Ragtime

The Charleston Light Opera Guild and the Clay Center present Ragtime in the Maier Performance Hall at the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences on November 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11, 2018.

The Charleston Light Opera Guild and the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences collaborate to present Ragtime, based on the novel of the same name by E. L. Doctorow. This compelling production of the American experience tracks three diverse families in pursuit of the American dream in the "melting pot" of turn-of-the-century New York. Over the course of the show, the worlds of a wealthy white couple, a Jewish immigrant father and his motherless daughter and an African American ragtime musician intertwine. Together, they discover the surprising interconnections of the human heart, the limitations of justice and the unsettling consequences when dreams are permanently deferred.

As the fictitious characters embark on personal voyages of self-discovery, their lives become dramatically entangled with real life characters of historical significance that include J.P. Morgan, Emma Goldman, Harry Houdini, Evelyn Nesbit and Henry Ford.  With a script by Terrence McNally and score by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, this musical won the 1998 Tony Award for best score, best book and best orchestrations.  Featured are such show-stopping songs as "Getting Ready Rag," "Your Daddy's Son," "Wheels of a Dream," "Till We Reach that Day," "Back to Before," and "Make Them Hear You."  Ragtime sweeps across the diversity of the American experience to create a stirring epic that captures the beats of the era: the marches, the cakewalks and - of course - the ragtime.

The Guild last performed Ragtime in 2007 at the Charleston Civic Center Little Theatre.

CAST OF MULTICULTURAL CHARACTERS

Coalhouse Walker, Jr.

Kevin Hardy

Sarah

Amelia Legg-Coleman

Mother

Kristen Pennington

Tateh

Brett Short

Mother's Younger Brother

Scott Jarrell

Father

Chris Terpening

The Little Boy (Edgar)

Zene Cooper

The Little Girl

Emma Berger

Emma Goldman

Tory Casey

Evelyn Nesbit

Devin Elliott

Harry Houdini

Bob McCarty

Booker T. Washington

Samuel W. Crosby, Jr.

Grandfather

Mark Felton

Featured Roles

J.P. Morgan

Phill Warnock

Henry Ford

Ted Brightwell

Stanford White

Horace Emery

Harry K. Thaw

Michael Edens

Admiral Peary

Richard Fleenor

Matthew Henson

Trey Harris

Judge

Clint Thomas

Kathleen

Nina Surbaugh

Willie Conklin

Kennie Bass

Bridgit

Julie Miller

Attorney

Tim Lindsey

Town Hall Bureaucrat

Gerald Marsili

Houdini's Mother

Terry Terpening

Ensemble

Heather Allen

Angel Allison

Wes Armstead

Amy Atkins

Abigail Ayes

Stevie Brigode

Luci Britton

Claire Butler

Allene Conner

Laura Crist

Renee Ecckles-Hardy

Hillary Herold

Dewey Fletcher

Veella Grooms

Cedric Haynes

Samantha Hight

Anthony Hill

Susanna Morris

Gavyn Siebanoller

Lauren Spadafora

Delaney Wells

Brittany Westfall

Vanessa White

Karen P. Williams

DIRECTION

Director / Choreographer

Nina Denton Pasinetti

Musical Director

Bobby Hodges, Jr.

Technical Director

Thomas P. Pasinetti

Accompanist

David Patrick