Coming out of hiatus with Ragtime the musical

Curtains up as Duluth Playhouse returns to NorShor Theatre with Ragtime, a musical coming out to Duluth audiences after an approximate 3 month hiatus.

Tickets are now on sale for Ragtime and you can find them here.

Due to this winter’s high COVID cases and the Omicron Variant the theatre company decided to postpone some shows and monitor the COVID situation.

Quinn Lorez, the choreographer and actor in the show, says, “It was super challenging. It’s just we’re all such creative people and to have everything be shut down… live theatre is where it’s at."

Ragtime even features actors from outside of the Duluth area. They say theatre has been sporadically effected affected by COVD-19 across the country.

Jarius Cliett, another actor in the show, says, "Every community is experiencing the reopening a little bit differently. And I think the patrons, as well as the actors on stage, are very appreciative of being back."

And the excitement for the local actors to be back continues to grow as they get closer to opening night.

Christina Stroup says, “The pandemic really showed us how reliant we were on theater and how much we are each made up of a theatrical being. So now being back, being able to do it, I definitely will not ever take it for granted again."

And for Jessica Money, her dream of playing Sarah in the show was almost put to a stop because of the virus. She says, “I just had a COVID scare of false positives all around, so I’m feeling real energized. I’ve wanted to play Sarah since I was 16. So to be here doing this is like a literal dream come true."

The cast rehearsed under strict COVID-19 regulations but knew anything can happen. Jace LeGarde says, “There are definitely some moments throughout this process that were like, Oh, jeez, are we about to have another surge here? Are we going to shut this show down?"

To stop the spread COVID, NorShor Theatre requires guests to wear masks during the show and before they enter they must provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test that was taken with in the past 72 hours.

But the team agrees that this is the best way to keep the theater COVID free. Especially when having a live production as powerful as Ragtime.

"I feel like sometimes TV is so impersonal, right? You’re not really seeing that person live. Whereas in theater, seeing a story like this, seeing the racial injustices right in your face, I think makes such a difference”, says Christina Stroup.

Jarius Cliett says, “This is a musical that showcases and puts a mirror up to the audience as well as the actors. Of what our society looks like, but also gives you a glimmer of hope of what we can be and what we should all aspire to be.