You wouldn’t be blamed for imagining that a Youth production of one of the best modern musicals of the last 30 years (other opinions are available) might not quite hit the mark, especially with a book as divisive as a musical which tackles issues of racial segregation and early 20th century brutality head on, but in the case of the National Youth Music Theatre’s 2022 summer season production of RAGTIME, you’d be wrong. It is outstanding!
The success of what the creative team have been able to produce in just a few weeks this summer is of course made easier by the Tony-award winning score and book, which tells the story and struggles of three societal groups in the United States: African Americans, upper-class suburbanites and Eastern European immigrants at the turn of the 20th century. The show also incorporates historical figures such as Harry Houdini, Booker T. Washington, J. P. Morgan, Henry Ford and Emma Goldman. The subject matter is heavily historical and incredibly political, filled with racially-offensive language, not something you would necessarily ever think of suggesting for a Youth Theatre, but it is portrayed with such authenticity and respectfulness that the audience is in no doubt that they are looking back at a period in time when the world was so different from the one we live in now, rather than blindly digging up the past and acting disrespectfully. It is important for us all to be able to look back and remember how far we have come, and artistic pieces like this are a perfect way to do that.