Ithaca's Hangar Theatre, in association with FIM Flint Repertory Theatre, presents the Tony-nominated musical Ragtime July 11-20 with an official opening July 12.
Directed by Flint Producing Artistic Director Michael Lluberes, the cast is led by Ben Cherry (Indecent) as Tateh, Jaden Dominique (The Color Purple) as Sarah, Erin Davie (Diana) as Mother, Bill English (Days of Wine and Roses) as Father, and Clyde Voce (The Color Purple) as Coalhouse Walker Jr.
The company also features Tori Bligen and Gemma Phipps, who will alternate in the role of Coalhouse Walker III; plus Greg Bostwick as Harry Houdini/Henry Ford, Kemari Bryant as Harlem Man, Sydney Carmona as Evelyn Nesbit, Richard N. Coleman as Booker T. Washington, Dexter Conlin as Younger Brother, Enaw Elonge as Instrumentalist, Hugo Lloyd as Little Boy, Gabriella Rubacky as Little Girl, Ephraim Takyi as Harlem Man, Crystal Renee Wright as Sarah’s Friend, and Audrey Rose Young as Emma Goldman.
Based on the classic American novel by E.L. Doctorow, Ragtime has a score by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Once On This Island, Anastasia, Seussical) and a book by Terrence McNally (Master Class, Love! Valour! Compassion!).
Ragtime underwent a two-year gestation under the auspices of Garth Drabinsky, opening in Toronto in December 1996 and then in Los Angeles in June 1997 before arriving on Broadway. The production was directed by Tony winner Frank Galati with choreography by Graciela Daniele.
The musical mixes fictional characters and historical ones in telling the story of Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Black man who buys a Model T Ford, setting off a chain of events that involve all levels of New York City society—along with magician Harry Houdini, industrialist Henry Ford, celebrity Evelyn Nesbit, Black leader Booker T. Washington, architect Sanford White, revolutionary Emma Goldman, Admiral Peary, a Latvian immigrant who becomes a movie director, and a not-so-quiet family in suburban New Rochelle, New York.
The original Broadway production featured a cast led by Audra McDonald as Sarah, Brian Stokes Mitchell as Coalhouse Walker Jr., Marin Mazzie as Mother, Mark Jacoby as Father, Steven Sutcliffe as Mother's Younger Brother, Peter Friedman as Tateh, Judy Kaye as Emma Goldman, Jim Corti as Harry Houdini, Lynette Perry as Evelyn Nesbit, Tommy Hollis as Booker T. Washington, and Larry Daggett as Henry Ford.
The musical was nominated for 12 1998 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It took home four awards, including Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Featured Actress in a Musical for McDonald, and Best Orchestrations for William David Brohn.
This production also has musical direction by Megan Smythe, choreography by Jessica Natalie Smith, set design by Eli Sherlock, costume design by Matt Snellgrove, lighting design by Chelsie McPhilimy and Robin A. Ediger-Seto, and sound design by David Lamont Wilson.
Ragtime played June 9–25, 2023, at FIM Flint Repertory Theatre, also directed by Lluberes.
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