Award-winning musical to be performed at Met Theatre

The Morgantown Theatre Company will perform its newest show tonight through Sunday.

The show, "Ragtime," is a musical based on the 1975 novel of the same name by E. L. Doctorow.

As a result of the efforts of composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens, "Ragtime" features soulful and entertaining musical numbers sure to get the audience humming along.

The genres of these tunes include marches, gospel and of course, ragtime.

Coalhouse Walker, the musical’s lead role, will be played by Morgantown Theatre Company alumnus Trevor Dion Nicholas.

Nicholas was involved in Morgantown Theatre Company productions during middle and high school. After a successful run with the company, he went on to study theater and music at West Virginia University.

Since leaving Morgantown, he has played leading roles in several productions, including the national tour of "Big River," "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and the "Festival of the Lion King" at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla.

"Ragtime" tells the story of three groups in early 20th century America. African-Americans are represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician.

Upper-class suburbanites are represented by Mother, the matriarch of a white upper-class family in New Rochelle, N.Y., while Eastern European immigrants are represented in "Ragtime" by Tateh, a Jewish immigrant from Latvia.

This combination of different backgrounds and experiences is an essential part of American culture, and "Ragtime" explores how these cultures have blended together.

In this way "Ragtime" explores multiple aspects of the human experience. From wealth and poverty to freedom and prejudice and from home and despair to what it means to be American, "Ragtime" is a show that will remind its viewers that we are all people, regardless of class distinctions.

The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. each night at Morgantown’s Metropolitan Theatre. A matinee will show Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Tickets for the show range from $12-$20 and can be purchased at Pinocchio’s Toys and Books Store on High Street.

Tickets are also available at Fawley Music Store in Sabraton, W.Va., and online at www.morgantowntheatrecompany.org.