Ragtime (musical)

Ragtime
Cover of cast recording
Music	Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics	Lynn Ahrens
Book	Terrence McNally
Basis	Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
Productions	1996 Toronto 1998 Broadway 2003 West End 2009 Kennedy Center 2009 Broadway revival 2012 London revival 2013 Avery Fisher Hall concert 2016 Ellis Island concert 2016 London revival 2018 Norwegian production 2019 Australian production
Awards	Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical Tony Award for Best Original Score

Ragtime is a musical with music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and a book by Terrence McNally. It is based on the 1975 novel of the same name by E.L. Doctorow.

Set in the early 20th century, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in the United States: African Americans, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; upper-class suburbanites, represented by Mother, the matriarch of a white upper-class family in New Rochelle, New York; and Eastern European immigrants, represented by Tateh, a Jewish immigrant from Latvia. The show also incorporates historical figures such as Harry Houdini, Evelyn Nesbit, Booker T. Washington, J. P. Morgan, Henry Ford, Stanford White, Harry Kendall Thaw, Admiral Peary, Matthew Henson, and Emma Goldman.

Productions

Original Broadway production

The musical had its world premiere in Toronto, where it opened at the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts (later renamed the Toronto Centre for the Arts) on December 8, 1996, produced by Canadian impresario Garth Drabinsky and his Livent Inc., the Toronto-production company he headed.

The US premiere was at the Shubert Theatre, Los Angeles in June 1997.

The musical opened on Broadway on January 18, 1998 as the first production in the newly opened Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Directed by Frank Galati and choreographed by Graciela Daniele, Ragtime closed on January 16, 2000 after 834 performances and 27 previews. The original cast included Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie, Peter Friedman and Audra McDonald, who were all nominated for Tony Awards, and also included Judy Kaye, Mark Jacoby and Lea Michele. The production was conducted by David Loud.

The production received mixed reviews, with critics noting that the dazzling physical production (with a $10 million budget, including fireworks and a working Model T automobile) overshadowed problems in the script. Ben Brantley's review in The New York Times was headlined "A diorama with nostalgia rampant." It led the 1998 Tony Awards with thirteen Tony Award nominations, but Disney's The Lion King won as Best Musical. The musical won awards for Best Featured Actress (McDonald), Original Score, Book, and Orchestrations. According to The New York Times, "The chief competition for The Lion King was Ragtime, a lavish musical." The New York Times also noted that "The season was an artistic success as well, creating one of the most competitive Tony contests in years, with a battle in almost every category capped by the titanic struggle for the best musical award between Ragtime with 13 nominations and The Lion King with 11." The Broadway production was not financially successful, and some Broadway insiders consider its lavish production to have been the financial "undoing" of Livent.

International productions

Original West End production

Following its European premiere in a concert performance at the Cardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre in 2002 (which was later telecast on BBC Four), the musical was produced in the West End, London, by Sonia Friedman at the Piccadilly Theatre for a Limited Run from 19 March 2003 - 14 June 2003. This production starred Maria Friedman in the role of Mother, for which she won the 2004 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Original Norwegian production

The musical theatre company BærMuDa premiered the first Scandinavian production on January 18, 2018, coincidentally on the day of the musical's twenty year anniversary of the first night on Broadway. It was also the first time the musical was performed in a foreign language. The production was directed by Renate Stridh, and the cast featured Mimmi Tamba (Sarah), Marvin Charles Cummings (Coalhouse Walker, Jr.), Kristin Rinde (Mother), Christian Ranke (Tateh), Kristian Grønvold (Younger Brother), Lars Arne Rinde (Father), Henrik Rinde Sunde (The Little Boy), Marianne Snekkestad/Cecilie Due (Emma Goldman) and Trine Eide Schjølberg/Ida Rinde Sunde (Evelyn Nesbit). It was translated by Christian Ranke and Cecilie Due.

The production won the BroadwayWorld Regional Award for Best Musical. The scene design was inspired by the suitcases on display at the Ellis Island immigrant museum. The production used a scaled down version of William D. Brohn's original orchestrations.

