Weather A CurtainUp Review Rags by Kathryn Osenlund Charles Strouse, the composer, and Joseph Stein, the author, were in attendance at opening night of the once-more resurrected Rags at the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia. The musical that won't give up is making a comeback.
Scene one opens dramatically in black, gold and blue.
We see the interior of a ship as it enters New York harbor. It carries immigrants, the wretched refuse. This is essentially to be Rebecca's story but it ranges over a lot of territory as a paean to the Jewish immigrant experience, but more about that later. Rebecca befriends other immigrants who help her. Rebecca is looking for security.