Ragtime

Ragtime, Terrence McNally’s acclaimed adaptation of the 1975 novel by E.L. Doctorow, is a sweeping and ambitious tale of race, class and the promise of America at the dawn of the 20th century.

It is also a tremendously demanding theatrical production, requiring almost 50 actors and at least a dozen musicians. Indeed, Ragtime is so logistically challenging — more than 150 different costumes must be designed and sewn — that it virtually precludes staging by all but the largest of regional theaters.

Yet next month, The Black Rep will join forces with Washington University’s Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences to present this Tony Award-winning musical as the PAD’s fall Mainstage production.

Performances will take place in the university’s Edison Theatre at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16 and 17; and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18. Performances will then continue the next two weekends, at 8 p.m. Oct. 23, 24, 30 and 31; and at 2 p.m. Oct. 25 and Nov. 1.

Edison Theatre is located in the Mallinckrodt Student Center, 6445 Forsyth Blvd. Tickets are $20, or $15 for Washington University faculty and staff and $10 for children, students and seniors. Tickets are available through the Edison Theatre Box Office, (314) 935-6543, and through all MetroTix outlets.

For more information, call (314) 935-6543 or visit padarts.wustl.edu.

Set predominantly in New York, Ragtime follows three families — one Jewish immigrant, one upper-class Protestant and one African-American — as their lives intertwine amidst the era’s social upheavals. At the center of the story is Coalhouse Walker Jr., a successful and easygoing ragtime piano player who turns to violence after a white mob destroys his custom Model T. Mingling with the fictional characters are historical figures from the period, ranging from Henry Ford and Booker T. Washington to Harry Houdini and the anarchist Emma Goldman.

“In essence, Ragtime is the story of America,” says director Ron Himes, founder of The Black Rep as well as the Henry E. Hampton Jr. artist-in-residence in the PAD. “It’s the immigrant story and the African-American story and the story of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants and all the intersections inbetween. It’s also a story about justice — who gets justice and who doesn’t. In a lot of ways, the issues it raises are still with us today.

“Ragtime has a scale and a scope that neither The Black Rep nor the PAD could have accomplished alone,” continues Himes, who also is teaching a seminar titled “Ragtime: From Page to Stage.” “Combining our resources really affords a unique opportunity.”

For example, to cast the show, Himes held two separate auditions — one for PAD students, one for young actors associated with the Black Rep — then combined the two groups during callbacks. Meanwhile sets (designed by Black Rep veteran Jim Burwinkel) and costumes (designed by Bonnie Kruger, costume director in the PAD) are being created in both The Black Rep and PAD workshops.

“It’s been great watching the groups meld together,” Himes adds. “They’ve really become a unified company. You forget who’s from the university and who’s from The Black Rep.”

Jeffery Mathews, drama program coordinator in the PAD, notes that Ragtime preparations have given students a visceral sense of the frenetic pace of professional theater.

“We’ve never done anything quite this enormous before, so we’re working them pretty hard,” Matthews says with a smile. “They’re basically working a semi-professional schedule, rehearsing 20 hours a week. Students are actually getting additional credit hours because of the demands. But the energy is just extraordinary.”

The cast is led by Shaun Hudson as Coalhouse Walker and Janessa Morgan as Sarah, with whom Coalhouse is in love, along with Renae Adams and Jonathan Forsythe as Mother and Father to the upper-class family; Matthew Howard as their Young Boy; and Peter Winfrey as Mother’s Younger Brother.

Micah Herstand is Tateh, a Latvian widower who has come to America with his daughter, played on different nights by the sisters Alessandra and Veronica Silva. Also featured are Malcolm Foley as Booker T. Washington and Carly Schulman as Emma Goldman. Catherine Moreton and Dan Davis play Evelyn Nesbit and Harry Houdini. David Blake is Willie Conklin, the racist fire chief whose men attack Colehouse’s car.

Lighting is by Sean Savoie, lecturer in the PAD. Music direction and choreography are by The Black Rep’s Charles Creath and Millie Garvey, respectively.