#Ragtime musical relevance today full

Stephen Flaherty: Doctorow’s novel is full of music. But I think from the very beginning, even before we were hired, we had a sense of connection to the source material. The first three eventually made it into the show, which is something of a miracle. Those first songs were “Ragtime,” “Till We Reach That Day,” “Gliding,” and a song for Evelyn Nesbit. Doctorow and Terrence McNally, along with the producers, decided that we were the team they wanted, and the good work began immediately. We finished the four songs in record time, called some wonderful singer friends to the studio, produced the demos, and managed to turn in our cassette tape at the very last moment! E.L. Lynn Ahrens: We were determined to win the job! Stephen wrote two melodies, I wrote two lyrics and then we switched. Terrence McNally, Lynn Ahrens, and Stephen Flaherty Since this came at a rather busy time for us, the two of us had only 11 working days to write, arrange, teach the actors, record, mix, and hand over our demos for this “songwriting bake-off.” Stephen Flaherty (composer): We were asked specifically to write four songs on spec, based on a 65-page treatment by Terrence McNally, to give our “take” on the score. The challenge was to write and demo four songs, based on a treatment for the musical that Terrence had written (he was already on board) and to deliver them in a very short time. Lynn Ahrens (lyricist): We were asked to audition, along with a number of other songwriters and teams. Doctorow (author of the musical’s source material) began looking for a songwriting team. First to sign on was book writer Terrence McNally, who together with producer Garth Drabinsky and E.L. This article is also a tribute to them.Īs with many musicals, Ragtime began with its writers. Doctorow director Frank Galati production designer Eugene Lee and orchestrator William David Brohn. We would be remiss to not mention that since the work's premiere, several of the artists that worked on the show have passed away: original cast members Conrad McLaren, Tommy Hollis, Ralph Deaton, Panchali Null, Marin Mazzie, Mike O’Carroll, and Valerie Hawkins book writer Terrence McNally novel writer E.L. With the team together again, we chatted with some of the incredible group of artists who brought Ragtime to the stage-including score writers Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, and original cast members Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Peter Friedman-to find out how the magic happened.

Much of the original Broadway cast reunited for a special benefit concert supporting Entertainment Community Fund, held March 27 at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre. And its original cast now contains a number of Broadway legends: Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Peter Friedman, Marin Mazzie, Judy Kaye, and so many others. history and its messages on the importance of equality and justice have made it a cultural touchstone. In the years since, Ragtime has come to mean a great deal to its fans, a legend amongst theatregoers and industry professionals alike. But after it received mixed reviews from critics, and lost the Best Musical Tony Award to The Lion King, Ragtime closed Januafter 834 performances and 27 previews. Ragtime opened on Broadway January 18, 1998, directed by Frank Galati. The effect is that these comparatively small stories about individuals speak to something larger, to the history of this country at the dawn of the 20th century-and, unfortunately, well beyond. Washington, Henry Ford, and Evelyn Nesbit. The show’s fictional characters are placed against the backdrop of real-life historic figures like Harry Houdini, Booker T. It's set in NYC, during a moment of unique change around the turn of the century-“an era exploding,” as the musical’s title number puts it. Over a decade, we watch as these three groups-wealthy white suburbanites, immigrants, and African Americans-all struggle to find their own piece of success in America, a struggle that seems to put them constantly at odds with each other. Ragtime tracks an Eastern European immigrant, Tateh, and his daughter a Black ragtime pianist, Coalhouse Walker Jr., and his fiancée, Sarah and a wealthy white family, led by Mother. The 1998 Broadway production of Ragtime showed that American artists, too, could reach the epic heights-both in terms of storytelling and opulent physical productions-that had become wildly successful on Broadway through a string of big-budget West End transfers like Cats, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon. Doctorow's 1975 novel and telling a dramatized history of America at the turn of the 20th century. There are musicals, and then there's Ragtime.

Ragtime musical relevance today