Melbourne, Australia production

The Production Company performed the musical at the Melbourne Arts Centre, from 2 to 10 November 2019. It was directed by Roger Hodgman.

Revivals

2009 Broadway revival

A new production opened at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, on April 18, 2009, and ran through May 17, 2009, with direction and choreography by Marcia Milgrom Dodge. The production then moved to Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre, with previews beginning on October 23, 2009 and the show officially opened on November 15, 2009. The cast featured Stephanie Umoh (Sarah), Quentin Earl Darrington (Coalhouse Walker, Jr.), Christiane Noll (Mother), Robert Petkoff (Tateh), Bobby Steggert (Younger Brother), Donna Migliaccio (Emma Goldman) and Ron Bohmer (Father). This was the first Broadway revival of the musical and the first Broadway revival of any 1990s musical. The production opened to critical acclaim but closed on January 10, 2010 after 28 previews and 65 performances. This production had a large cast and orchestra, resulting in a significant weekly running cost that demanded the show be a popular success in order to prove financially worthwhile. "There had been rumors in recent weeks that the show would not be able to survive into early 2010; there was apparently not enough of an advance sale to encourage the producers." Despite the closing, the production received seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival of Musical, Best Direction, Best Actress in Musical, and Best Featured Actor in a Musical. One nomination, for Costume Design, was withdrawn on the basis that the designs were substantially similar to those of a prior production.

London revivals

The Regent's Park Open Air Theatre played a revival of the musical from May 18 to September 8, 2012. This production was directed by Artistic Director Timothy Sheader. The cast featured Claudia Kariuki (Sarah), Rolan Bell (Coalhouse Walker, Jr.), Rosalie Craig (Mother), John Marquez (Tateh), Harry Hepple (Younger Brother), Tamsin Carroll (Emma Goldman) and David Birrell (Father).

The Charing Cross Theatre played a revival of the musical from October 8 until December 10, 2016, and directed by Thom Southerland. The actor-musician production featured Earl Carpenter (Father), Anita Louise Combe (Mother), Jonathan Stewart (Younger Brother), Ako Mitchell (Coalhouse Walker, Jr.), Jennifer Saayeng (Sarah) and Gary Tushaw (Tateh).

Concerts

Manhattan Concert Productions presented a one-night only concert of the musical on February 18, 2013 at the Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, directed by Stafford Arima. The cast featured Lea Salonga (Mother), Patina Miller (Sarah), Norm Lewis (Coalhouse Walker, Jr.), Tyne Daly (Emma Goldman), Kerry Butler (Evelyn Nesbitt), Howard McGillin (Father), Michael Arden (Younger Brother) and Manoel Felciano (Tateh).

A concert benefitting the Actors Fund was scheduled for April 27, 2020 at the Minskoff Theatre. It will be directed by Stafford Arima and will feature many of the original Broadway cast, including Brian Stokes Mitchell as Coalhouse Walker, Jr., Audra McDonald as Sarah, and Peter Friedman as Tateh. Kelli O'Hara will play the role of Mother in the concert staging. The concert will be dedicated to the memory of Marin Mazzie (the original Mother) who passed away in 2018. However the concert was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which also took the life of the musical's librettist Terrence McNally.

Ragtime on Ellis Island

A "developmental concert" of the musical was presented on Ellis Island on August 8, 2016. The concert is directed by Sammi Cannold, and featured Brian Stokes Mitchell as the narrator, Laura Michelle Kelly as Mother, Andy Mientus as Younger Brother, Brandon Victor Dixon as Coalhouse Walker Jr., Michael Park as Father, Shaina Taub as Emma Goldman, Aisha Jackson as Sarah and Robert Petkoff reprising his 2009 Broadway revival role of Tateh. An immersive, full production was anticipated in 2017, but did not occur. In March 2018, the team that was behind the developmental concert will hold a sound workshop with sound designer Nick Tipp to explore the use of in ear monitoring technology for audience members. This would mean that in a full production on Ellis Island, all the audio that the audience would normally hear through traditional sound systems would be live-mixed into wireless headphones worn by each audience member. The director Sammi Cannold told Broadway World that “While the workshop is of course focused on material from Ragtime, our team is also excited by the potential applications of this approach to other site-specific musicals in locations where it's impossible to use traditional sound systems.”

