Musical Sunday!

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Heh, I think today's pick is definitely indicative of my dismal mood. Hey, at least I didn't go with Les Miserables.

Ragtime, based on the novel by E. L. Doctorow, is a musical about the intersection of the lives of three families at the turn of the 20th century: an unnamed upper-class white family living in New Rochelle, NY, chafing against the boundaries of society; Coalhouse Walker, Jr., an African-American ragtime piano player from Harlem, and his lover, Sarah, hoping for a better future for their son and pursuing justice at a terrible cost; and Tateh, a widowed Jewish Eastern European immigrant, and his daughter, seeking a better life in America.

This song is the Act 1 finale, after Sarah has been killed. I thought about posting the lovely and uplifting "Wheels of a Dream" with the follow-up, "And then she dies and he becomes a terrorist," but that seemed cruel, so let's just go straight to depressing. :)

Comments

[dragonflylady77.livejournal.com]

*huggles*

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Right back atcha. :)

[maddie2927.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, this. Usually your musical sundays make me especially happy, being a theatre person myself, musicals especially. But this. The first time I saw Ragtime live also marks the first time I've ever been brought to tears by something's beauty alone. I was a little young to understand all of the themes and fully grasp its emotional gravity but the way it sounds touched me so deeply that I started crying. I'm actually doing this show this summer, and even though I honestly don't fit any roles except maybe Evelyn Nesbit, I just wanted to be a part of it, and experience the lovely score with a group of people instead of by myself in my car.

oh, dear. /ramble.

Long story short, thanks for this =)

ps Sorry for the dismal mood =/

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Gah, I know. I saw it on Broadway, probably as a teenager, and I definitely cried.

My high school choir used to pick a musical every year and perform songs from the show in the spring choral concert. I wasn't in choir the year they did Ragtime, but this one girl who has an amazing voice sang "Your Daddy's Son," and I still remember it. (She was the whitest white girl, too, which made it sort of hilarious.)