Who's Who in the Cast & Crew: Spotlight on Jeremy Harris

Jeremy Harris,  16

Father/Harry K. Thaw/Willie Conklin

• Which character do you most identify with? Why?
  I most identify with the role Father. In the play, Father has a difficult time adapting to the changes he sees around him.  This includes both societal change as well as social change.  Father is, moreover, fearful of these almost sudden changes in everything around him.  I myself have an extremely hard time adjusting to any change that occurs in my life.  This consists of change in people, change in surrounding, change in self, and so on.  This naturally causes me to become very nostalgic for the past.  The character Father has strong feelings of nostalgia for the past and it is expressed in almost every song the character sings.
  
•  Why should today's audience watch Ragtime?
  Today's audience should watch Ragtime because we as a nation are living through the Turn of the 21st Century and it is very important to see just how far we have come as a nation and to see how much we have changed these last 100 years or so.  Just like in one's life, there is always a perfect time to stop, look back, and reflect on the past because the future really does rely on the events of the past.
• Why is Ragtime relevant to today?
  Ragtime is relevant to America in general.  This show can be played 50 years from now and it will still be just as relevant as it was when even the book was published.  It may not be relevant for the same reasons, but it will always be relevant to the strong Objectivist beliefs that America has held in the past and although it is very little today, it's starting to rise again...unfortunately. (I know, I know! The Objectivist movement didn't happen until 1943 and wasn't fully active until the 1960's, but Objectivism is such a messed up philosophy anyway that Ayn Rand didn't even realize that Objectivist beliefs were very strongly held in the Turn of the 20th Century even though it wasn't labeled "Objectivism" yet. AND, by the way, those strong corporate beliefs led us to something called The Great Depression.... yeah.) Now, I am NOT saying that ALL Objectivist beliefs were held in the Turn of the 20th Century, I'm merely pointing out the Laissez Faire, capitalistic side of it as well as the overly strong beliefs in individualism.  I'm NOT a Communist by the way.