Ragtime

Fifteen minutes into the prologue of Ragtime you sense that you are in the middle of something special. The intent is to introduce the audience to the changing landscape of America. With stunning costumes and breathtaking choreography that is even better directed, the prologue breathes life into the play giving further merits to the quality of Broadway productions over those of the silver screen. The sets used are extremely inventive and well-placed. They are brought into an even more distinct life with the creative use of lighting. With such an outstanding start, there is little doubt to the watchers that Ragtime tickets will surely be worth the price of admission. And indeed, it is.

The shows are here and the tickets are available. Listed below are some of the listings available. We can’t fit all of the shows on one page, but if you hit the load more button you will see the full list. These shows will be all over the country as well. You will see traveling groups come close to you. We will talk about seating below.

Ragtime is centered on the story of three different families. They are represented by Tateh, a Jewish immigrant, and Coalhouse Walker who is a Harlem musician, and Mother of a wasp in New York. Based on the story by E. L. Doctorow, is a fictional historical take on events that occurred in New York City between 1900 and 1917. The lives of the three fictional families are found intertwined with actual events, ideas, and characters in the history of the United States. As such during the musical play, viewers come across historical figures such as Stanford White, Harry Houdini, Admiral Peary, Evelyn Nesbit, Harry Kendall Thaw, Booker T. Washington, J. P. Morgan and Henry Ford.

Ragtime as a novel was a well-written tale that received wide commendation and reviews. The Broadway production intends on living up to this reputation. The score with music and lyrics written by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens won the Tony Award for best music. The acting is just as inspiring. For instance, Audra McDonald breathes life into the character of Sarah. Her duet later in the first act with Coal House— “Wheels of a Dream” is undoubtedly one of the best performances. Other Acts such as Tateh’s duet with Mother are understated performances of excellence. Stephen Sutcliffe as the younger brother of Mother gives an equally strong performance. With more than 40 songs in the musical (50 to be exact) Ragtime tickets are guaranteed to thrill the viewers through the 3-hour-long play.

Indeed, if there is any problem to be found with the drama it just might be found in its excellence. The performance and production of Ragtime are done at such a high level, that viewers become picky when brief deviations from the accepted brilliance occur. With 50 songs to listen to too, there are bound to score which do not quite reach the heights of others and in instances where more than 50 actors line on the stage it is sometimes easy to lose focus of where exactly the scene is leading to.

Despite these tiny lapses, the brilliance of Ragtime manages to shine through. Here is a story of a time that was portrayed by people that are. Here is the tale of families as they were and probably still are. Ragtime does not just aim to entertain. It also aims to teach.

The Ragtime musical first premiered in Toronto. It had its opening on the 8th of December 1996 at the Toronto Center for Arts. Its premier was the orchestration and brainchild of Garth Drabinsky, a Canadian who owned a Toronto production company called Livent Inc. The success of Ragtime as well as other factors led to its transition to Broadway. After a pre-Broadway tryout period, Ragtime finally premiered on Broadway on the 18th of January 1988 at the newly renovated Hilton theatre. The cast of Ragtime featured Judy Kaye, Mark Jacoby, Lea Michele, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie, Peter Friedman, and Audra McDonald. Their performance was so outstanding that they were all nominated for awards.

Even though Ragtime was mostly appreciated by critics and viewers, it only ran for two years before it came to an end. On the 16th of January 2000 after 834 performances, it finally ended.

This early closure was attributed by many to the production’s high costs. A few critics also had some issues with what they gleaned was a problem with the script. While the musical won the Tony awards for the best-featured Actress, Book, Original Score, and Orchestration it lost out to Lion King on the coveted award for Best Musical. Its Broadway closure would remain in place until 9 years later when it witnessed a revival.

Best Seats to Ragtime

You have a chance to see Ragtime live in a venue near you. With that, you will want some of the best seats possible. This is your chance to find those seats. We suggest you increase your budget to get those seats that will make your memory that much stronger. Look for center stage first. Look row by row and see where the price drop is. This is where things get interesting. If you have to go to the balcony move to the center sections in the first few rows. This will give you the best sound experience for sure.

During the period of its absence from the stage on Broadway, Ragtime was produced by other theatre groups. For instance, the Fulton Opera House produced the play in 2004 under the direction of Robin McKercher. It was also produced in West End London by Sonia Friedman between 19th March 2003 and 14th June 2003. During this period Maria Friedman, who played the role of Mother, won the 2004 Olivier Award for best actress in a musical. A production in Auckland, New Zealand was also opened in 2007 at the Auckland Music Theater. Alongside the English renditions, Ragtime has been produced in Japan (by NewImi Theatricals) and in German by Musik und Buehne.