Ragtime adaptation plot chart
- 1. Doctorow McNally Treatment McNally/Ahrens/Flaherty 1.1 - Father, Mother, Grandfather, The Little Boy, Mother's Younger Brother, Stanford White, Harry K. Thaw, Evelyn Nesbit, Emma Goldman, and Harry Houdini are introduced. Harry and The Little Boy talk: Warn the Duke" Open on "a real slow piano rag." Coalhouse Walker, Jr. is playing piano. The Little Boy, Father, Mother, Mother's Younger Brother, Tateh, The Little Girl, Grandfather, Evelyn Nesbit, Harry K. Thaw, Stanford White, Emma Goldman, Henry Ford, J.P. Morgan, and Harry Houdini (Warn the Duke!) introduce themselves. Houdini is unable to complete a grave escape and needs to be rescued. ACT ONE 1. Ragtime (Opening) - Edgar (The Little Boy,) Father, Mother, Mother's Younger Brother, Grandfather, Coalhouse, Sarah, Booker T. Washington, Tateh, The Little Girl, Houdini (Warn the Duke!), Houdini's Mother, J.P. Morgan, Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White, and Harry K. Thaw introduce themselves. Evelyn Nesbit goes to the Lower East Side, followed by Younger Brother. Tateh explains why he and his daughter live the way they do. She is concerned for them. 1.2 - Father sets sail on the Roosevelt with Admiral Peary and passes an immigrant transatlantic vessel. Father is setting sail for the North Pole with Admiral Peary. He tells each member of the family that they are the man of the house now. 2. Admiral Peary's March - Father sets sail on the Roosevelt with Admiral Peary and Matthew Henson 1.3 - Mameh, a seamstress who allows her employer to take advantage of her for money, Tateh, her husband, and The Little Girl are introduced. Jacob Riis, a reporter and reformer, interviews Stanford White about housing for the poor. Immigrants and horses are dying in the streets. 3. Goodbye, My Love - Mother resents that Father is leaving and she has to stay with both of their responsibilities. Father and Peary see a rag ship- Father's future customers. 4. Journey On - Father, Peary, and Henson pass a rag ship on which Tateh and the Little Girl are riding. The Little Girl says Mameh is dead.
- 2. 1.4 - Younger Brother runs fireworks at a political event. Evelyn Nesbit's testimony and the "crime of the century" are introduced. 1.5 - Houdini escapes from the prison in which Harry K. Thaw is kept. He is hired for a party in memory of Stanford White and is hired by Barnum and Bailey's circus. 1.6 - Freud, Jung, and Ferenczi see Tateh making art on the street with the Little Girl and discuss working conditions and class differences. 1.7 - Evelyn goes to the Lower East Side and sees Tateh and The Little Girl tied together. Tateh has thrown Mameh out and acts like she is dead. For two weeks, Evelyn pays Tateh to make silhouettes of her. Younger Brother is following her. The Little Girl is sick, and Evelyn goes to their home to take care of her so Tateh can work. She lives as a Jewish woman. She is in love. Tateh makes his 140th silhouette for Evelyn. She tries to talk to The Little Girl. She does not talk because she is mourning. 5. Crime of the Century - Younger Brother is in love with Evelyn. Evelyn testifies that Harry is innocent, claiming insanity. She sees Younger Brother and smiles. Evelyn kisses Younger Brother; he tells her he loves her. She cannot love him. Houdini's plane flies overhead, and Edgar yells "Warn the Duke!" New characters: Judge and Jury Foreman.
