![]() Along the bottom margin is ticket and theater information. The bottom half has large letters in red and blue text across the page that read “RAGTIME / THE MUSICAL.” Below this is red text that lists the production information. The seated man with the piano and its accompanying image takes up the top half of the poster. Radiating from the upper half of the halo is a cacophony of images, including musical instruments, objects of clothing, an American flag, images of politicians, a gramophone, a movie camera, a locomotive engine, and various phrases. Black diamond shapes emanate from her in a halo effect. On top of the piano is a Statue of Liberty done in grey tones. He wears a white shirt, dark pants and dark suspenders. The poster depicts a man seated at an upright piano with his arms raised upwards. Description This is a poster for the Broadway musical Ragtime, with graphics designed by Gail Anderson. Anderson was only the second African American designer tapped to design a commemorative stamp, the first being Georg Olden who designed the Proclamation’s 100th anniversary stamp in 1963. In 2013, the US Postal Service commissioned Anderson to design the commemorative stamp for the sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation. Anderson currently works as Creative Director at the School of Visual Arts Press and is on the Citizen Stamp Advisory Committee for the US Post Office. In 2008 she received a Lifetime Achievement Medal from the AIGA. Her work has received awards from major design organizations, including the Society of Publication Designers and the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). Since 1987, Anderson has worked in the field of design at design firms, advertising agencies, and publications. (55.9 × 35.6 cm) Caption Gail Anderson is a New York based designer and partner at Anderson Newton Design. 1998 Medium ink on paper (fiber product) Dimensions H x W: 22 × 14 in. Even so, their songs are worth singing.Designed by Anderson, Gail, American, born 1962 Illustrated by Petrantoni, Lorenzo, Italian, born 1970 Subject of McNally, Terrence, American, 1938 - 2020 Date ca. Ragtime reminds me that the American Dream did not make room for some of the most beautiful people on the face of the earth their best efforts were rejected and their lives were forgotten. I really had no idea how much I needed this night of musical theater until I found myself, teary-eyed and soul-warmed, listening to an ensemble cast pour into my heart a story about the joy and sorrow of America. Instead, I just want to say that Ragtime ministered to my soul. I don’t want to break the show into parts. I’m not going to write a review that highlights the individual members of the Ragtime production. I was reminded that there is always the possibility that beauty can be found or created in even the most disillusioning seasons of life. Even so, listening to the mesmerizing vocals of the Ragtime cast, I felt a strange sense of melancholy hope. It has been awhile since I’ve believed in the possibility of true racial or social change. ![]() While watching Ragtime, I realized how much I’ve given up on the possibility of hope and progress of late. In other words, no amount of optimism or even an optimistic song can overcome the effect of systematic racial or social injustice. Although every human can find moments of joy, meaning and purpose while living within a corrupt culture, the injustices of the culture will systematically harm certain people groups, regardless of their best intentions or best behavior. Love, hope, passion and desire find voice not in our shared humanity, but in whether or not we align with the right economic, ethnic or racial group. However, Ragtime also reveals how the oppressive systems that surround these moments of beauty ultimately predetermine our fate. The musical Ragtime demonstrates how beautiful music, art, love and relationships can be formed between any groups and in any situation, regardless of privilege. Ragtime is about the melodies people try to make when the world is within and outside their control. Ragtime is all about the collision of humanity and the people who prosper and suffer within an American dream, fueled by capitalistic greed and dominated by white male privilege. And sometimes you don’t realize how much you need music, art and beauty until your eyes are tearing up in a darkened 5th Avenue Theatre watching the opening night production of Ragtime The Musical.Īmerica’s current, or might I say endlessly repeating, political and racial climate makes Ragtime The Musical both keenly relevant and powerfully thought provoking. Sometimes you don’t know how soul worn weary you are, until you stumble upon a momentary resting place.
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