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Posted: 9/23/15 at 4:18pm
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I love the historical references in Ragtime - it's one of the things that makes it such a rich show for me.
Posted: 9/23/15 at 4:26pm
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.
Posted: 9/23/15 at 4:30pm
Cayce, not Casey. http://www.edgarcayce.org/
Posted: 9/23/15 at 4:31pm
See my response to the earlier poster on pg 6
Posted: 9/23/15 at 5:38pm
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?)
What comes to mind for me with Anybody's being so named - and this may or may not have been what was actually intended - is the idea of the fraternity "little sister" - who, from what I've been told (not from experience, so correct me if I'm wrong), often has sex with anyone in the fraternity. So, it might refer to that she'll be "Anybody's" to have in that way.
Or it could be a question - Anybody's? - or in other words "does she belong to anybody? Is she anybody's little sister? Why is she hanging around here?" Which now that I think about it, actually seems more likely, given her tomboyishness and the machismo of the jets.
Or - she'll be anybody's friend - anybody who'll put up with her.
Posted: 9/23/15 at 5:41pm
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.
Posted: 9/23/15 at 5:45pm
Titian...do you realize that you are "talking" in a conversation that has been dead for about 5 years? Many of the people in it aren't even around anymore. (Additionally, we have NO idea what post you are responding to....it doesn't get labeled.)
Posted: 9/23/15 at 5:49pm
I never really understood the over protective nature of the parents in Curious Dog. I know a person with the same condition and their parents got him to use the bus etc.
Posted: 9/23/15 at 6:24pm
Well, now that this thread is back...
In Company, why does Bobby remind David of the Seagram's building? What does that mean?
Posted: 9/23/15 at 6:46pm
FBay said: "I never really understood the over protective nature of the parents in Curious Dog. I know a person with the same condition and their parents got him to use the bus etc.
He does LOTS on his own, including taking a school bus. I'm not sure about what over protective nature you are referring to. That being said, no two kids with similar conditions are the same.
And really, you don't know parents that are overprotective just "because"?
Posted: 9/23/15 at 7:54pm
"Well, now that this thread is back...
In Company, why does Bobby remind David of the Seagram's building? What does that mean?"
This is the explanation from Sondheim.com:
The Seagram Building is an office building on Park & 53rd in New York City. It is an isolated building with absolute symmetry with a skeleton structure clearly apparent within the more delicate framing of window elements tht sheath the building. The materials, metal bronze and amber glass, lend the exterior an opaque solidity. One can see out its those on the outside can not see in - much like the character of Bobby in Company.
http://www.sondheim.com/features/the_sondheimcom_faq.html
Updated On: 9/23/15 at 07:54 PM
Posted: 9/24/15 at 9:00am
Sheila2 said: "In Company. I never get the part where Peter says (sings) "The kind of girl you can't send through the mails".
In the number Have I Got a Girl for You. What does "send through the mails" mean?"
I don't know if this got answered, but I don't think the line has anything to do with mail-order brides. (Seriously, kids, it was the ORDER that was sent parcel post, not the woman!)
Up through the 1960s, at least, there were especially severe federal obscenity laws and mailing porn carried harsher penalties than merely selling dirty mags in the back room. Images and text that "couldn't be sent through the mails" was far sexier than images and text that could be ordered by post.
I don't know what the law is now, but as late as the 1980s, the Canadian post office was confiscating nude pictures that had a gay context and magazines that were also sold in Canada tended to have censored content.
Posted: 9/24/15 at 9:03am
givesmevoice said: "I *always* think it's a mistake in Gypsy when Rose says "They want their train tickets back? Give them their bus tickets back!" I still don't understand why that's the line, and it always sounds a little awkward to me."
It's a joke. The boys are owed train tickets, but bus tickets are cheaper. The joke is that even in the midst of a catastrophe, Rose is calculating.
Posted: 9/24/15 at 9:08am
"I think I missed- don't get p*ssed." I still don't get that lyric from RENT.
Posted: 9/24/15 at 9:13am
morosco said: "From ANNIE:
Betcha they're young
Betcha they're smart
Bet they collect things
Like ashtrays, and art.
Was there really a trend for collecting ashtrays?"
That is one of the few lines in ANNIE I can bear, morosco. Yes, people did collect ashtrays back in the days when everybody smoked, though it wasn't in most cases an "intellectual" endeavor. I love the character humor that Annie thinks collecting ashtrays is the height of sophistication.
Posted: 9/24/15 at 9:15am
AndAllThatJazz22 said: "*Spoiler Alert*
In my beloved "Spring Awakening", I've always had my own interpretation as to why Wendla wants to be beaten, but I've never understood why Melchior gets SO into it while he beats her. Can anyone give me their own thoughts?"
Per Freud and others of the same period, sadism and masochism are two sides of the same coin, and both are displaced eroticism due to sexual repression. (I haven't seen the musical, but I know the original play.)
Posted: 9/24/15 at 9:23am
dramamama611 said: "Can I just say that it's hard to say ANYONE'S interpretation is wrong? One might disagree with you and even find logical ways to poke holes in your idea, but that's the beauty of art. It's what it is to you.
"
I think the above is how overly polite people avoid uncomfortable conversations. (I don't mean you, dmama, but in general.)
A well-constructed work of art will have its own internal logic by which it can be criticized objectively. There will be differences of opinion and sometimes more than one reasonable interpretation, but a lot of the dissension will be nonsense imposed from the observer's frame of reference. Not a crime, but not as deserving of our attention.