- 3. 1.8 - Tateh and Evelyn go to a Goldman rally with The Little Girl. Younger Brother follows. Emma discusses women and points out Evelyn in the crowd. Tateh is mad. The police arrive. Evelyn, Emma, and Younger Brother escape. Evelyn and Emma talk about Emma's relationship with Alexander Berkman, who has just been released from prison. Younger Brother is hiding in the closet. Emma strips and massages Evelyn. Younger Brother watches them through the closet door. He falls out of the closet and ejaculates on Evelyn. Tateh, Evelyn, and The Little Girl go to a Goldman rally. The whole family is also there, all sitting separately. J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford are there. Houdini does a trick and is ignored. Mother is vocally involved. Emma points out Evelyn and says she is more genius than J.P. Morgan. There is a riot. Tateh says his life is desecrated by whores. J.P. Morgan finds Ford and starts to tell him his proposition. Evelyn and Emma compare lovers, and Younger Brother falls out of the closet, clutching his groin. Houdini appears and helps him escape. 1.9 - Mother is worried about Younger Brother, and is overwhelmed without him and Father there. Mother is worried about Younger Brother. Grandfather tells The Little Boy Greek myths. Younger Brother helps Evelyn try to find Tateh and The Little Girl. They are on a train, and Tateh is hopeful for life in America. Admiral Peary has made it to the North Pole, but Father has not. Mother finds the baby and The Irish Maid comes to help. Houdini is flying a Voisin biplane and tries to warn Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who doesn't hear him. Evelyn and Younger Brother have just finished making love. She wants someone she can treat badly and who will treat her badly. She discovers the baby. The Doctor takes care of the baby. The Policeman finds Sarah. Mother takes responsibility of mother and child. 6. What Kind of Woman - Mother and Kathleen, a servant, discover the baby. Kathlen calls it Moses. Mother needs Father's help, and thinks about the hired help's lives. The Policeman and Doctor find Sarah, and Mother takes responsibility of mother and child.
- 4. The Policeman and Doctor enter. Sarah has been found. Mother takes responsibility of mother and child. 1.10 - Admiral Peary, Matthew Henson, his Negro assistant, and Father are on their expedition to he North Pole. Father sees the Esquimos having sex with their clothes on, the woman an active participant. He thinks of the Esquimos as children. 1.11 - Taft is President- consumption and fat are no longer in style. Evelyn and Younger Brother are now lovers. Evelyn gives testimony at Harry's trial, and they divorce. Evelyn gives money to radicals across the country. She is unhappy with Younger Brother. J.P. Morgan tries to convince Henry Ford to come with him to Egypt to prove that he is a pharoah reincarnate. Ford is not interested. 1.12 - Tateh and the Little Girl take a series of trains, seeing Mother and The Little Boy briefly. Tateh is happy in America. (7. Success and 11. Nothing Like The City) 1.13 - Working conditons are terrible. Houdini visits the survivor of a disaster that claimed three other workers because he is unsatisfied and has never made an escape such as this one. He buys a Voisin biplane in Europe and meets Archduke Franz Ferdinand. (moved to chapter 9 in treatment) 2.14 and 2.15 - Father returns to find Sarah and the baby at his house. Their new housemaid Brigit is not efficient or respectful. Father returns home from the pole to find Sarah and the baby. (moved to 13. The Courtship.) 8. His Name Was Coalhouse Walker - Coalhouse is introduced. He loves Sarah, host her, but has found her again. 7. Success - Tateh is hopeful about America. Emma Goldman talks to Tateh, who doesn't like unions. J.P. Morgan and Houdini try to inspire the immigrants. The Little Girl gets sick. Emma invites Tateh and The Little Girl to a rally, and a man offers to buy The LIttle Girl. Tateh attacks him, realizes the reality of America, and now holds her very close.
