It’s a reverse of the old cliché about art mirroring life. With the collaborative production of Ragtime, Duke’s Spring musical, life will imitate art.
Ragtime is a Tony Award-winning musical set at the dawn of the twentieth century. The lives of three racially diverse families intersect as each pursues the American Dream. And just as the musical brings together characters from different backgrounds, so too will the production process bring together groups from across campus.
Students and faculty from three academic departments—Theater Studies, Music and Dance—will collaborate this semester to produce the show. Ragtime will also feature the talents of Duke Chamber Players and Hoof ‘n’ Horn, Duke’s student-run orchestra and musical theater organization, respectively.
Senior Nathaniel Hill, the student producer of the show, says this type of interdepartmental collaboration is rare at Duke.
“A lot of stars have to align and there have to be people who are really passionate and championing the project,” Hill said.
Hill has produced the last two Hoof ‘n’ Horn Spring musicals, Rent and Aida, but this will be the first time a student has produced a Theater Studies show, a prospect Hill recognizes is both challenging and exciting.
“It’s a very expensive, huge production, and we already have over a hundred people involved,” Hill said. “Duke is trying to attract more arts-minded students, and I think it’s working.”
Sophomore Andrew Klingner will be serving as assistant director of the production, working alongside Professor of Theater Studies Jeffrey Storer, who will direct the show. Klingner will also be performing the role of J.P. Morgan.
Although Klingner has acted in Hoof ‘n’ Horn musicals in the past, he anticipates that working on Ragtime will be a different experience.
“We’re actually going to learn about theater in a professional setting,” Klingner said. “It’s one thing to learn from your peers. But then, when you have professional [faculty] who are teaching you about theater and music and dance, it’s a much more rewarding process.”
Sophomore Jennie Xie of Duke Chamber Players agrees with Klingner that the opportunity for a primarily student-run organization to work with professors is exciting. Xie will be playing violin in the orchestra and assisting Ragtime’s music director, Dr. Anthony Kelley, Associate Professor of Music.
“[Dr. Kelley] wants Ragtime to be better than Broadway. He wants us to play with force and with really powerful instrumentation, which is really exciting and different,” Xie said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing how he’s going to lead us through the process.”
Ragtime revolves around three families: an African-American couple in Harlem, a father-daughter duo of Latvian Jewish immigrants and an upper-class, white Protestant family living in the New York suburbs. The show features challenging music that reflects the characters’ diversity, including gospel, jazz, marches and, of course, ragtime.
Finding a diverse cast that could meet the musical demands of the production sounds like a daunting prospect. But because of cooperation between departments and student organizations, as well as outreach to groups such as United in Praise, Duke’s Christian gospel choir, Ragtime’s directors and producers were able to find a talented and diverse group of actors to fill these roles, Hill said.
Hill believes that the large-scale collaboration between students and faculty working on Ragtime is indicative of Duke placing an increased emphasis on the arts.
“Duke’s got a long way to go, but we’ve tripled the amount of people auditioning for Hoof ‘n’ Horn shows. There’s more interest in the technical side of productions, there’s more collaboration between departments, and there are even more courses being offered,” Hill said. “Theater Studies is a small department but it’s really great to branch out and do challenging shows. They’re academically enriching, but they’re also appealing.”
Ragtime will run from Apr.5-15. Dates and times for the performance are TBA. Tickets cost $5 for Duke students and $10 for the general public.
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