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Wilmette cancels 'Ragtime' due to language
Chicago Sun Times ^ | 06/27/08

Posted on 06/27/2008 9:43:42 AM PDT by Borges

Officials of a north suburban park district say strong racial language in the musical "Ragtime" prompted their decision Wednesday to cancel the show two weeks before it was set to open.

Those involved in the production -- set for Wilmette's Gillson Park -- say the decision means the loss of more than a month of hard work by a cast of nearly 40, and a misunderstanding of the show's message and realistic look at race relations in the past century.

Wilmette Park District Executive Director Tom Grisamore said he made the decision to pull "Ragtime" 12 days after learning the details of dialogue and lyrics that include use of the "n-word."

Wilmette Park District Executive Director Tom Grisamore said he made the decision to pull the show 12 days after learning the details of dialogue and lyrics that include use of the "n-word." The show was set to open July 10 for three weekends in the Starlight Theater free outdoor concert series.

"We had grave concerns that people would take the language they heard over the amplified sound system out of context from a performance that was being held in the bowl," Grisamore said.

Licensing agents for the show declined a request to rewrite parts of the lyrics, so it was dropped.

"I can tell you that this is not something that was done easily and this is not something we did lightly. My heart really goes out to all of the cast and crew that have worked on this for the last couple of months," Grisamore said. "This is something we very honestly should have known about and hopefully we could have acted on this sooner, but we did as soon as we found out what was there."

Musicals usually booked for the outdoor venue, Grisamore said, are mostly upbeat and lighthearted, such as "Hello Dolly," "Showboat" and "State Fair."

Grisamore said the district bought the rights to the show in January, but no one involved in the process apparently had seen the show all the way through. As a result, concerns about the language were not relayed until more recently.

Revising the show's language without permission would have subjected the district to fines of up to $150,000 per word per use, Grisamore said.

"Ragtime" tells the interlocking stories of Coalhouse Walker, an African-American pianist; Tateh, a recently arrived Jewish immigrant who comes to the U.S. to escape the pogroms of Eastern Europe; and finally, a nameless, upper-class white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant family who live in a neighborhood without African-Americans or immigrants.

Aaron Bolden, who plays Coalhouse Walker in the production, said he was shocked to hear of the decision Wednesday afternoon. He was set to make the commute from Rockford for a rehearsal.

"I'm just terribly saddened by the impact that it has on those who invested their time, their emotion, their expression, their gifts," Bolden said. "Everybody in this cast has something to contribute and for this to happen in this manner, it's just disappointing.

"I guess the best way to say it is it really reflects the times we're living in, in relevance to the show, and I think still the work that needs to be done on a lot of levels."

Bolden said he has played the character in other productions of "Ragtime," and the show was well-received by audiences. The use of the n-word reflects the realities of a time when lynching was still common, the South was still firmly under the control of Jim Crow and success by African-Americans, including Bolden's character, was seen as a threat by many white Americans. If the Park District had managed to rewrite part of the show, it would have compromised its integrity, he said.

"It's a part of the concept of and the context of the period. It's not to intimidate. It's not to make someone feel a certain way, it's being used to portray an accurate picture of what most likely did happen during those times," Bolden said.

The show's director, Equity actor Ty Perry, could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but in a Pioneer Press interview prior to the show's cancellation, explained why he intended to include the original language in the show, including the n-word.

"You take that word out of this story and you invalidate my history as an African-American male," said Perry.

"Do I like the word? No. But to pretend nobody said it is wrong. I wouldn't even consider doing that," Perry said. "Context is everything, and it's not gratuitous, it's not for shock value.

"How can we learn about our present if we don't educate people about what happened in our past?"

It's not clear what the decision will cost the district financially. Actors in the production receive no pay, but the director, choreographer and music director are compensated.

Also unclear is whether the district will be able to get back any of $2,500 paid for the rights to run the show.


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; Education; History; Local News
KEYWORDS: ragtime; thearts
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The usual suspects are offended by anything and would rather pretend it didn't exist.
1 posted on 06/27/2008 9:43:42 AM PDT by Borges
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To: Borges
People need to grow up and see such plays, music, books as a product of their time - if anything it could be educational as it highlights the mores of different decades.

the liberal elite need to give folks more credit for being bright enough to work these things out for themselves.

2 posted on 06/27/2008 9:47:49 AM PDT by vimto (To do the right thing you don't have to be intelligent - you have to be brave (Sasz))
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To: Borges

It’s worse than that, this Park Executive Director simply arbitrarily decided this. He made no mention of some much as a single protest. He simply assumed someone of color would get “offended.”

So how many “people of color” has he offended by cancelling the production? Maybe some local black group should picket or threaten to sue over this censorship.

My head is spinning, but it might work.

Spike Lee, Tyler Perry, call your office.


3 posted on 06/27/2008 9:52:20 AM PDT by sinanju
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To: Borges

Plastic history, how sweet.


4 posted on 06/27/2008 9:58:27 AM PDT by Old Professer (The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, and writes again.)
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To: Borges

It’s too bad none of them ever read the book. I don’t know what the play is like but the book is terrific. A very interesting read - and it’s not at all about ethnic/race conflict.


