Fernandez stages RAGTIME for November run at Lipscomb

Mike Fernandez directs the David Lipscomb University Department of Theatre production of Ragtime, the Musical, based on the E.L. Doctorow novel, November 11-14 in Lipscomb's Willard Collins Alumni Auditorium. Curtain is at 7:30 p.m., with a special sign-interpreted show will be available on November 11.
 
Tickets are $15 for the public, $10 for university faculty and $5 for students. Tickets are available through the Lipscomb University Box Office at (615) 966-7075 or through Ticketmaster.
 
Called "the best musical in twenty years" by the International Herald Tribune, Ragtime "is not only a powerful portrait of life in turn-of-the-century America, but a relevant tale for today," Fernandez explains. 

"The musical intertwines the stories of three extraordinary families as they confront history's timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair, and what it means to live in America."
 
Lipscomb's production, directed by theatre chair Fernandez, will feature Nashville actor Jamal Bakari King, who has appeared in the Tennessee Repertory Theatre's productions of To Kill A Mockingbird and Big River, and New York choreographer Justin Boccitto, who has taught at Julliard and directs the Group Theater Too at the Circle in the Square Playhouse.
 
In addition, 15 African-American cast members were selected through the Lipscomb University Multicultural Association, a student group dedicated to promoting intercultural relationships and understanding.