| Ragtime | |
|---|---|
_(cast_recording_-_cover_art).jpg) Cover of cast recording | |
| Music | Stephen Flaherty |
| Lyrics | Lynn Ahrens |
| Book | Terrence McNally |
| Basis | Ragtime byE. L. Doctorow |
| Productions | 1996Toronto 1997 Los Angeles 1998Broadway 1998 1st US Tour 1998 Chicago 1999 2nd US Tour 2003West End 2009Kennedy Center 2009Broadway revival 2012 London revival 2013Avery Fisher Hall concert 2016Ellis Island concert 2016 London revival 2018 Norwegian production 2019 Australian production 2023 Reunion concert 2024Off-Broadway 2025 Broadway revival |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical Tony Award for Best Original Score |
Ragtime is a musical with music byStephen Flaherty, lyrics byLynn Ahrens, and a book byTerrence McNally. It is based on the1975 novel of the same name byE. L. Doctorow.
Set in the early 20th century,Ragtime tells the story of three groups in the United States: African Americans, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., aHarlem musician; upper-class suburbanites, represented by Mother, the matriarch of a white upper-class family inNew Rochelle, New York; andEastern European immigrants, represented by Tateh, a Jewish immigrant fromLatvia. The show also incorporates historical figures such asHarry Houdini,Evelyn Nesbit,Booker T. Washington,J. P. Morgan,Henry Ford,Stanford White,Harry Kendall Thaw,Admiral Peary,Matthew Henson, andEmma Goldman.
The musical had its world premiere inToronto, where it opened at the then-called Ford Centre for the Performing Arts (now theMeridian Arts Centre) on December 8, 1996, and ran for 9 months.[1] It was produced by Canadian impresarioGarth Drabinsky and hisLivent Inc., the Toronto production company he headed.[2] Aconcept album,Songs from Ragtime: The Musical, featuring the Toronto cast was released on February 11, 1996. In 1998, it was nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.[3]
The US premiere was at theShubert Theatre, Los Angeles in June 1997, starringMarcia Mitzman Gaven,John Dossett,Judy Kaye,Brian Stokes Mitchell,LaChanze, andJohn Rubinstein.[4][5]
TheBroadway production began previews on December 26, 1997, and officially opened on January 18, 1998. It was the first production in the newly openedFord Center for the Performing Arts. Directed byFrank Galati and choreographed byGraciela Daniele,Ragtime closed on January 16, 2000, after 834 performances and 27 previews. The original cast featured many of the actors from the original Toronto production, includingBrian Stokes Mitchell as Coalhouse Walker,Marin Mazzie as Mother,Peter Friedman as Tateh andAudra McDonald as Sarah, all of whom were nominated forTony Awards, as well as Steven Sutcliffe as Mother's Younger Brother,Judy Kaye as Emma Goldman,Mark Jacoby as Father andLea Michele as Tateh's Daughter. The production was conducted byDavid Loud.
The production received mixed reviews, with critics opining that the dazzling physical production (with a $10 million budget, including fireworks and a workingModel T automobile) overshadowed problems in the script.Ben Brantley's review inThe New York Times was headlined "A diorama with nostalgia rampant."[6] It led the 1998Tony Awards with thirteen Tony Award nominations, butDisney'sThe Lion King won as Best Musical. The musical won awards for Best Featured Actress (McDonald), Original Score, Book, and Orchestrations. According toThe New York Times, "The chief competition forThe Lion King wasRagtime, a lavish musical."[7]The New York Times also noted that "The season was an artistic success as well, creating one of the most competitive Tony contests in years, with a battle in almost every category capped by the titanic struggle for the best musical award betweenRagtime with 13 nominations andThe Lion King with 11."[8] The Broadway production was not financially successful, and some Broadway insiders consider its lavish production to have been the financial "undoing" ofLivent.[9][10]
On March 26, 2021, cast and crew members of the original Broadway production reunited for a livestream on the web seriesStars in the House. Composers Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty were joined by original cast members Brian Stokes Mitchell (Coalhouse), Audra McDonald (Sarah), Peter Friedman (Tateh), Mark Jacoby (Father), Judy Kaye (Emma Goldman) and Steven Sutcliffe (Mother's Younger Brother).[11]
Following its European premiere in a concert performance at theCardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre in 2002 (which was later telecast onBBC Four), the musical was produced in theWest End, London, bySonia Friedman at thePiccadilly Theatre for a Limited Run from March 19, 2003 - June 14, 2003. This production was directed byStafford Arima, and starredMaria Friedman in the role of Mother, for which she won the 2004Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.Graham Bickley andKevyn Morrow also starred as Tateh and Coalhouse, respectively, both getting nominated for theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.[12]
The musical theatre company BærMuDa premiered the first Scandinavian production on January 18, 2018, coincidentally on the day of the musical's twentieth anniversary of the first night on Broadway. It was also the first time the musical was performed in a foreign language. The production was directed by Renate Stridh, and the cast featured Mimmi Tamba (Sarah), Marvin Charles Cummings (Coalhouse Walker Jr.), Kristin Rinde (Mother), Christian Ranke (Tateh), Kristian Grønvold (Younger Brother), Lars Arne Rinde (Father), Henrik Rinde Sunde (The Little Boy), Marianne Snekkestad/Cecilie Due (Emma Goldman) and Trine Eide Schjølberg/Ida Rinde Sunde (Evelyn Nesbit). It was translated by Christian Ranke and Cecilie Due.