5 posted on 06/27/2008 10:02:10 AM PDT by ladyjane
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To: ladyjane

The play probably takes off as much from the movie as the book. The film focused on the racial conflict.


6 posted on 06/27/2008 10:03:05 AM PDT by Borges
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To: Borges
Really? The film focused on race? Huh.

The book was really terrific and most of it - IIRC - was about a history of Jews who came here to the Lower East Side and their descendants. One small part of it was about blacks. It was a very interesting read.

7 posted on 06/27/2008 10:09:56 AM PDT by ladyjane
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To: Borges

Funny how they can’t even print the word, either. Even now I’m afraid to type it!


8 posted on 06/27/2008 10:11:45 AM PDT by the_devils_advocate_666
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To: Borges

How come black folks still use the N-word themselves (I’ve heard them!) and yet white folks can’t? That’s a racist, double standard.


9 posted on 06/27/2008 10:14:38 AM PDT by TexasRepublic (When hopelessness replaces hope, it opens the door to evil.)
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To: Borges
But wait ... isn't this considered art? If so, can't artists get by with anything in the name of free speech, like creating a virgin Mary out of dung, "piss" Jesus, etc.?

/s

10 posted on 06/27/2008 10:18:33 AM PDT by al_c (Avoid the consequences of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity)
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To: sinanju
Maybe some local black group should picket or threaten to sue over this censorship.

A local black group on the North Shore? Outside of Evanston there aren't enough blacks on the North Shore to form much of a group.

Don't blame blacks or their leaders for the p.c. attitues of a Wilmette Park District official. Wilmette is overwhelmingly white. I can't imagine any black group being so p.c., especially with a history based musical like "Ragtime".

11 posted on 06/27/2008 10:19:15 AM PDT by MurryMom
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To: MurryMom
From wikipedia: As of the census[21] of 2000, the racial makeup of the village was:

89.66% White,

0.56% Black

0.04% Native American

8.16% Asian

0.01% Pacific Islander

0.42% from other races

1.15% from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.08% of the population.

12 posted on 06/27/2008 10:36:22 AM PDT by BureaucratusMaximus (Game over man...GAME OVER!)
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To: Borges

“Ragtime” is liberal claptrap, so they’re not missing anything.


13 posted on 06/27/2008 11:01:21 AM PDT by popdonnelly (Does Obama know ANYONE who likes America, capitalism, or white people?)
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To: Borges

A worse crime is banning the novel “Huckleberry Finn”, in which the most noble and sympathetic character is the slave, Jim.


14 posted on 06/27/2008 11:03:30 AM PDT by popdonnelly (Does Obama know ANYONE who likes America, capitalism, or white people?)
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To: al_c

Are these same people as outraged about “The Vagina Monologues”? I’ve heard that play has some strong language and themes in it.

So where does one draw the line on various issues like this? Disney has censored its own movie “Song of the South” for racial reasons. The slaves depicted in the movie were stereotypical and not politically correct.

It’s strange to go to Disneyland and see some depictions of Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear, who were in “Song of the South”. I wonder if little kids today even know who those characters are, because they have never been allowed to see the movie.


15 posted on 06/27/2008 11:58:46 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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Limousine Liberals at play.”You can’t make this stuff up.”


16 posted on 06/27/2008 2:16:25 PM PDT by Godwin1
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To: Borges
Wilmette Park District Executive Director Tom Grisamore said that the cancellation of "Ragtime" would does not mean that there will be no entertainment. In its place the district is showing a production of "Blazing Saddles- the Musical".


17 posted on 06/27/2008 5:36:15 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (Given such dismal choices, I guess I'll vote for the old guy.)
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To: Borges

He’s a Bad Mother... but I’m talkin’ bout Shaft.

It’s hard to be a pimp.

Both won OSCARS in the past 40 years.

Some advancement.


18 posted on 06/28/2008 1:09:09 AM PDT by weegee
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To: the_devils_advocate_666

The media never hesitates to call Collin Powell or Condi Rice Uncle Toms.


19 posted on 06/28/2008 1:11:17 AM PDT by weegee
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To: Dilbert San Diego
How about we introduce some facts into this discussion?

There are no slaves in Song of the South. It takes place AFTER the civil war.

Also, the movie was released on home video in the 1980s and 1990s in Hong Kong, Japan, and Ireland. Possibly to other foreign markets as well. It wasn't until DVD made home video playback of foreign releases easy and cheap (the asian laserdiscs were upwards of $100 and Europe uses PAL video).

Another interesting fact, the man who voiced Brear Bear (sp?) also acted in the tv version of Amos & Andy (the radio show used “blackface” actors, white people reading the lines in dialect, but the tv show used black actors.

Anyway, that actor sold videotapes of the old Amos & Andy tv shows and used other income to fund a black theater group in California up to the time of his death (I think in the 2000s).

He didn't see shame in his work and he saw a way to give back to the community.

Political correctness demands revisionist history. All of it is Orwellian. All of it is Stalinist.

20 posted on 06/28/2008 1:18:00 AM PDT by weegee
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