- 5. Father had sex with an Esquimo woman in the Arctic, and he and Mother sleep in the same bed every night now. Mother reads an Emma Goldman pamphlet. Younger Brother makes cherry bombs- Evelyn has left him. Mother wishes The Little Boy had friends. Grandfather reads him Ovid. Mother, The Little Boy, and Younger Brother go skating on the weekends. 2.16 and 2.17 - Tateh's mill goes on strike. He makes posters for the strike and flipbooks at home, including "Skating." Children are sent to live with new families. There is a commotion, and he gets The Little Girl on the train. He runs after the train and jumps on. They go to Philadelphia, where Tateh sells movie books to the Franklin Novelty Company. Tateh's mill goes on strike, and he makes the "Skating" flipbook. J.P. Morgan, Henry Ford, and Harry Houdini are all at the riot. The Little Girl gets on the train, and Tateh runs after it and jumps on. Houdini helps him aboard. (16. The Night that Goldman Spoke At Union Square and 17. Gliding) 2.18 - Henry Ford builds the first Model T- he believes people are too stupid to make a living, but that anyone can do one task forever. 10. Henry Ford - Ford describes his vision of the country. Coalhouse buys a Model T. 11. Nothing Like The City - Mother and The Little Boy see Tateh and the Little Girl at the train station. They speak. 11a. Firemen/Coalhouse Crossover - Coalhouse tries to get to New Rochelle and is stopped by Fire Chief Willie Conklin. 2.19 and 2.20 - J.P. Morgan is on top at 75 years old. He wants to meet Ford. He spends six months a year in Europe and falls in love with Egypt. He thinks Ford is a pharoah reincarnate. He invites Ford to his house, tells him his idea of truly great men, shows him Seti I's sarcophagus, and asks him to go with him to Egypt to prove his reincarnation. Ford already believes it, and they form a secret society, of which they are the only members. (moved to chapter 10/11 in treatment, touched on in 1. Ragtime (Opening))
- 6. 12. Your Daddy's Son - Sarah sings to the baby and explains her actions. Coalhouse arrives in his Model T looking for Sarah. She sends him away. He sees the baby and returns every Sunday. 13. The Courtship - Coalhouse comes looking for Sarah, who sends him away. Mother asks him to stay. Father returns and Brigit sends him away, because she doesn't know who he is. He is confused by everything. He and Mother fight about Sarah and the baby being there. Younger Brother visits Emma Goldman's office. 14. New Music - Father feels left behind, Mother wishes he would catch up. Younger Brother is enamored with Coalhouse. Coalhouse pleads for Sarah to come down. She does, and they sing together. "The courtship of Sarah has begun." Younger Brother is the only one who knows this music. Sarah comes downstairs to Coalhouse and agrees to marry him. Younger Brother is enamored with him. 15. Wheels of a Dream - Sarah and Coalhouse sing of hope for their baby and themselves. 16. The Night that Goldman Spoke at Union Square - Emma uses Tateh working at the loom as an example. She makes fun of Younger Brother and he joins the cause. The workers go on strike. The Little Girl gets on a train, and Tateh catches up and joins her. 17. Gliding - Tateh makes the flip book for The Little Girl. He mentions her mother. The Conductor buys the flip book. pharoah reincarnate. He invites Ford to his house, tells him his idea of truly great men, shows him Seti I's sarcophagus, and asks him to go with him to Egypt to prove his reincarnation. Ford already believes it, and they form a secret society, of which they are the only members. (moved to chapter 10/11 in treatment, touched on in 1. Ragtime (Opening)) 2.21 - Coalhouse Walker Jr. shows up in his Model T looking for Sarah. She sends him away. He sees the baby, and comes back every Sunday. Mother serves him tea, and he plays Scott Joplin's "Wall Street Rag" and then "Maple Leaf Rag." Only Younger Brother has ever heard ragtime before. Sarah starts cleaning the house. Father thinks Coalhouse doesn't know he's a Negro. Sarah finally agrees to see him. He takes her in his car and asks her to marry him. 2.22 - Younger Brother goes to New York again. He can make better weapons than the armory. He pays prostitutes but doesn't have sex with them. He goes to Goldman's office and a rally for Emiliano Zapata. Goldman tells him to get over Evelyn. He reminds her of Leon Czolgosz. The train wheels remind him of the left hand of a rag.
