Tony Tuesday: RAGTIME

This week we’re going back to the mid-late 90s for, in our opinion, one of the greatest scores to ever grace the musical theatre stage. This week’s TONY Tuesday is:

‘Prologue’ from Ragtime at the 1998 TONY awards ceremony. 

Ragtime is a 1996 musical based on the popular book of the same name written by E. L. Doctorow. The story takes place at the turn of the century in the state of New York and concerns three socio-ethnic groups, the upper class W.A.S.Ps, the African-American community and the Eastern European Immigrants. The story combines fictitious characters as well as real-life historical figures of the time, and explores the inherent classism and racism integrated within the structure of America and American politics, in a bid to demonstrate an ideal future and the true essence of what the American dream actually represents. 

Ragtime has music and lyrics by Stephen Flaherty and Lynne Ahrens, with a book by Terrence McNally and started off life as a concept musical theatre cast recording released in 1996. The musical premiered in Toronto at the Ford Centre For the Performing Arts on 8 December 1996. The production was directed by Frank Galati with choreography by Graciela Daniele. The opening cast included Brian Stokes Mitchell as Coalhouse Walker Jr, Audra McDonald as Sarah, Marin Mazzie as Mother and Peter Friedman as Tateh. Uncharacteristically, the musical already had two openings planned ahead of its Broadway bow. As well as the Toronto run, the musical had plans to open in L.A in June 1997(which ultimately ran to March 1998). It was announced that Mitchell would leave the Toronto cast to open the LA production and then join the rest of the Toronto cast for the Broadway opening in December 1997. The Toronto production closed in August 1997 after a run of nine months. Ragtime opening for previews at the newly refurbished Ford Centre For the Performing Arts (now Lyric Theatre), on Boxing Day 1997. The musical opened to mixed to positive reviews. The sweeping score required a 28-piece orchestra as well as lavish set and fireworks. The show was nominated for staggering thirteen TONY awards, winning four. Its direct competition with the equally popular The Lion King made it one of the closest TONY races in the awards history. The production closed on 16 January 2000, at a financial loss due to its whopping (at the time) $10 million budget and high weekly running costs. 

The West End production opened at the Piccadilly Theatre following a concert at the Cardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre on 19 March 2003, for a limited run til June 2004. The production was well received with British musical theatre juggernaut Maria Friedman winning an Olivier for her performance as Mother. 

A new production of the show opened at the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, running from 18 April 2009 – 17 May2009, directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge. The production featured Quentin Earl Darrington as Coalhouse, Stephanie Umoh as Sarah, Christiane Noll as Mother and Robert Petkoff as Father. It transferred to the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway, opening to critical acclaim and becoming the first time the show itself and any show of the 90s had been revived on Broadway. The production opened for previews on 23 October 2009 and closed on 10 January 2010, due to expensive running costs that were unable to meet demand during a credit crunch. Even with the early closing, the musical was still nominated for seven 2010 TONY awards. 

The musical was revived in 2012 at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre in a colour-blind cast production directed by Timothy Sheader. Rolan Bell played Coalhouse, with Claudia Kariuki as Sarah, Rosalie Craig as Mother and John Marquez as Tateh. The production received mixed reviews. A more successful revival ran at the Charing Cross Theatre in 2016 in an Actor-Muso production directed by Thom Southerland. The production starred Earl Carpenter as Father, Anita Louise Combe as Mother, Ako Mitchell as Coalhouse, Jennifer Saayeng as Sarah and Gary Tushaw as Tateh. The production won the Off-West End award for Best Musical Revival. 

Besties if you don’t know Ragtime, get on it, its sumptuous score is breath-taking, and unfortunately its subject matter is still pertinent to this day. 

Cast recordings available on streaming services. 

FACTS:

Music: Stephen Flaherty 

Lyrics: Lynne Ahrens 
Book: Terrance McNally 
Theatre: The Ford Centre for the Performing Arts 
Run: 26 December 1997 –  16 January 2000 (27 previews and 834 regular performances) 

TONYS:

(NOMINATED) Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical – Peter Friedman, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical – Marin Mazzie, Best Direction of a Musical – Frank Galati, Best Choreography – Graciela Daniele, Best Scenic Design – Eugene Lee, Best Costume Design – Santo Loquasto, Best Lighting Design – Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer 

(2010) Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical – Christiane Noll, Best Direction of a Musical – Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Best Scenic Design – Derek McLane, Best Lighting Design  - Donald Holder.

(WON) Best Featured Actress in a Musical – Audra McDonald, Best Original Score – Stephen Flaherty and Lynne Ahrens, Best Book of a Musical – Terrence McNally, Best Orchestrations – William David Brohn

OLIVIERS:

(NOMINATED) Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical – Graham Bickley, Kevyn Morrow, Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Matthew White, Best Director – Stafford Arima, Best Lighting Design – Howard Harrison, Best Sound Design – Peter Kylenski 

(WON) Best Actress in a Musical – Maria Friedman