‘Ragtime’ Features Great Music While Tackling Key Issues [VIDEO]

ST. CLOUD -- GREAT Theatre brings Ragtime the Musical to the Paramount Theatre stage this month with the first show on Friday night.

Ragtime features comedy, drama and great musical performances while exploring the experiences of three groups of people in America in the early 1900s.

Director Rick Cicharz says the interactions between the groups of people mirror similar issues found in society today.

"First, you have the Harlem chorus and their struggles in 1906 -- that's where the ragtime music comes from and they're the spirit of the show," Cicharz says. "Then there's the upper-class white community who are against change, and then you have the group of immigrants coming into America."

"Everybody's separate, but by the end of the show, all their lives have intertwined and people's lives are changed for the better."

Cicharz says he's always wanted to direct Ragtime and recently he's felt even more compelled to do so.

"The time is right," Cicharz says. "The show addresses a lot of the issues that we as a nation are facing."

"It's a tremendous, tremendous show that'll leave a lasting impact on everybody who sees it."

Ragtime the Musical is an age 12+ show that will be shown every weekend until the end of September.

Ragtime the Musical
- Friday, September 11th 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, September 12th 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, September 13th 2:00 p.m.

- Friday, September 18th 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, September 19th 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, September 20th 2:00 p.m.

- Friday, September 25th 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, September 26th 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, September 27th 2:00 p.m.