- 7. 2.23 - Coalhouse is stopped at the fire station, and goes to the police. When he returns, his car roof is torn and the car has human excrement on it. Coalhouse is arrested, and Father bails him out. Younger Brother discovers that the car has now been wrecked. (11a. Firemen/Coalhouse Crossover and 19. The Trashing of the Car) The car has been trashed, and Coalhouse calls Father to be bailed out of jail. Will Conklin is the aggressor. Coalhouse vows not to marry until his car is replaced. 2.24 - Younger Brother is on the brink on a nervous collapse. He is empathic towards Coalhouse. We learn Coalhouse's story (moved to 8. His Name Was Coalhouse Walker .) Will Conklin is the Fire Chief. No lawyer will help Coalhouse, and the police and city hall are useless. Younger Brother defends Coalhouse to Father. Coalhouse will not marry until the car is fixed. Coalhouse has trouble seeking legal redress. 2.25 - Sarah is happy, and The Little Boy is entranced by her and the baby. Sarah tells of Coalhouse's vow. Coalhouse skips a visit. Sarah goes to Vice President James Sherman, is mistaken for an assassin, and is hit, due to the nervousness after Roosevelt's assassination attempt. She is sent to the hospital and catches pneumonia. Coalhouse and the whole family go to see her. She dies. Sarah goes to the Vice President and is beaten. She is taken to the family's home because she refuses to go to a hospital. 19a. President - Sarah goes to talk to the Vice President, and the Secret Service think she has a gun. She is beaten. 2.26 - Sarah's funeral, including a 5- piece brass band. Sarah dies. A 5-piece brass band leads the funeral. 20. Till We Reach That Day - Sarah has died. Sarah's Friend and the ensemble sing of hope for the future. The whole cast sings and takes this as a call to arms. 18. Booker's Speech, 19. The Trashing of the Car, Justice - Booker T. Washington speaks. Fire Chief Willie Conklin bars Coalhouse from passing by and trashes the car. No one will help Coalhouse. Father's Lawyer says to retrieve the car and forget about it. The Black Lawyer won't waste his time on vandalism when there is real injustice happening. Coalhouse won't marry Sarah until his car is returned. Mother tries to comfort Sarah.
- 8. 2.27 - It is Spring, and Grandfather has broken his hip. Thaw escapes prison to Canada, returns, and is caught- "Call me Houdini." Houdini's mother has died. He is sad, and cancels bookings. He visits her grave often, and plays her music box. He tries to get in touch with Thomas Edison to talk to the dead. Eventually he meets with Steinmetz from GE. He goes back to work. There is an explosion at the theatre. 2.28 - The Emerald Isle Engine has exploded. 4 died, 2 of gunshot wounds. Horses were shot answering a fire call. The fire box on the truck fell and ignited the station's boiler. A black man with accomplices is the culprit. Father wants to turn Coalhouse in, and Younger Brother yells at him. Coalhouse has already taken credit for the explosion and listed his demands. Father goes to City Hall. Sarah's grave turns into Houdini's for an escape trick - the trick is now successful. There is an explosion at the theatre. Four firemen are dead. The attacker was a Negro, looking for Will Conklin. Father and Younger Brother fight, Younger Brother's words are Doctorow's. Coalhouse lists his demands. Father takes Coalhouse's picture to the police. ACT TWO 22. Coalhouse's Soliloquy (Your Daddy's Son/Wheels of a Dream) - Coalhouse is distressed and vows to teach the world a lesson. 23. Coalhouse Demands - Coalhouse lists his demands. A boiler explodes and kills 13 firemen. The firemen turn out Willie Conklin. Booker T. Washington is interviewed. Ragtime becomes a symbol for justice. Father has gone to the police. He and Younger Brother fight. 3.29 - Father's childhood is revealed. He feels old and invisible to Mother. He serves as expert witness to the police. Will Conklin is brought in. Coalhouse's letter is printed by black newspapers. The Mayor and Chief of Police are scared. Coalhouse's demands are published, along with Scott Joplin's picture, which is retracted and replaced with a picture of Coalhouse. Reporters come to the house, and Welfare wants to take the child.