The production won the BroadwayWorld Regional Award for Best Musical. The scene design was inspired by the suitcases on display at the Ellis Island immigrant museum. The production used a scaled-down version of William D. Brohn's original orchestrations.
The Production Company performed the musical at theMelbourne Arts Centre, from November 2 to 10, 2019. It was directed byRoger Hodgman.[13]
A new production opened at theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, on April 18, 2009, and ran through May 17, 2009, with direction and choreography byMarcia Milgrom Dodge.[14][15]The production then moved to Broadway at theNeil Simon Theatre, with previews beginning on October 23, 2009, and the show officially opened on November 15, 2009. The cast featured Stephanie Umoh (Sarah),Quentin Earl Darrington (Coalhouse Walker Jr.),Christiane Noll (Mother),Robert Petkoff (Tateh),Bobby Steggert (Younger Brother), Donna Migliaccio (Emma Goldman) andRon Bohmer (Father). This was the first Broadway revival of the musical and the first Broadway revival of any 1990s musical. The production opened to critical acclaim but closed on January 10, 2010, after 28 previews and 65 performances. This production had a large cast and orchestra, resulting in a significant weekly running cost that demanded the show be a popular success in order to prove financially worthwhile. "There had been rumors in recent weeks that the show would not be able to survive into early 2010; there was apparently not enough of an advance sale to encourage the producers."[16] Despite the closing, the production received seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival of Musical, Best Direction, Best Actress in Musical, and Best Featured Actor in a Musical. One nomination, for Costume Design, was withdrawn on the basis that the designs were substantially similar to those of a prior production.[17][18]
On 6 May 2025, it was announced that the show would return to Broadway at theVivian Beaumont Theatre starringJoshua Henry as Coalhouse Walker Jr,Caissie Levy as the Mother,Brandon Uranowitz as Tateh,Colin Donnell as the Father,Shaina Taub as Emma Goldman,Ben Levi Ross as the Mother's Younger Brother,Nichelle Lewis as Sarah,Anna Grace Barlow as Evelyn Nesbit, John Clay III as Booker T. Washington, Rodd Cyrus as Harry Houdini, Allison Blackwell as Sarah's Friend, andJason Forbach as Henry Ford. Performances began on September 26 with an official opening on October 16, and it was scheduled to run through January 2026.[19][20][21][22] In November 2025, it was announced that the production's run had been extended through June 14, 2026.[23]
TheRegent's Park Open Air Theatre played a revival of the musical from May 18 to September 8, 2012. This production was directed by Artistic Director Timothy Sheader. The cast featuredClaudia Kariuki (Sarah), Rolan Bell (Coalhouse Walker Jr.),Rosalie Craig (Mother),John Marquez (Tateh), Harry Hepple (Younger Brother),Tamsin Carroll (Emma Goldman) and David Birrell (Father).[24]
TheCharing Cross Theatre played a revival of the musical from October 8 until December 10, 2016, and directed byThom Southerland.[25][26] The actor-musician production featuredEarl Carpenter (Father),Anita Louise Combe (Mother), Jonathan Stewart (Younger Brother),Ako Mitchell (Coalhouse Walker Jr.), Jennifer Saayeng (Sarah) and Gary Tushaw (Tateh).[27][28]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic,Ragtime was at one point the only show in the UK to be playing to live audiences in a production presented by TheArts Educational Schools, London. The musical played in theAndrew Lloyd Webber Foundation Theatre from March 23 to 26, 2021. It was directed byStephen Whitson and the cast featured Akmed Junior Khemalai (Coalhouse Walker Jr.), Beatrice Penny-Toure (Sarah), Lauren Jones (Mother), Jamie Chatterton (Father) and Benjamin Durham (Tateh).[29]
Manhattan Concert Productions presented a one-night-only concert of the musical on February 18, 2013, at theAvery Fisher Hall atLincoln Center, directed byStafford Arima. The cast featuredLea Salonga (Mother),Patina Miller (Sarah),Norm Lewis (Coalhouse Walker Jr.),Tyne Daly (Emma Goldman),Kerry Butler (Evelyn Nesbitt),Howard McGillin (Father),Michael Arden (Younger Brother),Manoel Felciano (Tateh),Lilla Crawford (Little Girl) andPhillip Boykin (Booker T. Washington).[30][31][32]
