Ragtime intertwines three stories that poignantly illustrate history's timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty; freedom and prejudice; hope and despair; love and hate. The musical score is just as diverse as the Melting Pot of America which it seeks to recreate. It draws upon the musical types of the day - the haunting sounds of traditional Jewish folk music to accompany the yearning lyrics of the immigrants; the outrageousness of Vaudeville to capture the spectacle of Evelyn Nesbit and Houdini; and jazz to invoke the spirit of Harlem.