'Ragtime' dispute brings Broadway star to Cherry Hill high school
Brian Stokes Mitchell, the star of the original production of the musical, is visiting the school to help students tackle the thorny use of the N-word and other racially charged language in the school’s production.
Cherry Hill High School East students are to get a lesson today on race from Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell.
Mitchell, the star of the original production of the musical Ragtime, is expected at the South Jersey school to help students tackle the thorny use of the N-word and other racially charged language in the school's upcoming production.
Following closed-door meetings with students, Mitchell is expected to participate in a discussion with the musical's cast, sing a song, and meet with reporters, district officials said.
Ragtime opens March 10 for a nine-day run at the school.
Mitchell, nominated for a Tony in the role of Coalhouse Walker Jr. in the Broadway production of Ragtime, offered to come to Cherry Hill to speak with students after a controversy erupted over the musical in January.
Local civil rights leaders objected to the use of the N-word in the award-winning play and filed a complaint seeking to alter the script or halt the production. The play also includes racial slurs against other ethnic groups.
Mitchell made a similar visit to Columbia High School in South Orange, N.J., in 2015 when students there performed Ragtime.
Ragtime depicts the fictional story of a black family, a Jewish immigrant family, and a wealthy white couple in New York at the turn of the century. It includes themes of racism, intolerance, and injustice.
Copyright laws prohibited modifying the script, leaving the district with the option to perform the musical as written or not all. The play was selected last spring by Cherry Hill East students and approved by the theater department.
Mitchell and others in favor of staging it said it was important to give students the artistic freedom to perform the musical unaltered to reflect the racism and bigotry of the time period it depicts.
Superintendent Joseph Meloche said the district would use the play as a "teachable moment" to educate students about racism and stereotypes. Cherry Hill East students will have required discussions in History and English classes next week and have the option to see the musical during school.