Ragtime Revival Sets January 3 Closing Date

The Broadway revival of Ragtime will close on January 3, 2010, after 28 previews and 57 regular performances. The musical began previews on October 23 and opened on November 15 at the Neil Simon Theatre, directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge.

“While we’re saddened and disappointed to announce that Ragtime must close, bringing this beautiful and powerful production to Broadway has been a joyous experience,” producer Kevin McCollum said in a statement. “We couldn’t have asked for a more talented and dedicated company and creative team or a more passionate team of producers.”

In spite of receiving mostly positive reviews (Times critic Ben Brantley was lukewarm after opening night but later named the show a holiday pick), Ragtime never really caught on at the box office, with weekly grosses topping $600,000 only during Christmas week. Dodge’s revival debuted at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater on April 18 and played a sold-out limited engagement through May 17. The show features a score by the Tony-winning team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and a book by Tony winner Terrence McNally, based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow.

Ragtime’s cast of 40 (plus 28 musicians) includes Ron Bohmer (Father), Quentin Earl Darrington (Coalhouse Walker Jr.), Christiane Noll (Mother), Robert Petkoff (Tateh), Bobby Steggert (Mother’s Younger Brother), Stephanie Umoh (Sarah), Christopher Cox (The Little Boy), Sarah Rosenthal (The Little Girl), Mark Aldrich (Willie Conklin), Aaron Galligan-Stierle (Henry Ford), Jonathan Hammond (Harry Houdini), Dan Manning (Grandfather), Michael X. Martin (J.P. Morgan), Mike McGowan (Stanford White), Donna Migliaccio (Emma Goldman), Josh Walden (Harry K. Thaw), Savannah Wise (Evelyn Nesbit) and Eric Jordan Young (Booker T. Washington).