Ragtime - Shaw Festival Theatre

WHO’S WHO?
In RAGTIME
In Ragtime, the stories of fictional American families are blended with the lives of
actual historical figures. The principal fictional characters are:
COALHOUSE WALKER JR
A Harlem ragtime composer-pianist
struggling for dignity and justice.
MOTHER
When Father leaves the family to go
on an expedition to the North Pole,
Mother becomes head of the household
and of the family business.
Both she, and her family go through
many changes. She represents the
ideals of the Progressive Era,
inclusiveness and embracing change.
SARAH
A young washerwoman who has a
child with Coalhouse and who
becomes the innocent victim of
Conklin’s racist act.
WILLIE CONKLIN
Racist and bigoted, fire chief Conklin
acts hostilely toward Coalhouse. His
behavior endangers those around
him and is a catalyst for violence
which occurs in the story.
TATEH & THE LITTLE GIRL
A Latvian Jewish immigrant and his
daughter who travel to the United
States in search of the American
Dream.
MOTHER, FATHER and MOTHER’S YOUNGER BROTHER
The family represents the status quo (white-upper-middle-class America) that is being challenged by radical changes in
society in the late 19th & early 20th centuries.
Each member of the family responds to the sweeping changes of the period differently.
FATHER
Represents the traditional Victorian
norms of a late 19th century white
upper-middle-class family man. He
seems challenged and somewhat lost
as to how to cope with the changes
taking place in society at large and in
his own home.
Their fictional lives become entwined with these actual historical figures
MOTHER’S YOUNGER BROTHER
An idealistic young man with little
self direction. He falls in love with
Evelyn Nesbit, but eventually
becomes disillusioned with her.
Later he joins Coalhouse’s group of
revolutionaries, battling injustice and
comes to feel that his life has a sense
of purpose.
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