■ The musical, based on the
book by E.L Doctorow, reflects
the culture of America at the
beginning of the 20th Century.
BY SEAN MCCARTHY
tike the music genre,
“Ragtime" reflects a collision of
musical and cultural differ
ences at the turn of the century.
And as music changes with
societal changes, Ragtime
offered a revo
lutionary and
often-hedonis
tic style that
fused elements
of African and
Caribbean
beats.
The Tony
award-winning
musical will
open tonight at
the Lied
Center. The
musical is
based on E.L.
Doctorow’s
best-selling
novel. Terrence
McNally
penned the
I
The musi
cal genre of
Ragtime,
That
culture is so
well
defined You
have the
, i JM _ It • * t •«, *'"^5
white
upperdass.
culture, the
Jewish
culture and
the African
American
culture.”
AKsa Befflower
UNL lecturer of
musical theater
which begins
at the Lied
Center Tuesday and runs
through Jan. 28, has enjoyed a
slight resurgence of interest
thanks to the Ken Bum’s docu
mentary, “Jazz.” In the early
installations of the epic docu
mentary, the genesis of jazz was
traced back to ragtime and
blues. The documentary
showed written statements of
critics of Ragtime, that stated
fans of the music genre should
be treated the same way as suf
ferers of leprosy.
Ragtime’s popularity was
not limited to the United States:
the music genre was popular in
Canada, Europe and Australia
before its influence faded in the
early 1900s. The name, Ragtime,
was used to describe the
‘ragged’ rhythms played. It is
also a word to describe an
instrumental composition with
a syncopated melody against a
march-style bass rhythm.
Alisa Belflower, lecturer of
musical theater at UNL, said
she was planning on seeing
“Ragtime." She has seen the
musical in New York and has
taught students some of the
original songs.
II
u is an epic musical, cu
posed by Americans based on
an epic novel,” Belflower said.
Belflower said “Ragtime”
had universal appeal because it
depicted historical events as
well as emotional storytelling.
For actors, the musical requires
strong skills because of the
complex emotions of the char
acters.
“That culture is so well
defined,” Belflower said, “You
have the white Upper-class cul
ture, the Jewish culture and the
African American culture.”
“Ragtime”'s Broadway run
was directed by Frank Galati,
who directs the musical,
“Seussical.” Choreographer
Graciela Daniele also choreo
graphed the acclaimed "Annie
Get Your Gun.” Belflower said it
was unique that all of the origi
nal collaborators were able to
make an original composition
out of historical events.
“Every single collaborator
achieved a claim of artistic
notoriety,” Belflower said.
Even though “Ragtime”
takes place at the dawn of the
20th century, there are many
parallels to today’s society. Just
as the musical showed vastly
different cultures coming
together, technology and the
Internet are acting to join differ
ent cultures. Belflower said the
challenges the characters faced
as a result of the “melting pot”
synopsis are similar in today’s
world.
“You are maintaining a cul
tural identity and belonging to a
whole,” she said.