A concert benefitting theEntertainment Community Fund (previously The Actors Fund) was held March 27, 2023, at theMinskoff Theatre.[33] It was directed byStafford Arima and featured many of the original Broadway cast, includingBrian Stokes Mitchell,Audra McDonald,Mark Jacoby, Steven Sutcliffe,Judy Kaye, andPeter Friedman.Kelli O'Hara played the role of Mother in the concert staging.[34][35] The concert was postponed from its original date of April 27, 2020, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The concert was dedicated to the memories of the cast and crew who had passed, includingMarin Mazzie (the original Mother), who died in 2018, the musical's librettist Terrence McNally and original director Frank Galati. The concert was filmed and was set to stream onPBS on November 29, 2024,[36] but was pulled due to contract disputes.
A "developmental concert" of the musical was presented onEllis Island on August 8, 2016. The concert was directed bySammi Cannold, and featuredBrian Stokes Mitchell as the narrator,Laura Michelle Kelly as Mother,Andy Mientus as Younger Brother,Brandon Victor Dixon as Coalhouse Walker Jr.,Michael Park as Father,Shaina Taub as Emma Goldman,Aisha Jackson as Sarah,Robert Petkoff reprising his 2009 Broadway revival role of Tateh and Joe Harkins as Grandfather.[37][38] An immersive, full production was anticipated in 2017, but did not occur.[39] In March 2018, the team that was behind the developmental concert was to hold a sound workshop with sound designer Nick Tipp to explore the use of in-ear monitoring technology for audience members. This would mean that in a full production on Ellis Island, all the audio that the audience would normally hear through traditional sound systems would be live-mixed into wireless headphones worn by each audience member. The director Sammi Cannold told Broadway World that “While the workshop is of course focused on material fromRagtime, our team is also excited by the potential applications of this approach to other site-specific musicals in locations where it's impossible to use traditional sound systems.”[40]
This production was also featured on an episode of theWorking in the Theatre series run by theAmerican Theatre Wing.[41]
A newOff-Broadway production was staged as the annual gala performance ofNew York City Center's 2024–25 season. The show began performances on October 30, 2024 and closed on November 10, 2024. The cast includedJoshua Henry as Coalhouse Walker Jr,Caissie Levy as Mother,Brandon Uranowitz (who originated the role Little Boy in its world premiere in Toronto) as Tateh,Colin Donnell as Father,Ben Levi Ross as Younger Brother,Shaina Taub as Emma Goldman, andNichelle Lewis[42] (replacingJoaquina Kalukango, who, in turn, replacedJoy Woods) as Sarah.[43][44] The production was directed by Lear deBessonet.[45]
TheShaw Festival,Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, presentedRagtime in 2012 in its Festival Theatre as part of its 51st season, from April 10 through October 14, 2012. The production was directed by Shaw Festival Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell. The role of Coalhouse Walker was played by Thom Allison, with Alana Hibbert as Sarah, Jay Turvey as Tateh, and Patty Jamieson as Mother.[46]
Standing Ovation Studios presentedRagtime the Musical at the Westchester Broadway Theater from February 27 to May 4, 2014.[citation needed]
Seattle's5th Avenue Theatre presented a new version ofRagtime in October 2017, based on a streamlined production from Theatre Latte Da in Minneapolis, directed by Peter Rothstein. It has a stripped-down cast of only 16 actors, whereby leading actors also portray the ensemble/chorus.[47]
Providence'sTrinity Repertory Company presentedRagtime in May 2018, directed byCurt Columbus, with Wilkie Ferguson III as Coalhouse Walker Jr. Mia Ellis as Sarah, Charlie Thurston as Tateh, Rachael Warren as Mother, andRebecca Gibel asEvelyn Nesbitt.[48]
2019 Philadelphia, PA
TheArden Theatre presentedRagtime from September 19 – October 27, as part of its 2019 season. The production was directed by Terrence J. Nolen, with Nkrumah Gatling as Coalhouse Walker Jr., Terran Scott as Sarah, Cooper Grodin as Tateh, and Kim Carson as Mother.https://ardentheatre.org/event/ragtime/2019-09-19/
National Youth Music Theatre presentedRagtime as part of its 2022 season in August 2022 at The MCT at Alleyn's in Dulwich, London. The production was directed by Hannah Chissick.[49]
2023 Signature Theatre, Arlington, VA
Signature Theatre presentedRagtime as part of its 2023–2024 season in a production directed by Matthew Gardiner.
