Ragtime at Vivian Beaumont Theater

“RAGTIME is a dream of a show.” – BroadwayWorld

“It was the music of something beginning…” A black pianist and his beloved, a Jewish immigrant and his little girl, a matriarch from an upper-class suburbanite family – all connected by their grasping for the American Dream, all connected by both the harmony and discord of that exact American Dream. 

The tale of the three vastly different groups separated by class, race, and place of origin, woven together by their struggles has been speaking on a cell-and-bone level to audiences for nearly three decades – and still rings true on that very cell-and-bone level. Add in a lush score, a stirring book, gripping and heartrending drama, and soaring vocal beauty alongside superb staging, and you have a musical theatre experience that delivers a gut-punch that you’ll be chewing on long after the last note has died down. 

This season you’ll get to experience the return of the iconic and cherished Tony Award-winning musical to Broadway in pursuit of a different kind of American Dream – to move, to grip, to inspire personal reflection, to uplift and infuriate. It is indeed the music of something beginning – RAGTIME is coming to the Vivian Beaumont Theatre! 

Ragtime Tickets

“It’s an important show, brilliantly written and performed with so much heart.” – BroadwayWorld

SYNOPSIS

RAGTIME, based on the E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel Ragtime explores the seemingly unrelated stories of Coalhouse Walker Jr, a Harlem musician, and his darling Sarah; Mother, the matriarch of an upper-class white family from New Rochelle, New York; and Tateh, a Jewish Eastern European immigrant from Latvia and his Little Girl, tied together by the one thing they have in common – their strive for the American Dream. 

With a panoramic view of the paradigm shifts in American culture at the turn of the century, RAGTIME explores a world where the concept of equality is accepted but with much difficulty of putting it into practice; a world where comfort and conscience meet struggles, exploitation, racism, materialism, and a justice system always ready to provoke and incite. 

RAGTIME is a powerful, poignant, and politically potent tale that, with intertwining actual history with fictional characters, challenges the status quo – even now, a century after the setting of the musical. In short, RAGTIME may well be the most powerful musical production you’ll ever see. 

“The payoff is more than worth it…” – WordPress

CREATIVE TEAM

Award-winning director Lear deBessonet’s revival of the three-decade old musical is truly a theatrical experience set out to move, provoke, inspire, and delight. With a wonderfully talented creative team breathing new life into RAGTIME, including choreographer Ellenore Scott, set designer David Korins, costume designer Linda Cho, lighting designer Adam Honoré, sound designer Kai Harada, musical director James Moore, and vocal arrangements by Stephen Flaherty, this theatrical production will ignite the soul and heart.

“A RAGTIME for the ages. Phenomenal singing. Impassioned performances from the outstanding cast. Great orchestration and staging. The must-see of the season.” – Show Score

CAST

“Vocally splendid”, “raising the roof”, “soaring vocal beauty”: just a few extracts from reviews describing exactly what you can expect from the Broadway revival of the iconic RAGTIME. The stellar cast has it all – raw talent, magnificent prowess, superb artistry, and fantastic characterization. Featuring the talents of Joshua Henry as Coalhouse Walker Jr, Caissie Levy as Mother, Brandon Uranowitz as Tateh, Colin Donnell as Father, Nichelle Lewis as Sarah, Ben Levi Ross as Mother’s Younger Brother, Shaina Taub as Emma Goldman, Anna Grace Barlow as Evelyn Nesbit, John Clay III as Booker T. Washington, Rodd Cyrus as Harry Houdini, Nick Barrington as The Little Boy, as Tabitha Lawing as The Little Girl, RAGTIME has catapulted to a whole new level. 

“This is, hands down, one of the best sung productions New Yorkers will hear this year.” – Culture Sauce

HISTORY & LEGACY

RAGTIME is the brainchild of composer Stephen Flaherty, lyricist Lynn Ahrens, and writer Terrence McNally, based on the 1975 novel of the same name by E.L. Doctorow. The musical premiered in 1996 at the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts (now Meridian Arts Centre) in Toronto, and had its Broadway premiere at the Shubert Theatre in 1997. To date, RAGTIME received no less than four Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a Grammy Award nomination. 

“Ahrens and Flaherty are a wonderful composing team but this is by far their best – and quite a magnificent – score. Really goosebump inducing.” – Showriz 

THE VIVIAN BEAUMONT THEATRE

The Vivian Beaumont Theatre at the Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts has long been a go-to for New Yorkers – and the rest of North America – when it comes to world-renowned theatrical productions. Apart from the venue’s popularity and superb design, every experience at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre is a memorable one. The venue ticks all the boxes you’d expect from an adored Broadway theatre – from state-of-the-art lighting and sound to superb acoustics, from fantastic amenities to impeccable sight-lines, ample parking to plenty of luxurious seating spread across an orchestra floor and raised loge level. 

Tickets to this season’s run of RAGTIME are moving exceptionally fast – so jump at it, get your tickets now! 

“RAGTIME is staged with all the brilliance you’d expect.” – The Guardian