On his way to New Rochelle, Coalhouse encounters a group of hostile volunteer firemen who threaten him for being cocky by driving past them in his new car. The Little Boy has a premonition that they will see Tateh and the Little Girl again, but Mother tells him that is absurd. Mother and Tateh greet one another, and Tateh is surprised to be treated with respect ("Nothing Like The City").
Tateh and the Little Girl wait across the tracks for a train to Boston. A new car rolls off the assembly line, and Coalhouse drives off in search of Sarah.īack in New Rochelle, Mother and the Little Boy wait at the train station, on their way to New York City to take care of the family business while Father is away. Henry Ford appears to tell us of his new method of mass production and his most famous product - the model T ("Henry Ford"). He tells his friends the story of how he loved and lost Sarah, but reveals that he's just found out where she might be living and is determined to win her back ("Getting' Ready Rag"). In Harlem, people of Harlem celebrate the great musician Coalhouse Walker Jr. He swears to make a better life for himself and his child ("Success"). When a man tries to buy the Little Girl, Tateh has reached rock bottom. Time passes, Tateh becomes less idealistic - he is still poor and the Little Girl is sick. Morgan enters the scene and metaphorically crushes the immigrants, but Harry Houdini magically swoops in as an emblem of immigrant triumph. Emma Goldman chastises him for selling one of J.P.
Tateh sets up his business on the Lower East Side, selling paper silhouettes of celebrities for a nickel each.
Ragtime tees full#
With many other immigrants, Tateh and The Little Girl disembark at Ellis Island, full of hope ("America"). Rather than let Sarah go to prison, Mother takes Sarah and the child into her own home ("What Kind Of Woman"). The police arrive on the premises with Sarah, the mother of the child. The Little Boy wants to see Houdini as he has a cryptic message for him, 'warn the duke.' While he begins to read her Father's letter, mother makes a shocking discovery - there is a newborn African-American child buried in the flowerbed. The scene shifts to Mother and the Little Boy in the garden. One day, after the show, Younger Brother approaches her, but she dismisses him. Younger Brother goes to all of her shows. Her show is a vaudeville act that tells the true story of her lover's murder by her famous husband ("Crime Of The Century"). He is frustrated and lost, searching for meaning in his life and hoping to find it in her. Mother's Younger Brother is in love with Evelyn Nesbit. Simultaneously, Mother wonders what this year without her husband will bring ("Journey On"). Tateh and Father wave to one another Father admires the immigrants for their naive bravery in coming to a new land, and Tateh questions Father's reasons for leaving the place he has worked so hard to find. On its way out of the harbor, Father's ship passes a rag ship filled with immigrants, arriving in New York. At the dock, he consoles Mother that everything will be the same upon his return, but Mother is not convinced ("Goodbye My Love").
Whites, African-Americans, immigrants and celebrities are set on a collision course the opening number ("Ragtime").įather is accompanying Admiral Peary on a trip to the North Pole. Morgan, Henry Ford, Evelyn Nesbit and Emma Goldman. The lives of these three American families are entwined with Booker T. Immigrants arrive at Ellis Island and we meet Tateh, an artist who makes silhouettes, and his Little Girl. Next, we go to Harlem to meet Coalhouse Walker Jr., a ragtime pianist, and his admirers.
First, we visit New Rochelle, New York to meet a well-to-do white family: Mother, Father and their Little Boy, Mother's Younger Brother, and Grandfather. We are introduced to the social and political climate of the United States in the early 20th century by meeting a parade of characters - famous celebrities and private citizens of the time.
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