Ragtime
The musical RAGTIME is based on the 1975 novel by E.L. Doctorow. It tells the a story of confusing and dangerous times and three groups of people. The African Americans are represented by Coalhouse Walker, Jr. a ragtime piano player. The wealthy class is represented by the character known as Mother, and the immigrants are represented by a Jewish immigrant from Latvia known as Tateh. The story works its way through personal conflicts, political intrigue, labor problems, emerging musical forms, scandal, wealth, and poverty. To add to the realistic feel of this musical, it is full of famous...and infamous...characters such as Harry Houdini, Emma Goldman, J.P. Morgan, Henry Ford, Booker T. Washington, Evelyn Nesbitt, Admiral Peary, Stanford White, et al. The show ends on a thoughtful and hopeful note which time, alas, has not allowed to happen.
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Cast
About the Costume
A variety of costumes are shown here from the very wealthy in their summer whites through the Negroes of Harlem to the poor immigrants in their rags.
About the Character
At this point in the production, Emma Goldman is giving one of her rousing speeches calling for labor reform, and Booker T. Washington is calling for very conservative action from the people.
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Little Boy (Edgar)
About the Costume
Edgar is wearing a white sailor top, matching shorts, knee socks and a cap. This costume is often used for the opening of the show as well as for the Atlantic City number.
About the Character
Edgar is the young son of Mother and Father and opens the production as a storyteller.
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Edgar may have additional outfits for the show, but each would have either shorts or knickers as young boys of the era would have worn.
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Mother
About the Costume
Mother is seen here in a simple lacy dress of the period.
About the Character
Mother as the character who represents the wealthy in this show develops from a meek woman of her time to a strong willed master of her own destiny. Her clothing through the show changes from the strict fitted clothing of the period to more loose fitting garments representing her freedom from the oppression women feel.
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Mother
About the Costume
Mother is here wearing one of the more strict outfits of the period with jacket, heavy skirt, fitted blouse, and hat.
About the Character
In this scene as Mother and her son are traveling to the city, they chance to meet the immigrant Tateh and his young daughter in the train station. This is thee beginning of a friendship and romance for Mother.
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Father
About the Costume
Father is returning from an adventure in the Arctic with Admiral Peary. He is wearing a heavy overcoat and fur hat.
About the Character
Father is the patriarch of a wealthy family and a business man who thinks himself a great explorer. He had left his wife and family to go off with Admiral Peary. Mother was left alone to attend to both the house and the family business. Now returned, Father is upset with the changes made in the household and the business.
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Brother
About the Costume
Brother is wearing a light colored period suit with jacket, pants, shirt and tie. He is holding his straw boater.
About the Character
This is the younger brother of Mother. His name is never given in the show. He is a playboy and more inclined to fun than work. He is enamored of performer/singer Evelyn Nesbitt. He is also a munitions expert who falls in with Coalhouse Walker, Jr and his gang.
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Brother also had a more conservative darker suit for this production.
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Grandfather
About the Costume
Grandfather is wearing a light colored suit of the period with jacket, pants, shirt, tie and straw fedora and is carrying a gentleman's walking stick.
About the Character
Grandfather lives with his daughter (Mother) and her family. He is known to deliver bits of wisdom both to other characters in the show and to the audience.
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Tateh
About the Costume
Tateh and his daughter are seen in the clothes they arrive in America wearing. More rags than clothing though he proudly wears his prayer shawl.
About the Character
Tateh and his daughter are Jewish immigrants from Latvia. He is a peddler and silhouette artist who works very hard to feed and clothe his daughter and himself.
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Tateh
About the Costume
Tateh is able to buy some better clothes for himself and his daughter as his fortunes begin to turn.
About the Character
Tateh invents a "movie book" (better known as a flip book), and is able to begin selling these at an astonishing rate.
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Tateh
About the Costume
Tateh is now a well dressed member of society in his suit and hat.
About the Character
Tateh has turned his "movie book" idea over and is now producing and directing films at which he seems to be doing very well.
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Coalhouse Walker, Jr.
About the Costume
Coalhouse is wearing a bright plaid suit of the period with jacket, pants, shirt, and tie. He additionally had a derby hat.
About the Character
Coalhouse is a piano player who plays in Harlem clubs and was a big impetus in Ragtime Music becoming mainstream.
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Coalhouse Walker, Jr.
About the Costume
Coalhouse is wearing matching vest and pants with shirt and tie. This is actually a 3 piece suit but he has removed the jacket.
About the Character
In a fit of anger over his inability to get justice when he has been the victim of a hate crime, Coalhouse resorts to more violent methods of persuasion.
