WHAT’S HAPPENING BROADWAY FANS?! It’s only 14 DAYS AWAY till we kick off the holiday season with the 100th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We have more of the greatest performances from The Great Bright Way from previous telecasts coming your way on our TOP 30 BROADWAY AT MACY’S COUNTDOWN.
At # 14 on our countdown, we celebrate America at the turn of the century. We follow 3 generations of groups (African Americans, Eastern European Immigrants, and Upper-Class Suburbanites). It’s actually NYBT’s founder Amada Anderson fan favorite…… This is RAGTIME!! Based on E. L. Doctorow’s best selling 1975 novel of the same name, it features an iconic score by Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty along with a book by the late Terrence McNally.
From the last year’s telecast, here is Tony winner Joshua Henry as “Coalhouse Walker Jr” and Tony nominee Nichelle Lewis as “Sarah performing the haunting WHEELS OF A DREAM. From there, the cast comes on and sings the iconic title song.
RAGTIME originally premiered in Toronto back in 1996 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts before moving on a month later to Broadway which opened the newly renovated and combined Ford Center for the Performing Arts (now the Lyric Theatre) for a complete total of 861 performances. Under the direction of Frank Geoati, the original production cast included….
Alex Strange (later Anthony Blair Hall) as “Edgar, The Little Boy”,
the late Marin Mazzie (later Donna Bullock) as “Mother”,
Peter Friedman (later John Rubenstein) as “Tateh”,
Audra McDonald (later LaChanze) as “Sarah”,
Brian Stokes Mitchell (later Alton Fitzgerald White) as “Coalhouse Walker, Jr”,
Lea Michele (later Elizabeth Lundberg) as “The Little Girl”,
and
Judy Kaye as “Emma Goldman”.
The original production of RAGTIME was nominated for 13 Tony Awards in 1998. It took home 4 for….
BEST SCORE (for Flaherty & Ahrens),
BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL (for McNally),
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL (for Audra McDonald),
and
BEST ORCHESTRATIONS (for William David Brohn).
Following the success of the original production, the show went on to become a worldwide hit musical from Regional productions, London’s West End, and several concert productions (including a concert production on Ellis Island back in 2016).
The 1st Broadway revival of RAGTIME happened in 2009 at the Neil Simon Theatre playing for only 93 performances. Under the direction of Marcia Milgrom Doge, that 2009 cast included…
Christopher Cox as “Edgar, The Little Boy”,
Christiane Noll as “Mother”,
Ron Bohmer as “Father”,
Robert Petkoff as “Tateh”,
Quentin Earl Darrington as “Coalhouse Walker, Jr”,
Stephanie Jean Umoh as “Sarah,
Sarah Rosenthal as “The Little Girl”,
and
Donna Migliaccio as “Emma Goldman”.
The revival was nominated for 6 Tony Awards in 2010 (including BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL) but lost all of its categories.
Most recently, RAGTIME returned to Broadway with an acclaimed revival at Lincoln Center Theater. This production was first developed at New York City Center part of its GALA series but then transferred to the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, where it ran for a limited year long run of 369 PERFORMANCES. Under the direction of Lear deBessonet, the cast includes….
Nick Barrington as “Edgar, The Little Boy”,
Tony winner Caissie Levy as “Mother”,
Colin Donnell as “Father”,
Brandon Uranowitz as “Tateh”,
Joshua Henry as “Coalhouse Walker, Jr”,
Nichelle Lewis as “Sarah,
Tabitha Lawing as “The Little Girl”,
and
Shaina Taub as “Emma Goldman”.
This spectacular LCT revival was nominated for 11 Tony Awards this year, where it won 4 including….
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL,
BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL (for Joshua Henry),
BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL (for Caissie Levy),
&
BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL (for Kai Harada).
The LCT revival is expecting to embark on a North American National Tour starting next year in 2027
Today, RAGTIME has been performed around the world with various school, community, and Regional productions everywhere.
How powerful is this show?
#NYBTTop30BroadwayAtMacysCountdown #ThisIsBroadway #HolidaysAreAlmostHere #LetsHaveAParade
WATCH RAGTIME’S MACY PERFORMANCE HERE
https://youtu.be/YLWa4r_eYm0?is=qfqG-fwM6G0lOZwf
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