... the first time around, finding itself in competition with the critical darling The Lion King across the street, losing the Best Musical Tony and closing when Garth Drabinsky's Livent collapsed after 834 performances and a financial loss. Imported from the Kennedy Center, this production strips away the physical extravagance that some felt overwhelmed the first production, finding at its ...

... ; the theater space itself was over-produced. (And now we understand a little bit why.) Was that L.A. Ragtime, which I went back and lapped up four more times after that opening, just lightning in a bottle? Because Livent had recently produced a triumphant Show Boat, was I seeing Ragtime in perhaps too rosy a light? Was it really a musical for the ages, fit for a place on the shelf with Guys and ...

... ? Cruelty to animals. Fair enough. I had a cat for much of my life. But I ask you: did you ever see Garth Drabinsky in handcuffs? Even after being convicted of fraud in the loss of tens of millions of Livent shareholder dollars? Didn’t happen. Myron neither. Why the double standard? Does Canada intend to be tougher on alleged cat manglers versus convicted commercial fraudsters? MRM