←Recommendations of The Sugar Ridge Rag

I have been wanting to see The Sugar Ridge Rag by Philip Middleton Williams and finally got to read this beautiful and truthful play. Having lived through this period, I rarely read or see a play that gets it - That understands life in the 60's: the complex in the simplicity, and the simplicity in the complex. Middleton Williams has always written beautiful and sensitive relationship plays but this, written with the background of ragtime and 1960's America, sears your heart. Yes, I did cry. And I laughed at the goodheartedness of these characters. Should be seen nationwide.

I had the good fortune to watch a livestream of the live production of The Sugar Ridge Rag produced by Lab Theatre Project in Tampa, FL. Playwright Philip Middleton Williams has crafted a nuanced, moving, searingly honest portrayal of a family torn apart due to the Vietnam War and the two very different choices made by twin brothers. Full of gorgeous dialogue, authentic family drama, all set to a backdrop of syncopated ragtime music. I hope this beautiful piece of theatre is produced again and again.

As enjoyable as plays are to read, they are meant to be performed; interpretations by a director and their cast are bound to differ from the preconceived notions that come from reading a work, and seeing Williams' THE SUGAR RIDGE RAG in performance at the Lab Theater Project recently revealed so many more levels to this touching story than are apparent on the page. A powerful piece of writing, the production pointed the way to what the script could be when performed – a heartbreaking, engrossing, and thought-provoking piece of theater.

This is such a beautiful play in so many ways, one way that stands out for me is the love in this family that weaves its way through the story and holds them all close. The twins share an unbreakable bond even when they go their separate, and desperate ways in life. Also this play is so evocatively told, reading this I felt every hug, heard every gun shot and every note from the Steinway. Simply beautiful.

Williams once again demonstrates his gift for Naturalism. The characters in this play perform a nuanced understanding of each other, resulting in a drama that is deceptively subtle and incredibly rich. I feel like I should mention that I’m a twin, and I feel like I should say whether Philip “got twins right.” I can’t answer that question: each set of twins share their own language and are co-archivists in a mostly shared autobiography (particularly in youth). I can say Williams got these particular twins absolutely right. I love this play and hope to see it produced.

Lovely. A glimpse into a world we still don't talk about much these days. A war I remember which filled exactly one small paragraph in my history book in the 80s. Williams brings the period to life and explores a microcosm of a larger world all too much like our own now. Full of tension, naturalistic imagery, powerful dialogue and plain goodness. Favorite line: "The world’s screwed up enough without fighting over that kinda shit."

The bonds of family may be strong, but Philip Middleton Williams puts them through the ringer in "The Sugar Ridge Rag," a powerful play about the toll that war takes on families, even when no one is killed. The Grangers are a loving family who get tested by the Vietnam War and the choices each twin makes in response to it.
Each war leaves scars on the current and succeeding generations, and "The Sugar Ridge Rag" explores those scars brilliantly. This should be staged everywhere.

A half century ago, men of my generation who had low draft numbers faced choices that boiled down to "Vietnam or Canada." The twins in this play each choose differently and their whole family has to come to grips with the ramifications of those choices. Williams captures the atmosphere of the times and of small-town Midwest life perfectly and gives each twin his due in this wonderfully theatrical work. Highly recommended.

Twins in small-town Ohio. Sugar Ridge Rag is a graceful but robust family saga about brothers living in the syncopated decade of the 1970s. Structured around the music of ragtime, this is a gift for director, actors, scene and sound designer with non linearity episodes, all the more effective for being understated. Covered with a light touch but deep resonance are huge personal, national and international issues: war and defence, masculinity, the two countries of North America, the military industrial complex, a split family coming to terms with a new era but, above all, loving ties that bind.

The beauty of this play lies in the form and structure of the piece that makes it theatrical, like the intricate, surprising rhythms of ragtime music that serves as a metaphor for the twin brothers’ differences despite their intense bond. We are so accustomed to Vietnam War stories told to us cinematically that when we see one onstage, or even read one, we are caught off guard by the subtleties in characterization and minimalism that a theatre piece can provide, especially one as powerful as Williams’ play is. This family drama shows us the turbulence of the times exceedingly well.