Lincoln Center Theater’s (LCT) Tony Award-nominated revival of “Ragtime” will recognize National Immigrant Heritage Month with a special evening honoring immigrants’ contribution to the cultural, intellectual and civic development of America. National Immigrant Heritage month is recognized across the U.S. annually each June.
The evening performance on June 23 will welcome several guests: Professor Moungi Bawendi, Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry; Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, a public health expert and the director of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health’s ICAP; Tania Léon, a Pulitzer Prize-winning musician; Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center; and domestic worker Lizeth Palencia, among others.
“We at Lincoln Center Theater are profoundly honored to celebrate the immense contributions immigrants have made to American culture,” said Lear deBessonet, LCT’s Kewsong Lee artistic director, in a statement. “Bringing together visionaries from the fields of health, sciences, the arts and athletics, alongside hometown heroes whose lives of generosity and public service elevate our society is a great privilege, and we are so proud to live in a time when the American theater can be in vital dialogue with the wider culture.”
An adaptation of E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel, “Ragtime” follows three individuals through the turbulent social, political and cultural landscape of turn-of-the-century New York, including Jewish American immigrant Tateh. The revival has been nominated for 11 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical and acting nominations for all three of its leads and two of its featured performers.
