Castlerea Musical Society is delighted to announce that its chosen show for 2014 is "RAGTIME". "Ragtime" is an epic musical with an inspiring score, covering themes of justice, hope, immigration, poverty and freedom, and will undoubtedly prove to be the biggest challenge the society has ever taken on.
"Ragtime" is based in the New York area in the early 1900's and tells the story of the American dream from a number of perspectives - rich white landowners, poor black servants and destitute Eastern European immigrants. It mixes fictional characters with historical figures, such as Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, J.P. Morgan, Harry Houdini, Evelyn Nesbit and Booker T. Washington. It is a show with a large number of parts and requires a huge chorus. Some of the stand-out numbers in the show include "Your Daddy's Son", "Till We Reach That Day", New Music" and "Sarah Brown Eyes".
"Ragtime" is a relatively new musical, having had its Irish premiere in 2004. Based on E.L. Doctorow's 1975 novel of the same name, the musical version of "Ragtime" debuted in Toronto in 1996, before reaching Broadway in 1998. In the 1998 Tony Awards, "Ragtime" was nominated for 13 awards, including that of Best Musical, winning the awards for Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations.
"Ragtime" will be performed in Spring 2014. Details of the production team and audition dates will follow when available.