New York City Opera to Present Ragtime in April 2008

New York City Opera announced that it will stage a 10th anniversary production of Ragtime as part of its 2007-2008 season. Fourteen performances will be presented, beginning April 8 and ending April 20, 2008, under the direction of Frank Galati, with choreography by Graciela Daniele, both of whom worked on the original Broadway production. The City Opera staging will be conducted by David Loud; casting will be announced at a later date.

Ragtime features music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and a book by Terrence McNally. Based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow, the musical tells the interlocking stories of three very different families at the turn of the 20th century: ragtime pianist Coalhouse Walker Jr. and his true love, Sarah; a wealthy New Rochelle family identified only as Mother, Father and Mother's Younger Brother; and newly arrived immigrant Tateh and his daughter. These fictional characters interact with real-life historical figures including Emma Goldman, Harry Houdini and J.P. Morgan.

The original Broadway production opened on January 18, 1998, at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts now the Hilton Theatre and starred Brian Stokes Mitchell as Coalhouse, Marin Mazzie as Mother, Mark Jacoby as Father, Peter Friedman as Tateh and Audra McDonald as Sarah. It won four 1998 Tony Awards, including best book and score and best featured actress McDonald. The Best Musical prize went to The Lion King in what was considered at the time a very close race. Ragtime ran for 834 performances on Broadway, closing January 16, 2000.