Director's Note
This epic new musical by the award-winning
composer/lyricist team Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens
(Lucky Stiff, My Favorite Year,
Once On This Island, Seussical)
paints a nostalgic and powerful portrait of life in turn of the
century America. Based on E.L. Doctorow's distinguished novel,
Ragtime intertwines three distinct stories
that poignantly illustrate history's timeless contradictions of
wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair, and
love and hate. The score by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty is just
as diverse as the Melting Pot of America that it seeks to recreate.
It draws upon traditional Jewish folk sounds to color the haunting
music and yearning lyrics of the immigrants, Vaudeville's outrageous
style to capture the spectacle of Evelyn Nesbit, and Joplin and Jazz
to invoke the enlivened spirit of Harlem. With a book by Terrance
McNally (Kiss of the Spider Woman, Master Class), this 1998 Tony
award winning show for best score, book, and orchestrations,
features such show stopping songs as Getting Ready Rag, Your
Daddy's Son, Wheels of a Dream, Till We Reach That Day,
Back To Before, and Make Them Hear You. This momentous musical
is sure to inspire actors and audiences alike!
Please be advised:
Ragtime contains mature themes (such as racism and bigotry) and
parents should be aware and discuss these issues with young
children before bringing them to the show. Thank You.
