The New York City Center production of “Ragtime,” mounted in 2024 in a two-week gala presentation, will transfer to Lincoln Center Theater’s Vivian Beaumont Theater. Tony nominee Joshua Henry, Olivier and Grammy nominee Caissie Levy and Tony Award winner Brandon Uranowitz will reprise their roles from the City Center run. Performances of “Ragtime” will begin September 25 ahead of an October 16 opening in a limited 14-week engagement that will run through January 4, 2026.
The production will mark the debut of director Lear deBessonet as artistic director of LCT. ““Ragtime” feels like the perfect way to begin my tenure as artistic director of this very sacred place,” said deBessonet in a statement. “As we celebrate the legacy of LCT and the level of art that has been achieved over the last four decades, it is important for us to continue to be inspired by the sublime possibilities of theater through stories that demand to be told. Such a story is “Ragtime.””
Featuring a book by Terrence McNally and a score by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, “Ragtime” is a sweeping musical adaption of E.L. Doctorow’s novel that follows three fictional families in pursuit of the American Dream at the dawn of the 20th century: Black pianist Coalhouse Walker, Jr. (Henry) and his beloved Sarah, Jewish immigrant Tateh (Uranowitz) and his little girl, and a wealthy white family led by matriarch Mother (Levy). All grasping for the same dream, if only they can hold onto it.
Further casting and creative team for the Broadway run is to be announced. The City Center run featured Nichelle Lewis as Sarah, Colin Donnell as Father, Ben Levi Ross as Younger Brother, Shaina Taub as Emma Goldman, Stephanie Styles as Evelyn Nesbit and John Clay III as Booker T. Washington, Rodd Cyrus as Harry Houdini, Matthew Lamb as The Little Boy and Tabitha Lawing as The Little Girl.
“Ragtime” was last revived on Broadway in 2009 in a production directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge. The original Broadway production, directed by Frank Galati, opened in 1998. It earned 13 Tony nominations, winning four, including awards for its book and score.
This article previously appeared on Broadway.com.
