Directed by Rick Lombardo**
Musical Direction by Todd C. Gordon
Choreography by Kelli Edwards
This epic and soaring musical, winner of multiple Tony Awards and based on E.L. Doctorow’s classic novel, intertwines three distinct stories. RAGTIME poignantly illustrates history’s timeless dualities of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair, and love and hate.
The serene existence of a wealthy couple is shaken when they encounter a spirited African-American musician and his lover, who dream of a better life for their son. Meanwhile, a Russian immigrant and his daughter arrive on the streets of New York City, determined to build a fortune and put their former lives behind them. Along the way, each family encounters colorful historical figures, ranging from Harry Houdini to Henry Ford. Drawing upon traditional Jewish folk songs, vaudeville’s outrageous style, and Joplin-inspired music, RAGTIME paints a nostalgic and powerful portrait of life in turn-of-the-century America.
Photo: The Cast of “Ragtime”. Andrew Brilliant/Brilliant Pictures
MAURICE EMMANUEL PARENT* returns to New Repertory Theatre after performing in The Gift Horse, The Snow Queen, Camelot, Rent, Passing Strange, Cabaret, The Wild Party, and Ragtime. Most recently he played the title character in Edward II with Actors’ Shakespeare Project where he is a resident acting company member. Other credits include work with SpeakEasy Stage Company, Off the Grid Theatre, Underground Railway Theater, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Wheelock Family Theatre, Lyric Stage Company, Boston Theatre Works, Huntington Theatre Company, Cape Playhouse, and Barrington Stage. He has received the Elliot Norton Award (2008 and 2017), IRNE Award (2015, 2016 and 2017) and an ArtsImpulse Award (2017). Maurice, a resident of Roxbury, is an adjunct faculty member at Boston University and Tufts University. He is the co-founder of The Front Porch Arts Collective (frontporcharts.org); mauriceparent.com
CHRISTINE HAMEL* has appeared at New Rep in Ideation, Brecht on Brecht, Broken Glass, On the Verge, Ragtime, and Sweeney Todd, directing God Box, and dialect/voice coaching many productions, including Golda’s Balcony, Tongue of a Bird, Camelot, The Elephant Man, Amadeus, Holiday Memories, and The Kite Runner. Recent area credits include The Women Who Mapped the Stars (workshop, Poets’ Theatre); Tongue Tied Tight, and Delivered (workshop, Huntington Theatre Company); A Disappearing Number (Underground Railway Theater); The Penelopiad (Boston University School of Theatre); Season’s Greetings and Our Town (Wellesley Repertory Theatre); and The Glass Menagerie (Boston Center for American Performance). Regionally, she performed the role of Emma Darwin in Trumpery (Olney Theatre Center). Ms. Hamel is an Assistant Professor of Voice/Speech and Acting at Boston University. She is a Designated Linklater Voice teacher, and holds a Teaching Certificate in the Michael Chekhov acting technique. She currently resides in Arlington.
