Profile for Titian5

I think it refers to censorship in the mail - there have been many times when the post office refused to send certain "scandalous"  or nude postcards thru the mail.  Maybe saying that she's too sexy to be sent thru the mail.  She'd get "returned to sender" for being too provocative.    Postcards of Josephine Baker are brought to mind.  

Weez said: "Well, I get that they all have names, and that helps the whole thing comes to life, but the question was what do some of the names mean? I mean, Baby John is self-explanatory; he's a little wee guy and his name is John. One presumes Ice is renowned for his coolness. But where might the name Anybody's have come from? (Should it even have that apostrophe?)

See my response to the earlier poster on pg 6

Think about how your knees might get red.  (it's sexual)  I think that it might have indicated that the person with the rouged knees was a modern woman who embraced her sexuality. 

Drastic change from before WWI to after WWI in terms of clothing - before was VERY covered up - after much more exposed.  Showing leg was considered scandalous by the older generations, so young folks rolled their stockings down.  

The little boy Edgar is based on the real life person of Edgar Casey who was known for his psychic abilities.  In Ragtime, they imagined him as a little boy - already showing hints of his "powers."

Ragtime is set right before WWI, an event that very much changed our way of life.  After WWI, our society is considered much more modern (think roaring 20's).    The event that started WWI was the assasination of ArchDuke Francis Ferdinand. From Wikipedia: His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of waragainst Serbia.  

When Edgar shouts "Warn the Duke" - that's what is being referred to.  If the Duke hadn't been shot, WWI might not have happened - and the world might have stayed more like it was.   I believe at that moment in the show, he is shouting to Houdini, who is about to embark on a tour of Europe.  

There are some other moments in the show where Edgar shows his abilities, for instance when he says, "We know those people...then we are going to know them."    

I love the historical references in Ragtime - it's one of the things that makes it such a rich show for me.