Flashback: Celebrate 25 Years of RAGTIME

25 years ago today, on January 18, 1998, Ragtime opened on Broadway at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts (now the Lyric Theatre). The beloved musical played for 834 performances.

Based on the classic American novel by E.L. Doctorow, Ragtime has a book by Terrence McNally (Master Class, Love! Valour! Compassion!) and a score by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Once On This Island, Anastasia, Seussical).

Flaherty explains how the creative process began:

The original Broadway cast featured Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie, Peter Friedman, Audra McDonald, Judy Kaye, Mark Jacoby and Lea Michele. Ragtime received 14 Tony Award nominations, winning for Best Book of a Musical (Terrence McNally), Best Original Score (Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Audra McDonald) and Best Orchestrations (William David Brohn).

Watch the 1998 Tony Awards performance:

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 and Sarah; upper-class suburbanites, represented by Mother and her family, 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. It 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.

Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell perform "Wheels of a Dream":

Marin Mazzie and Peter Friedman sing "Our Children":

Brian Stokes Mitchell and cast perform "Gettin' Ready Rag":

Marin Mazzie sings "Back to Before":

Brian Stokes Mitchell sings "Make Them Hear You":

The show was revived on Broadway in 2009 with direction and choreography by Marcia Milgrom Dodge. The production opened to critical acclaim but closed after 28 previews and 65 performances at the Neil Simon Theatre. The cast featured Stephanie Umoh, Quentin Earl Darrington, Christiane Noll, Robert Petkoff, Bobby Steggert, Donna Migliaccio and Ron Bohmer.

Quentin Earl Darrington sings "Make Them Hear You":

Robert Petkoff sings "Gliding":

Christiane Noll sings "Journey On":

Notabel productions since have included a 2013 concert directed by Stafford Arima and featuring Lea Salonga, Patina Miller, Norm Lewis, Tyne Daly, Kerry Butler, Howard McGillin, Michael Arden and Manoel Felciano. Watch the opening number below.

A 2016 site-specific concert was staged at Ellis Island, starring Laura Michelle Kelly, Andy Mientus, Aisha Jackson, Shaina Taub and Brandon Victor Dixon.

Just last month Brian Stokes Mitchell, now President of the Entertainment Community Fund, announced that the fund is currently aiming for a 2023 concert to celebrate the musical's 25th anniversary. An official date has not yet been announced and tickets are not on sale. For updates about the concert, please visit: https://entertainmentcommunity.org/about-us/news/update-ragtime.