![]() ![]() Rothstein added what he loves so much about this musical is that there is hope - as seen in the transformations the primary characters undergo. It all inspires new conversations - specifically in regard to racial tensions, police violence and gender - in each new community, which is what I hope will happen in Sarasota as well.” “As well as in engaging with new artists, who bring their own life experiences to the work. “So in each production we continue to find more specificity,” he said. Rothstein added the most common comment he and his colleagues get in post-show conversations is how woefully little things have changed over the last century and how little has been learned, which spurs them on to hone and focus the material. Because as much as this piece speaks to hope, the issues at the heart of it have been part of our national challenges since the beginning.” “It’s been a success in the Twin Cities and Seattle and I think it’s important that we try to understand in these communities - as well as in others - what the conversation is that we’re all having around these issues. “As for this upcoming production of Ragtime, it’s such a lovely thing as a director to revisit a show with the same team and continue to learn and finesse what works,” Rothstein said. Butterfly and Private Lives for the prestigious Guthrie Theatre, record-breaking productions of Annie, The Wizard of Oz and the world premiere of Disney’s High School Musical, among many others. Rothstein added he has never before worked at Asolo Rep, but his resume boasts successful productions of Other Desert Cities, M. The cast is a combination of one-third from the Twin Cities production, one-third from the Seattle production and the other third will be actors coming in from New York.” We’re sharing some of the costumes and props with them. This version of Ragtime is the Theater Latté Da production of it done in partnership with the 5th Avenue Theatre. “Then (Asolo Rep Producing Artistic Director) Michael Edwards got wind of it and said it sounded like a good piece for Asolo Rep. ![]() “Also the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, where I’ve worked quite a bit, asked me to recreate it for them last year,” Rothstein said. This particular version of Ragtime, which runs at Asolo Rep from May 1-27, is something of a revival of Rothstein’s scaled down, intimate and elegant 2016 production at Theater Latté Da in the Twin Cities, of which he is the founding artistic director. Interwoven with their stories are the newsmakers of the era including Harry Houdini, Booker T. This epic Tony Award winning musical depicts the struggles, successes, hopes and dreams of a white, upper-middle class family in New Rochelle, an African-American musician and his girlfriend in Harlem and a Jewish immigrant and his daughter on the Lower East Side. Ragtime is, sadly, incredibly timely and resonant.” To be honest, when I first approached doing Ragtime in 2016 I knew there would be some parallel issues to America 100 years ago, but I didn’t know issues such as immigration, race, police violence and gender would reemerge in our current culture. “I wanted to do something that was about national identity. “I’m always looking for works that resonate with our current world,” Rothstein said. ![]() Although the action of the Tony Award winning musical Ragtime takes place at the dawn of the 20th century, Minnesota-based director Peter Rothstein believes its plot and characters could very well spring from today’s headlines. ![]()
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