This production was also featured on an episode of the Working in the Theatre series run by the American Theatre Wing.

Regional productions

2012 Shaw Festival

The Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, presented Ragtime in 2012 in its Festival Theatre as part of its 51st season, from April 10 through October 14, 2012. The production was directed by Shaw Festival Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell. The role of Coalhouse Walker was played by Thom Allison, with Alana Hibbert as Sarah, Jay Turvey as Tateh, and Patty Jamieson as Mother.

2014 Westchester Broadway

Standing Ovation Studios presented Ragtime the Musical at the Westchester Broadway Theater February 27 to May 4, 2014.

2017 Seattle

Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre presented a new version of Ragtime in October 2017, based on a streamlined production from Theatre Latte Da in Minneapolis, directed by Peter Rothstein. It has a stripped-down cast of only 16 actors, whereby leading actors also portray the ensemble/chorus.

2018 Providence, Rhode Island

Providence's Trinity Repertory Company presented Ragtime in May 2018, directed by Curt Columbus, with Wilkie Ferguson III as Coalhouse Walker, Jr. Mia Ellis as Sarah, Charlie Thurston as Tateh, and Rachael Warren as Mother.

Synopsis

Act One

Three social castes in turn-of-the-century New York introduce themselves to the audience: the first is an upper-class white family from New Rochelle— the Little Boy, Edgar, and his Father (who runs a fireworks factory), Mother, Mother's Younger Brother, and Grandfather—who live a genteel life and enjoy a lack of racial and ethnic diversity; the second is the Black residents of Harlem, including a beautiful young woman named Sarah, who adores the pianist Coalhouse Walker Jr.; the third are immigrants from Europe in the Lower East Side, among them "Tateh", a Jewish artist from Latvia, and his young daughter. These three worlds are connected by narration from the luminaries J.P. Morgan, Henry Ford, Booker T. Washington, Emma Goldman, Harry Houdini, and Evelyn Nesbit (“Prologue—Ragtime”).

Mother bids goodbye to Father as he embarks on Robert Peary's expedition to the North Pole. He asks Mother to oversee his affairs and assures her that nothing will change in his absence, but Mother feels adrift without her husband to guide her (“Goodbye, My Love”). As Peary's ship departs, Father watches as a "rag ship" arrives, carrying a hopeful Tateh and his Little Girl to America, while Mother, back on shore, wishes Father safe passage (“Journey On”). Meanwhile, Mother's Younger Brother, an intense and awkward young man yearning for purpose who works at Father's fireworks factory, attends the vaudeville act of Evelyn Nesbit, a young woman who became famous after her wealthy lover Stanford White was killed by her millionaire husband Harry K. Thaw (“Crime of the Century”). After the show ends, Younger Brother confesses his love to Evelyn. She kisses him, but only for the benefit of a press photographer, and cheerfully rejects him afterward.

Back at home in New Rochelle, Mother discovers a Black newborn partly buried alive in her garden. The police arrive with Sarah, the baby's mother. Pitying her, Mother takes responsibility for Sarah and her child. Surprised at herself, she remarks that her husband would never have allowed her to make such a decision (“What Kind of Woman”).

At Ellis Island, the immigrants arrive (“A Shtetl Iz Amereke”). Tateh eagerly begins his new life, drawing silhouettes and selling them on the street. He and the Little Girl quickly descend into poverty. Emma Goldman attempts to get him to join the Socialist movement, but he refuses. A wealthy man even offers to purchase the Little Girl, whom he now keeps on a leash for safety. Inspired by immigrant magician Harry Houdini, Tateh resolves to begin again somewhere else (“Success”).

In Harlem, Coalhouse, a popular pianist, informs his audience that he's finally found his lost love, Sarah, and is going to win her back (“His Name Was Coalhouse”/“Gettin' Ready Rag”). He then purchases a Model T while Henry Ford and his workers glorify industry (“Henry Ford”).

