Who's Who in the Cast & Crew: Spotlight on Donovan Mendelovitz

Donovan Mendelovitz, 18

Father, Harry Houdini

• In one word, what does Ragtime mean to you?
  Acceptance
  
• Which character do you most identify with? Why?
  I identify most with Younger Brother. He is an extremely passionate person (as are all of the characters in the story), but he feels empty without something to "live for." I know that without something to put all my positive energy towards, life is not worth experiencing.
  
• Why is Ragtime relevant to today?
  Ragtime is relevant in the sense that it teaches us to learn from our country's history. We must learn to continue accepting those who are different and not discriminate. Whether it's religion, race, beliefs, sexuality, social status, etc., we can never stop accepting that others are different. It has makes me think about how grateful I am to live in a world where we now can live in harmony with people of all sorts, and I believe that audiences can learn a great deal about that from this powerful show.
  
• What do you want the audience to take away from the musical?
  I want the audience to truly take in the story and how incredible it is. But I really want audiences to really internalize the music. In my opinion, Ragtime has one of the most epic scores in all musical theatre history, and I hope audiences can appreciate that as much as the cast does.