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Sarah
About the Costume
Sarah is seen here wearing a simple blouse and skirt for work days.
About the Character
Sarah is the beloved of Coalhouse Walker, Jr and is the mother of his child. She tries to hide the fact that she has given birth and places the child in a flowerbed where Mother finds it. Feeling great sympathy, Mother keeps the baby and eventually finds Sarah and brings her into her home.
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Petticoats may be added to this type costume.
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Sarah
About the Costume
Now in a stable working and living environment, Sarah is able to dress herself nicer.
About the Character
Sarah is now happier living with and working for Mother and able to raise her son, Coalhouse Walker III.
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Coalhouse Walker III
About the Costume
The young Coalhouse Walker III is seen here wearing shirt, vest, shirt, pants, and cap.
About the Character
He is the son of Sarah and Coalhouse Walker, Jr although when both are killed, Mother takes the child and raises him as her own when she marries Tateh.
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Evelyn Nesbitt
About the Costume
Evelyn is dressed in a gold and black dancehall costume for her big number "Crime of the Century". Costume includes the dress and headpiece. Showgirls are wearing similar costumes in red and black.
About the Character
Evelyn is a beautiful Vaudeville singer/dancer who married millionaire Harry K Thaw. Evelyn, however, was in love with architect Stanford White and eventually, her husband shot and killed her lover ("Crime of the Century").
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Evelyn Nesbitt
About the Costume
Evelyn is wearing what would seem to be her petticoat, chemise, and corset.
About the Character
After the furor of celebrity surrounding her husband killing her lover, Evelyn finds that she is no longer a headliner in a major theater but just a penniless performer in a sideshow on Coney Island.
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Harry Houdini
About the Costume
Houdini is dressed in basic black for his illusions.
About the Character
Harry Houdini is the son of immigrants but is determined to break that mold. As the greatest magician of his time, he does finally gain the respect and admiration of the country. But this is after working his way up from being a Coney Island performer like Nesbitt.
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Emma Goldman
About the Costume
Emma is wearing a blue striped skirt and jacket with a black blouse.
About the Character
Emma is a Jewish immigrant who rouses the workers with stirring speeches about workers rights and conditions and begins the first labor strikes laying the groundwork for future labor unions. Eventually, she is arrested and deported.
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Henry Ford
About the Costume
Henry Ford is wearing a dark business suit of the period with shirt and tie.
About the Character
Henry Ford, inventor of the Model T Automobile, is a wealthy and influential businessman. Coalhouse has come to him to buy a car.
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J.P. Morgan
About the Costume
Mr. Morgan is dressed in a period suit with his ever present ascot and fedora.
About the Character
Millionaire financier and banker J.P. Morgan was known for his philanthropy and art collection. Here in RAGTIME his library is threatened by Coalhouse Walker, Jr. and his cohorts.
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Booker T. Washington
About the Costume
Dark period suit with contrasting vest, shirt and dark tie. Mr. Washington is also wearing a wide brimmed derby hat.
About the Character
Booker T. Washington was an educator and adviser to Presidents on African-American affairs. he spoke as a leader of the black community and talked of education as a way to fight disenfranchisement and segregation instead of violence.
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Opening
About the Costume
The very wealthy are wearing their white finery. The African Americans of Harlem are dressed in brightly colored clothing. The poor immigrants are in drab rags.
About the Character
Three separated groups of people all trying to find a way to live together. The wealthy wanting to be above all the others. The African Americans and Immigrants wanting a fair shake and chance at the American Dream.
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Immigrants
About the Costume
Most are dressed in little more than rags, owning only what they have on their backs. Drab colors chosen to represent their downtrodden lives.
About the Character
The "teeming masses" and "discarded refuse" as the immigrants of the time were often called.
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Harlem Folks
About the Costume
Bright colors in stripes and plaids were used to set these characters apart.
About the Character
In RAGTIME the lives of the Harlem characters are set against the music and dance clubs Harlem that were all the rage of the time. In this scene, they are dancing to the "Gettin' Ready Rag".
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The Wealthy
About the Costume
All the finery...the wealthy dressed the part. White is used to show those who are of the upper classes.
About the Character
The rich are well represented in the number "Atlantic City" as they were the ones who could afford to "summer" there.
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Wheels of a Dream
About the Costume
Coalhouse and Sarah with baby
About the Character
Coalhouse and Sarah sing of the hope that they have for their child and this country just before everything goes wrong for them...his car is vandalized...he cannot get justice...Sarah is killed...he becomes a fugitive and a terrorist...in the end Coalhouse Walker III and the country are left with a dubious future...unlike the hopeful lyrics of the song.
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