Ragtime the musical

[Elphaba43]

Posted: 3/27/07 at 4:51pm

I was just wondering, what does the song "Make Them Hear You" mean to you? I was listening to it earlier today and I can't seem to get it out of my head. What are your opinions?

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 3/27/07 at 5:30pm

the people called it GAGtime...

[thenewmoon]

Posted: 3/27/07 at 5:37pm

I have conflicting feelings on the song. When sung well, it raises goosebumps (it certainly has that effect when I listen to the whole album through)-- it's an inspiring, grandiose finale that fits well with the scope of the show.
But it's easy to find fault with it. Recently, re-watching the movie version (which is a very loose adaptation of the novel, but interesting for comparison's sake) made me realize that Coalhouse isn't so much a tragic hero as a damn fool, and that this song just illustrates how deluded he has become. Also, with its sweeping strings and key changes, as ballads go it's pretty formulaic.
I assume you know both versions of the song (Canadian concept album vs complete Broadway?)

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 3/27/07 at 5:39pm

I've been so stuck on Ragtime lately, so this is a really timely question. Are you familiar with the plot of the show?

SPOILERS
In the show, Coalhouse and his gang take over a public building in retaliation for injustices shown by white men toward Coalhouse that lead to Sarah's death. The song is sung by Coalhouse after he has agreed with negotiator Booker T. Washington to surrender on the provision that his men go free. Washington urges Coalhouse to think of his son and to go about achieving his justice in a court of law. His men feel betrayed that he is surrendering, and he sings "Make Them Hear You" to them. The thing that always strikes me about the song is that there's a sense that everyone (including Coalhouse) knows what's going to happen to him, but they dare to hope otherwise and believe that justice really will be served -- which makes it all the more tragic when he walks out the door and is met with a barrage of gunfire.

In "Make Them Hear You," Coalhouse is convincing his men that their struggle hasn't been in vain. According to the terms of the negotiation, they will be left unharmed (though that's questionable given the ultimate outcome), and Coalhouse probably will not be, so he tells them to carry out their story into the world. People will wonder how they were capable of such acts of depravity, but as it says in the song, "Sometimes there are battles that are more than black and white." It is sung in the hope that people will eventually listen as long as there are people who are willing to keep demanding justice -- but in more constructive ways than Coalhouse had been trying. More than anything, though, he's telling them goodbye.

And I agree that Coalhouse's methods for demanding "justice" are foolish and deluded, but he is a man who was driven to the very end of his rope after seeing all of his illusions about an America that was on its way to becoming a place of opportunity for all people shattered (and the parallel with Tateh's story in this regard is striking). "Make Them Hear You," while not quite an apology, at least seems to acknowledge that this isn't the way that they should be fighting.
Updated On: 3/27/07 at 05:39 PM

[StephenSondheimWHOO]

Posted: 3/27/07 at 5:59pm

It is such a beautiful song, Stokes is amazing on the OCR.
I do have to say (totally off-topic) that I absolutly despised the movie

[Testing1232]

Posted: 3/27/07 at 7:13pm

Stokes kicks some serious fanny on that song !!!

[geekgirl06]

Posted: 3/27/07 at 8:07pm

Well it's an amazing song, especially when sung well. As the actual message goes, I always interpreted the song as Coalhouse finally realizing that he was deluded, and that the way he was handling things wasn't the best approach. However, he tells his men to spread the word of what they did to acknowledge how they were wrong, but how there is definitely a problem and it needs to be fixed.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 3/27/07 at 9:15pm

For those who haven't read the book *SPOILER ALERT*

In the book they do all make it out safely and nothing happens to them. Only Coalhouse.

Just FYI.

[Julian2]

Posted: 3/27/07 at 9:20pm

"According to the terms of the negotiation, they will be left unharmed (though that's questionable given the ultimate outcome),"

"In the book they do all make it out safely and nothing happens to them. Only Coalhouse."

Thank you, I've been wondering ever since I did that show if I died or not. (I am white for those of you who may be thinking otherwise.) (And I was not playing Mother's Younger Brother) (Exactly.)

Updated On: 3/27/07 at 09:20 PM

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 3/27/07 at 9:34pm

I saw the movie recently after already being familiar with the show and I much prefer the musical adaptation. The movie focused way to much on Evelyn Nesbit's story, even more than the book. It also bothered me that Father was home when Sarah and her baby came to live with them. I felt like with him there, Mother would have never deviated from her norm and allowed Sarah to stay. They also completely took out the character of Emma Goldman. I just found the alterations frustrating and impractical in comparison to the adaptation from the book to the musical.