Then there was Elizabeth Reeves as Mother, the Victorian woman subservient to her husband, who discovers what life should be all about as she rebels, much like the heroine of A DOLL’S HOUSE written at this same time period. Reeves has a beautiful voice and a charming, serene characterization which was just right.

Ragtime Teaser (DST Arizona) from Daniel Sontag on Vimeo.

Ragtime Cast at Grand Opening of Barney’s on 10/16/09 at Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall.

The director placed Jeffrey J. Davey (Tateh) and Elizabeth Reeves (Mother) in the other two leads.

“They are all amazing,” Helland said, though his praise didn’t end with the leading actors.

“It has the most powerful vocals and incredible music of any show I’ve done,” the 30-year theater veteran said. “It’s a powerhouse.”

“There is a lot of talent in the cast, no question about that,” Jackson said. “The cast is incredible vocally and artistically, and I don’t say that a lot.”

“It deals with the human condition,” said Elizabeth Reeves, who plays the part of Mother. “It deals with, unfortunately, things that will probably never go away.”

With a Broadway revival of “Ragtime” opening in mid-November, Desert Stages’ production will be one of the last regional productions of the show for a few years. While a show is on Broadway, it cannot be produced nationally, Reeves said.

Elizabeth Reeves stars as Mother. Mesa veteran performer Reeves has starred in “Smokey Joe’s Café” and “The Taffetas,” with other credits as diverse as a recent musical performance during High Mass at the Vatican for Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter’s Basilica, among others.

Lizz plays the lead role of “Mother” in this epic musical that paints a nostalgic and powerful portrait of life in turn of the century America. Based on E.L. Doctorow’s distinguished novel, Ragtime intertwines three distinct stories that poignantly illustrate history’s timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair, and love [...]