"Ragtime" director, Erin Ortman (in Hong Kong T-shirt) gives notes to the production’s cast and creative team during a tech rehearsal. While working on the musical, students portrayed historical figures from the Ragtime era, including financier J.P. Morgan, activist Emma Goldman, and entertainer Harry Houdini. “We were encouraged to research our characters,” recalls Taylor Daniels, who played African American educator and orator, Booker T. Washington. “Then we let the facts fade away in order to play.”