- 9. 3.30 - Father and the Little Boy go to a baseball game. The Little Boy catches a foul ball and gives it to the bat boy, Charles Victor Faust, a crazy fool. 24. What a Game! - Father takes Edgar to a baseball game. Younger Brother approaches Coalhouse: "I can make bombs. I know how to blow things up." 24a. Fire in the City! - Conklin flees the city. A Welfare Official tries to take the baby. Father throws all the reporters out of his house. He doesn't want to deal with the child's welfare. 3.31 - Father and Mother feel normal. The baby walks. The family goes to Atlantic City. The Police Chief decides that Coalhouse couldn't have made the bombs. Coalhouse's Model T is pulled from the pond. Willie Conklin receives letters telling him to leave New Rochelle. The family goes to Atlantic City. Baron Ashkenazy and his daughter are there. 25. Atlantic City - Evelyn and Houdini introduce Atlantic City. Father decides to take the family because welfare can't take the child away if they live there, and it close enough that he can still do his business. Father feels the light of his family going away. The family goes to Atlantic City without Father. 3.32 - Younger Brother finds Coalhouse and says he can make bombs. He steals materials and sets off a second bombing. Coalhouse shaves his head and mustache, and bans music. (moved before Atlantic City in treatment, and #30 in final)
- 10. 3.33 - The family's summer in Atlantic City is great. Father and Mother have sex every day, which Mother resents. They hear a band playing one of Coalhouse's rags. They meet other vacationers: Captain Von Papen and the French Couple. They also meet Baron Ashkenazy, who makes movies and owns Buffalo Nickel Photoplai, Inc. One day, Mother sees his silhouette from afar and recognizes him. A ragtime band plays. Evelyn's life has not panned out as successfully as she had thought. Houdini's Mother has died. He makes his tricks harder in the hopes that he will die and see her. Baron Ashkenazy is making a film with Evelyn Nesbit and Houdini. 25c. Nothing Like the City (reprise) - The family passes by Ashkenazy (Tateh) and he explains his job and that it "is same" as his old job, but he makes $10,000 instead of $500. 26. Buffalo Nickel Photoplay, Inc. - Tateh tells his journey to the American Dream. 26b. Houdini and the Little Boy - Houdini does a trick for Edgar. "Warn the Duke!" 26c. A Day at the Beach - Tateh and Mother talk. She misses Coalhouse and Younger Brother. Mother inspires Tateh. 27. Our Children - Tateh and Mother sings about their children "hearing music of their own." Tateh tells Mother his story. Now she knows him. 28. Harlem Sequence/Harlem Pas De Deux - Younger Brother follows a man to Coalhouse's hideout. 29. Sarah Brown Eyes - Flashback/dream sequence. Coalhouse and Sarah meet. Is he crazy or just sad? "I said no music." 3.34 - Baron Ashkenazy is revealed to be Tateh, and we learn how he succeeded. The Little Boy and the Little Girl bury each other in the sand - it is sexual. Their relationship is explored in depth. They hide during a storm, and Tateh and Mother go to find them. Coalhouse barricades himself in J.P. Morgan's house. Father leaves Atlantic City to negotiate with Coalhouse. The Baron describes movies' appeal. The Little Boy and Little Girl become friends.
