Ragtime Star Brandon Uranowitz Almost Left Acting Before Finding His Place

As a child actor in the out-of-town tryout of the original Ragtime, Brandon Uranowitz was devastated when he wasn’t chosen to transfer with the show to Broadway. Three decades later, the Leopoldstadt Tony winner has returned to the musical in a role he more deeply connects with, earning his fifth nomination and his first in a leading role category. “Coming back to Ragtime 30 years later in a part that feels so much more aligned with who I am, after the heartbreak of what that experience was and the shame and the wound that was open,” he told Broadway.com Managing Editor Beth Stevens, “I didn’t realize, but for all of those years up until this point: transferring to Broadway, being a hit, getting a Tony nomination—there’s something.”

Uranowitz wanted to belong to the theater community since childhood. But one moment during this production affected him more than even winning a Tony Award. “There is a member of our company, Nicholas Barrón, he is spectacular,” Uranowitz says. “He plays the Baron’s assistant and he also covers Younger Brother and he’s very young.” Barrón told Uranowitz that he had played Adam Hochberg in a high school production of An American in Paris, the role Uranowitz originated on Broadway in 2015.

“When I found that out and realized that a role that I had originated on Broadway had trickled down into high schools,” Uranowitz says, “I finally felt like, ‘Oh my God, I have my feet rooted in this community. I’ve made some sort of mark. This thing that I did has reached the next generation.’ And that was deeply, deeply moving to me.”

That sense of identity and belonging did not come easily. Uranowitz spoke about growing up grappling with his sense of self. “It’s so interesting to me that the two parts of my identity that have resonated so much with people who come and see my work are my gay identity and my Jewish identity,” he says. “The two parts of myself that for so many years brought a lot of shame and discomfort. I think the only way to succeed is to have a firm grasp of your own identity and be fully self-actualized.”

That evolution now feels inseparable from Tateh, the hopeful immigrant artist whom Uranowitz plays in Ragtime. He describes the character’s optimism as “a very radical thing,” especially at a moment when cynicism can feel easier. “Once we lose hope, that’s it.”

Despite his long history with the Tony Awards, Uranowitz insists each nomination feels entirely new. “It’s just about the work,” he says. “Every time, it’s a new experience.”

There was a period, however, during which Uranowitz wondered whether musical theater was what he was meant to do. He applied to graduate school between Broadway jobs, and during the pandemic, enrolled in a clinical social work program focused on mental health. “It was an amazing experience,” he says. “I was doing this social work thing, and I got an audition for Leopoldstadt.” The role opened doors and eventually earned him a Tony Award in 2023. That production answered the question he had been asking himself for years. “‘Can you do anything else?’ It became very clear that, no, I can't.”

If Uranowitz sounds ruminative about his journey, he maintains a sense of humor about Broadway success. Stevens reminded him that during his first Tony season, he confessed the thing he was most excited about: meeting Kelli O’Hara. Now, both are Tony-nominated veterans. “I have her phone number,” he shares, laughing. “We’ve texted. Come on!”

Awards season buzz aside, the rush he experiences each night on stage during Ragtime confirms for Uranowitz that he's where he belongs. “I'm just grateful to be leading a company with Caissie Levy and Joshua Henry,” he says. “It's beyond anything I ever thought was possible for myself.”

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