Tateh and the Little Girl leave for Boston; en route, they meet Mother and Edgar while stopping in New Rochelle. They politely make conversation (“Nothing Like the City”). In the attic of Mother's home, Sarah explains her desperate actions in a song to her baby (“Your Daddy's Son”). Also en route to New Rochelle, Coalhouse is harassed by a racist fire squad led by chief Will Conklin, who taunt him for driving his own car. He arrives at Mother's house, where he has heard that a Black woman is living. He is stunned to learn of the baby's existence and, when Sarah refuses to see him, he resorts to returning weekly (“The Courtship”) until Mother invites him inside. Grandfather asks Coalhouse to play a minstrel song on the parlor piano; instead, Coalhouse plays a ragtime song. Father returns home while Coalhouse is playing, and is stunned by the changes to his family's life, while Mother and her Younger Brother are proud of her choices. Eventually, Sarah comes down from the attic and reconciles with Coalhouse (“New Music”). The two go on an idyllic picnic where, inspired by the words of Booker T. Washington, he dreams of a just, future America that their son will grow up in (“Wheels of a Dream”).

Taking refuge from a wintry night, Younger Brother enters a workers' hall. There, Emma Goldman speaks passionately about a textile mills strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where Tateh and his daughter are among those targeted by federal troops and strikebreakers. Younger Brother imagines Goldman is speaking directly to him (“The Night That Goldman Spoke at Union Square”). Goldman is arrested prompting a riot that mirrors the chaos in Lawrence, where Tateh is beaten by a policeman while trying to flee. He and the Little Girl escape Lawrence on a train; he gives his daughter a flip book of moving silhouettes to calm her. The train conductor offers to buy the book, and Tateh, hurriedly dubbing it a "movie-book", sells it for a dollar. Tateh realizes that "movie-books" may be a route out of poverty (“Gliding”).

Returning to New Rochelle, Coalhouse and Sarah are stopped by Will Conklin and the fire squad. Conklin demands a fictitious toll; Coalhouse refuses. A lecture by Booker T. Washington on patience and dignity ironically underscores the white firemen's destruction of Coalhouse's new Model T (“The Trashing of the Car”). Incensed, Coalhouse vows legal action (“Justice”), postponing his marriage to Sarah until he gets justice. Sarah hears of a campaign rally nearby and goes to ask for help from the vice presidential candidate; as she approaches, an onlooker shouts "She's got a gun!" and Sarah is beaten to death by the Secret Service (“President”). At her funeral, Black mourners demand an end to such injustice and pray for true equality. Mother, Father, Younger Brother, Tateh and Emma Goldman look on as Coalhouse weeps at Sarah's grave (“Till We Reach That Day”).

Act Two

The Little Boy wakes up screaming from a nightmare in which Harry Houdini attempts a daring escape after being locked in a dynamite-laden box by Will Conklin ("Harry Houdini, Master Escapist"). This dream proves prophetic: news arrives that a volunteer firehouse has been bombed. Coalhouse has vowed to get justice on his own terms (“Coalhouse's Soliloquy”) and now terrorizes New Rochelle while demanding his car be restored to him and that Will Conklin be delivered to him. Booker T. Washington condemns Coalhouse's actions (“Coalhouse Demands”). In the chaos, Mother retains custody of Sarah and Coalhouse's baby. Father blames her for bringing this turmoil into their lives, but Younger Brother lambastes him for his blindness and storms out of the house. Mother grows increasingly offended by her husband's ignorant outlook. Father, to distract Edgar from the unrest, takes his son to a baseball game (“What a Game”). Coalhouse's campaign continues (“Fire in the City”), and so Father decides to move the family to Atlantic City.

In Atlantic City, Evelyn Nesbit's career is on the downslide and Harry Houdini has becoming intrigued by the supernatural and the afterlife following the death of his mother (“Atlantic City”). Edgar cryptically shouts "Warn the Duke!" to Houdini. Mother encounters Tateh again, not recognizing him from their brief meeting months ago; now a filmmaker, he has re-invented himself as "the Baron Ashkenazy" and is directing a silent movie in Atlantic City (“Buffalo Nickel Photoplay, Inc.”). Edgar and the Little Girl soon become fast friends, prompting Mother and Tateh to become friends as well; eventually, Tateh reveals who he is, and they grow even closer (“Our Children”).

