NEW YORK — The magnificent wall of sound in the full-company opening number of “Ragtime” is a patriotic metaphor. America’s promise has always rested on uneasy accord among people — in this case, a mix of White, Black and immigrant New Yorkers around 1906 — that threatens at any moment to explode. Harmony is rare enough lately that even in song it can feel like deliverance.
Broadway’s ‘Ragtime’ trumpets American ideals with mighty highs, a few lows
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