Marital Bliss” by Todd Ford – Saturday, June 4th at 2:00 PM & Tuesday, June 7th at 7:00 PM;

Featured Event – Short Play Fest Grave Comedies – Selected Plays Include: “Just Hear Me Out” by Don Darnell, Greensboro; “The Plot Thickens” by Carol Butler, Lake Wylie, SC; “The Boxes” by Paul FX Kane, Cary; “In The Graveyard of Naughty Children” by Chris Hamilton & Rachel Jeffreys, Cornelius; “The Co-Mingling” by Eileen Marie Davis, Rock Hill; “Prix Fixe” by Vito Abate; Charlotte; “Graveside Manners” by Scott Icenhower, Greensboro.

Performances are Thursdays, June 2nd and 9th – 8:00 PM; Fridays, June 3rd and 10th – 8:00 PM; Saturday, June 11th – 8:00 PM; Sundays, June 5th and 12th – 2:00 PM

AUDITIONS FOR YOUTH

Davidson Community Players’ Connie Company is making plans for a fall performance workshop for young people titled “MACBETH – Shakespeare Unplugged.” This chilling tale of greed and corruption follow Macbeth’s transformation from a battlefield hero to a bloody tyrant. The madness of Lady Macbeth, ghostly apparitions, and wild witches provide a sinister backdrop to this timeless thriller that is full of temptation and treachery.

The Connie Company’s “unplugged” version of Macbeth will be developed out of a study of the original Shakespearean language under the direction of Wrenn Goodrum. The process will begin with a week long intensive workshop August 1-5 from 4pm-7pm. Actors will then meet three days each week through September 22 to develop the production. Performances will be Sept. 23, 24, 25 at the Armour Street Theatre. Students will have an opportunity to explore the language and world of Shakespeare in a modern day version of the classic tragedy, and develop and perform an original interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

AUDITION DETAILS
Who: Actors & Actresses, grades 6-12
When: Monday, June 6 from 3-5 pm or 5-7pm (only one time slot necessary)
Where: Armour Street Theatre, 307 Armour Street, Davidson, NC
Note: Interested actors should choose one session to attend and should plan to stay for the entire session. Students with early dismissal times are asked to attend the earlier session. Auditions will consist of theatre games and readings from the script.
Macbeth – Unplugged Workshop Series: Aug 1 – Sep 25.
Cost: $145 for 8-week course, including week-long intensive Aug 1-5. Note: scholarships are available. For info., call 704-892-7953.

There is no cost for June 6 audition. If selected, the Shakespeare Unplugged Workshop Fee is $145. Scholarships Available. For additional information call 704-892-7953.