Back in Harlem, Younger Brother seeks out Coalhouse but is repeatedly turned away until Coalhouse is convinced that he can be trusted. Coalhouse has banished music from his life but watches a carefree young couple ("Harlem Nightclub") and recalls meeting Sarah (“Sarah Brown Eyes”). Younger Brother meets with him but is inarticulate and nervous: his profound thoughts, narrated to the audience by Emma Goldman, stand in contrast to the only phrase he can muster: "I know how to blow things up." (“He Wanted to Say”). With Younger Brother's help, Coalhouse and his men take over J.P. Morgan's magnificent library in the heart of New York City, threatening to blow it up. Father is summoned to help reason with Coalhouse. Before he goes, he assures Mother that everything will soon return to the way it was, but Mother knows such hopes are naive (“Back to Before”). Meeting with the police, Father devises a mediation strategy involving Booker T. Washington, whom Coalhouse allows to enter the library. Washington, invoking the violent legacy Coalhouse is leaving his son, works out a deal with Coalhouse. Younger Brother is enraged at Coalhouse's abandonment of their cause (“Look What You've Done”).

Washington leaves and Father enters the library as a hostage. There, he finally realizes the profundity of society's troubles while seeing Coalhouse convince Younger Brother and his men that violence cannot solve injustice. Coalhouse exhorts them to fight through the power of their words (“Make Them Hear You”). Coalhouse's sacrifice and oratory convince Younger Brother and the men to leave while Father tells Coalhouse about his son. Coalhouse thanks Father for his kindness. Once he leaves the library, Coalhouse is shot dead by the police.

Edgar appears to introduce the Epilogue. Younger Brother departs for Mexico to fight for Emiliano Zapata. Emma Goldman is arrested and deported. Booker T. Washington establishes the Tuskegee Institute, while Evelyn Nesbitt fades into obscurity. Harry Houdini realizes upon the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that Edgar's shout of "Warn the Duke!" was a true mystical experience. Father dies abord the RMS Lusitania; after a year of mourning, Mother marries Tateh, adopts Coalhouse and Sarah's son, and moves to California. Tateh is struck by an idea for a film series centering on a diverse group of children banding together. The ghosts of Coalhouse and Sarah watch their son grow up (“Epilogue: Ragtime/Wheels of a Dream: Reprise”).

Songs

Act I

• Prologue: Ragtime – Company
• "Goodbye, My Love" – Mother
• "Journey On" – Father, Tateh, and Mother
• "The Crime of the Century" ‡ – Evelyn Nesbit, Younger Brother, Judge, Foreman, Ensemble
• "What Kind of Woman" – Mother
• "A Shtetl iz Amereke" – Ensemble
• "Success" – Tateh, J.P. Morgan, Harry Houdini, Emma Goldman, Ensemble
• "His Name Was Coalhouse Walker" – Coalhouse, Ensemble
• "Gettin' Ready Rag" – Coalhouse, Harlem Ensemble
• "Henry Ford" ‡ – Henry Ford, Coalhouse, Ensemble
• "Nothing Like the City" – Mother, Edgar, Tateh, Little Girl
• "Your Daddy's Son" – Sarah
• "The Courtship" – Coalhouse, Mother, and Company
• "New Music" – Father, Mother, Younger Brother, Coalhouse, Sarah, and Company
• "Wheels of a Dream" – Coalhouse and Sarah
• "The Night That Goldman Spoke at Union Square" ‡ – Younger Brother, Emma Goldman, Ensemble
• "Gliding" – Tateh
• "The Trashing of the Car" – Will, Firefighters, and Orchestra
• "Justice" ‡ – Coalhouse and Company
• "President"‡ – Sarah
• "Till We Reach That Day" – Sarah's Friend, Coalhouse, Emma Goldman, Mother, Younger Brother, Tateh, Company

