The director placed Jeffrey J. Davey (Tateh) and Lizz Reeves Fidler (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.”
“It deals with the human condition,” said Lizz Reeves Fidler , 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.
Lizz Reeves Fidler 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.