Set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing New York, Ragtime tells the stories of three families whose lives collide in the pursuit of the American Dream: a white upper-class family from New Rochelle, a Jewish immigrant and his daughter newly arrived from Latvia, and a talented Black pianist from Harlem. Through their journeys, the musical paints a portrait of a nation grappling with progress and prejudice, hope and despair, and what it truly means to live in America.