Act II

• Entr'acte – Orchestra
• "Harry Houdini, Master Escapist" ≠ – Harry Houdini and Edgar
• "Coalhouse's Soliloquy" – Coalhouse
• "Coalhouse Demands"‡ – Coalhouse, Booker T. Washington, Will Conklin, Newsboys, Reporters, Ensemble
• "What a Game" – Father, Edgar, and Men
• "Fire in the City" – Booker T. Washington, Orchestra
• "New Music (Reprise)" – Father
• "Atlantic City" ‡ – Evelyn Nesbit, Harry Houdini, Father, Mother, and Company
• "Buffalo Nickel Photoplay, Inc." – Tateh
• "Our Children" – Mother and Tateh
• "Harlem Nightclub" – Orchestra
• "Sarah Brown Eyes" – Coalhouse and Sarah
• "He Wanted to Say" ‡ – Younger Brother, Emma Goldman, Coalhouse, and Coalhouse's Gang
• "Back to Before" – Mother
• "Look What You've Done" – Booker T. Washington, Coalhouse, and Company
• "Make Them Hear You" – Coalhouse
• Epilogue: Ragtime / "Wheels of a Dream" (reprise) – Coalhouse, Sarah, Company

‡ - shortened in the 2009 Broadway revival

≠ - excised from the 2009 Broadway revival

Instrumentation

The Tony Award-winning orchestration of Ragtime, by William David Brohn is for twenty-six musicians:

• Reed I (Flute, Piccolo)
• Reed II (English horn, Oboe)
• Reed III (Clarinet, E-flat clarinet)
• Reed IV (Bass clarinet, Clarinet, Flute, Soprano saxophone)
• 2 Horns in F
• 2 Trumpets in B♭ (1st doubling Flugelhorn and Piccolo trumpet)
• Trombone
• Bass trombone
• Tuba
• Drums
• Percussion
• Keyboard 1, 2, 3
• Banjo (doubling Acoustic guitar, Electric guitar, Mandolin)
• Harp
• Violin
• Viola
• Cello
• Bass

In the original West End production, the fourth reed, bass trombone and harp parts were removed and the banjo player does not double on guitar or mandolin. The 2009 revival switched the doublings for the second and fourth woodwind parts. The fourth woodwind part in the original Broadway production had doublings for flute, bass clarinet, soprano sax, and alto sax.