- 11. 30. He Wanted to Say - Coalhouse and Younger Brother want to let everything out but don't. "I know how to blow things up." 3.35 - Coalhouse's plan was to take Morgan hostage in his own home to flush out Willie Conklin, who has gone into hiding. It is too late to turn back, though. New York District Attorney Charles S. Whitman is put in charge of the situation. He tries to send a man into the house through a sky light, and they discover that the library has been mined. Coalhouse and his men have taken over the Pierpont Morgan's library. Father's presence is sought as a mediator. Police Commissioner Rhineland Waldo and District Attorney Charles Whitman are there. Also a Museum Curator and Army Colonel. 30a. Booker's Second Speech - Coalhouse has turned his attention from Conklin to Morgan. In Atlantic City, Father has decided to go to New York. He wants things to be like they were. They never will be. 31. Back to Before - Mother is stronger now. 3.36 - Whitman has run out of ideas - they must talk to Coalhouse. They call him in the library, and he repeats his demands- he wants his car and Conklin's life. They have 24 hours to compy before the building blows up. Whitman arrests Emma Goldman, who is quoted in articles about Coalhouse. Whitman asks Booker T. Washington to come fix things. Emma Goldman is arrested as a precaution. She is interviewed by reporters. 32. Look What You've Done - DA Charles S. Whitman brings Conklin to fix the car. Father says to bring in Booker T. Washington. Emma Goldman is proud for the resolution. Morgan arrives and rants about the civilizations' treasures that are inside. 3.37 - Booker T. Washington enters the house and sees Younger Brother sitting at a detonation plunger. There are only three or four other people. He talks with Coalhouse, and Coalhouse says he will cease this action if Conklin fixes the car and delivers it personally. Washington does not realize that this is a change in Coalhouse's demands. Washington leaves the house. Booker T. Washington talks to Coalhouse. Coalhouse requests only that Conklin repair his car and deliver it to him. Washington goes to talk to Coalhouse, who makes no bargain with him.
- 12. 3.38 - Washington tells Whitman that Coalhouse is crazy and assembles a vigil. Father recognizes the change in demands. Morgan says to give Coalhouse the car and then hang him. Father serves as intermediary. Whitman finds Conklin. Coalhouse concedes surrender if his men can go. His men refuse. Morgan telegram: "Give him his automobile and hang him." Father is taken as hostage in exchange for the men escaping. Father is sent in as a hostage. The men escape, though Younger Brother resists. Father goes in as a hostage. 3.39 - The Ford parts are brought in, and Conklin fixes the Model T. Father and Younger Brother talk, and trade places - Younger Brother escapes and Father stays inside. Coalhouse asks Father about his son. Younger Brother and Father talk. The car is returned. Coalhouse asks about his son. 33. Make Them Hear You - Coalhouse pleads to his men that his death will not be in vain. Younger Brother and Father trade places. Coalhouse asks about his son, and asks if he will be killed. Father says no. 4.40 - Two hours later, Coalhouse comes out of the library and is gunned down. Coalhouse leaves the library and is killed. Coalhouse is killed.
- 13. Younger Brother travels through Georgia during the Leo Frank trial. He goes to Mexico and joins Francisco Villa. He also meets Emiliano Zapata and tells him he can make bombs. Morgan travels to Europe, buys a lot of stuff, and goes to Egypt without Ford. He spends a night in the Great Pyramid and later dies in Rome. Archduke Franz Ferdinand is shot. Houdini reads about it, performs, and remembers the Little Boy's warning. He visits the family, but no one is home when he arrives. Father dies on the RMS Lusitania. Tateh and Mother marry after a year of mourning. The era fades away. There was a war in Europe. We won. Hurrah! Grandfather is dead. Younger Brother has joined Zapata. Father died on the Lusitania. Mother and Tateh marry. Houdini recognizes the Little Boy. Thaw to Houdini: "Fuck you." Emma Goldman had been deported. Evelyn Nesbit fell into obscuity. The crowd begins to disperse, eventually leaving only Coalhouse at the piano and Younger Brother. Coalhouse leaves and the piano continues to play. Houdini is lowered and spins in the wind. He and the little Boy discuss the Duke, and the Little Boy runs off. Younger Brother tells us the era of Ragtime was running out. He leaves, Houdini remains spinning. The piano stops. The curtain falls. 34. Epilogue - Younger Brother goes to Mexico and joins Zapata. Booker T. Washington is successful and dies. Evelyn Nesbit becomes obscure. Houdini understands "Warn the Duke" after Ferdinand's assassination. It is the one mystical experience of his life. Father dies on the Lusitania. Mother and Tateh marry and move to California. They take Coalhouse's baby, Coalhouse Jr. Coalhouse and Sarah return, and the company sings Wheels of a Dream .