Principal roles and casts

Original casts

Character	Songs from "Ragtime" 1996	World Premiere 1996	Original Broadway Cast 1997	Original West End Cast 2003	First Broadway Revival 2009	First London Revival 2012	Second London Revival 2016	Original Norwegian Cast 2018	Original Australian Cast 2019
The Little Boy (Edgar)	Nicholas Rose	Paul Dano	Alex Strange	Thomas Brown Loye Jordan Calvert Matthew Protheroe	Christopher Cox	Fin Banks Rory Fraser Ewan Harris	Ethan Quinn Samuel Peterson	Henrik Rinde Sunde	Kempton Maloney Hudson Sharp
Mother	Marin Mazzie			Maria Friedman	Christiane Noll	Rosalie Craig	Anita Louise Combe	Kristin Rinde Sunde	Georgina Hopson
Father	Mark Jacoby			Dave Willetts	Ron Bohmer	David Birrell	Earl Carpenter	Lars Arne Rinde	Adam Murphy
Mother's Younger Brother	Steven Sutcliffe			Matthew White	Bobby Steggert	Harry Hepple	Jonathan Stewart	Kristian Ludvig Grønvold	Finn Alexander
Grandfather	Conrad McLaren	Paul Soles	Conrad McLaren	Vince Pirillo	Dan Manning	Jo Servi	Anthony Cable	Brynjar Lilleheim	John McTernan
Tateh	Peter Friedman			Graham Bickley	Robert Petkoff	John Marquez	Gary Tushaw	Christian Alfred Ranke	Alexander Lewis
The Little Girl	Afton Eddy	Lea Michele		Natasha Jules Bernard Sarah Bowling Ruby Williams	Sarah Rosenthal	Lily Burgering Lila Heller Oriana Pooles	Alana Hinge Riya Vyas	Mia Emmy Bjerke Mathisen	Summer Hamilton Annie Sainsbery
Coalhouse Walker, Jr	Brian Stokes Mitchell			Kevyn Morrow	Quentin Earl Darrington	Rolan Bell	Ako Mitchell	Marvin Charles Cummings	Kurt Kansley
Sarah	Audra McDonald			Emma Jay Thomas	Stephanie Umoh	Claudia Kariuki	Jennifer Saayeng	Mimmi Tamba	Chloe Zuel
Coalhouse Walker, III			Michael Redd Shane Rogers	Luke Bradbury Milan Cato Max Mensah	Jayden Brockington Kylil Williams			Noah Philip Berg Otterlei	Noah Nzenza
Sarah's Friend	Mary Bond Davis		Vanessa Townsell-Crisp	Hope Augustus	Bryonha Parham	Sandra Marvin	Seyi Omooba	Johanna Dahl Bryne	Ruva Ngwenya
Willie Conklin	David Mucci			Howard Ellis	Mark Aldrich	Joshua Lacey	Simon Anthony	William Bergrem	Matt Hamilton
Evelyn Nesbit	Lynnette Perry			Rebecca Thornhill	Savannah Wise	Katie Brayben	Joanna Hickman	Trine Eide Schjølberg Ida Rinde Sunde	Mackenzie Dunn
Harry Houdini	Gabriel Barre	Jim Corti		Samuel James	Jonathan Hammond	Stephane Anelli	Christopher Dickins	Jim-Roger Knutsen	Louis Lucente
Emma Goldman	Camille Saviola		Judy Kaye	Susie McKenna	Donna Migliaccio	Tamsin Carroll	Valerie Cutko	Cecilie Due Marianne Snekkestad	Sage Douglas
Henry Ford	Michael Fletcher	Larry Daggett		Iain Davey	Aaron Galligan-Stierle	Carl Sanderson	Tom Giles	Sølve Oftebro	John O'May
J.P. Morgan	Michael McCarty	Mike O'Carroll		Mark McKerracher	Michael X. Martin	Anthony Clegg		Brynjar Lilleheim	Anton Berezin
Booker T. Washington	Michael Lofton	Richard Allen	Tommy Hollis	David Durham	Eric Jordan Young	Sophia Nomvete	Nolan Frederick	Daniel Okafor Appyday	Joti Gore
Stanford White	Kevin Bogue				Michael McGowan
Harry K. Thaw	Colton Green				Josh Walden		James Mack
Admiral Robert Peary	Rod Campbell				Michael X. Martin			Andreas Kristiansen
Matthew Henson	Kingsley Leggs		Duane Martin Foster		Terence Archie			Emil Rodrigo Jørgensen
Charles S. Whitman			Gordon Stanley		Michael McGowan			Åsmund Lockert Rohde

Concert casts

Character	St. David's Hall, Cardiff 2002	Avery Fisher Hall 2013	Ellis Island 2016	Minskoff Theatre 2020
The Little Boy (Edgar)	Jordan Calvert	Lewis Grosso	Hudson Loverro
Mother	Maria Friedman	Lea Salonga	Laura Michelle Kelly	Kelli O'Hara
Father	Dave Willetts	Howard McGillin	Michael Park	Mark Jacoby
Mother's Younger Brother	Matthew White	Michael Arden	Andy Mientus	Steven Sutcliffe
Grandfather	Jeffery Dench	Dick Latessa	Joe Harkins	Dan Manning
Tateh	Graham Bickley	Manoel Felciano	Robert Petkoff	Peter Friedman
The Little Girl	Leah White	Lilla Crawford	Aviva Winick
Coalhouse Walker, Jr	Lawrence Hamilton	Norm Lewis	Brandon Victor Dixon	Brian Stokes Mitchell
Sarah	Kenita R. Miller	Patina Miller	Aisha Jackson	Audra McDonald
Coalhouse Walker, III		Joshua G. Windle	does not appear
Sarah's Friend	Jenny Ingram Brown	NaTasha Yvette Williams	Elexis Morton	Vanessa Crisp
Willie Conklin	Gareth Snook	Jarrod Emick	does not appear	Mark Aldrich
Evelyn Nesbit	Rebecca Thornhill	Kerry Butler	Annie Sherman	Lynnette Perry
Harry Houdini	Tim Howar	Jose Llana	Jeremy Morse	Jim Corti
Emma Goldman	Gillian Bevan	Tyne Daly	Shaina Taub	Judy Kaye
Henry Ford	Sam Kenyon	Matt Cavenaugh	Larry Daggett
J.P. Morgan	Robert Archibald	Michael McCormick	Paul Slade Smith	Michael X. Martin
Booker T. Washington	Cavin Cornwall	Phillip Boykin	Rod Singleton	Eric Jordan Young
Stanford White			Drew Martin	Kevin Bogue
Harry K. Thaw			Cooper Grodin
Admiral Robert Peary			Philip Paul Kelly
Charles S. Whitman			does not appear	Gordon Stanley

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

Year	Award Ceremony	Category	Nominee	Result
1998	Tony Award	Best Musical		Nominated
		Best Book of a Musical	Terrence McNally	Won
		Best Original Score	Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens	Won
		Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical	Peter Friedman	Nominated
			Brian Stokes Mitchell	Nominated
		Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical	Marin Mazzie	Nominated
		Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical	Audra McDonald	Won
		Best Direction of a Musical	Frank Galati	Nominated
		Best Choreography	Graciela Daniele	Nominated
		Best Orchestrations	William David Brohn	Won
		Best Scenic Design	Eugene Lee	Nominated
		Best Costume Design	Santo Loquasto	Nominated
		Best Lighting Design	Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer	Nominated
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Musical		Won
		Outstanding Book of a Musical	Terrence McNally	Won
		Outstanding Actor in a Musical	Peter Friedman	Nominated
			Brian Stokes Mitchell	Nominated
		Outstanding Actress in a Musical	Marin Mazzie	Nominated
		Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical	Steven Sutcliffe	Nominated
		Outstanding Director of a Musical	Frank Galati	Nominated
		Outstanding Choreography	Graciela Daniele	Nominated
		Outstanding Orchestrations	William David Brohn	Won
		Outstanding Lyrics	Lynn Ahrens	Won
		Outstanding Music	Stephen Flaherty	Won
		Outstanding Set Design	Eugene Lee and Wendall K. Harrington	Nominated
		Outstanding Costume Design	Santo Loquasto	Nominated
		Outstanding Lighting Design	Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer	Nominated

Original London production

Year	Award Ceremony	Category	Nominee	Result
2004	Laurence Olivier Award	Best New Musical		Nominated
		Best Actor in a Musical	Graham Bickley	Nominated
			Kevyn Morrow	Nominated
		Best Actress in a Musical	Maria Friedman	Won
		Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical	Matthew White	Nominated
		Best Director	Stafford Arima	Nominated
		Best Lighting Design	Howard Harrison	Nominated
		Best Sound Design	Peter Kylenski	Nominated

2009 Broadway revival

Year	Award Ceremony	Category	Nominee	Result
2010	Tony Award	Best Revival of a Musical		Nominated
		Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical	Christiane Noll	Nominated
		Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical	Bobby Steggert	Nominated
		Best Direction of a Musical	Marcia Milgrom Dodge	Nominated
		Best Scenic Design	Derek McLane	Nominated
		Best Lighting Design	Donald Holder	Nominated
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Revival of a Musical		Nominated
		Outstanding Actress in a Musical	Christiane Noll	Nominated
		Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical	Bobby Steggert	Nominated
		Outstanding Director of a Musical	Marcia Milgrom Dodge	Nominated
		Outstanding Choreography		Nominated
		Outstanding Set Design	Derek McLane	Nominated
		Outstanding Sound Design	Acme Sound Partners	Won

External links

• ​Ragtime​ at the Internet Broadway Database
• ​Ragtime Revival​ at the Internet Broadway Database
• Ragtime (Version 1 - Broadway) at the Music Theatre International website