2023 Broadway At Music Circus, Sacramento, CA
Broadway Sacramento presentedRagtime as part of their 2023 summer season. It was produced in the round and was directed by Gerry McIntyre.
Three social castes in turn-of-the-century New York introduce themselves to the audience: the first is an upper-class white family fromNew Rochelle— the Little Boy (Edgar), his Father (who runs a fireworks factory), Mother, Mother's Younger Brother, and Grandfather—who live a genteel life and enjoy a lack of racial and ethnic diversity; the second is the Black residents ofHarlem, including a beautiful young woman named Sarah, who adores the pianist Coalhouse Walker Jr.; the third are immigrants from Europe on theLower East Side, among them "Tateh", a Jewish artist fromLatvia, and his young daughter. These three worlds are connected by narration from the luminariesJ. P. Morgan,Henry Ford,Booker T. Washington,Emma Goldman,Harry Houdini, andEvelyn Nesbit (“Prologue—Ragtime”).
Mother bids goodbye to Father as he embarks onRobert Peary's expedition to the North Pole. He asks Mother to oversee his affairs and assures her that nothing will change in his absence, but Mother feels adrift without her husband to guide her (“Goodbye, My Love”). As Peary's ship departs, Father watches as a "rag ship" arrives, carrying a hopeful Tateh and his Little Girl to America, while Mother, back on shore, wishes Father safe passage (“Journey On”). Meanwhile, Mother's Younger Brother, an intense and awkward young man yearning for purpose who works at Father's fireworks factory, attends the vaudeville act of Evelyn Nesbit, a young woman who became famous after her wealthy loverStanford White was killed by her millionaire husbandHarry K. Thaw (“Crime of the Century”). After the show ends, Younger Brother confesses his love to Evelyn. She kisses him, but only for the benefit of a press photographer, then cheerfully rejects him afterward.
Back at home in New Rochelle, Mother discovers a still-living Black newborn baby, partly buried alive in her garden. The police arrive with Sarah, the baby's mother. Pitying her, Mother takes responsibility for Sarah and her child. Brother thanks her. Surprised at herself, she remarks that her husband would never have allowed her to make such a decision (“What Kind of Woman”).
AtEllis Island, the immigrants arrive (“A Shtetl Iz Amereke”). Tateh eagerly begins his new life, drawing silhouettes and selling them on the street. He and the Little Girl quickly descend into poverty. Emma Goldman attempts to get him to join the Socialist movement, but he refuses. A wealthy man even offers to purchase the Little Girl, whom Tateh now keeps on a leash for safety. Inspired by immigrant magician Harry Houdini, Tateh resolves to begin again somewhere else (“Success”).
In Harlem, Coalhouse, a popular pianist, informs his audience that he's finally found his lost love, Sarah, and is going to win her back (“His Name Was Coalhouse”/“Gettin' Ready Rag”). He then purchases aModel T while Henry Ford and his workers glorify industry (“Henry Ford”).
Tateh and the Little Girl leave for Boston; en route, they meet Mother and Edgar while stopping in New Rochelle. They politely make conversation (“Nothing Like the City”). In the attic of Mother's home, Sarah explains her desperate actions in a song to her baby (“Your Daddy's Son”). Also en route to New Rochelle, Coalhouse is harassed by a racist fire squad led by chief Will Conklin, who taunt him for driving his own car. He arrives at Mother's house, where he has heard that a Black woman is living. He is stunned to learn of the baby's existence and, when Sarah refuses to see him, he resorts to returning weekly (“The Courtship”) until Mother invites him inside. Grandfather asks Coalhouse to play aminstrel song on the parlor piano; instead, Coalhouse plays a ragtime song. Father returns home while Coalhouse is playing, and is stunned by the changes to his family's life, while Mother and her Younger Brother are proud of her choices. Eventually, Sarah comes down from the attic and reconciles with Coalhouse (“New Music”). The two go on an idyllic picnic where, inspired by the words of Booker T. Washington, he dreams of a just, future America that their son will grow up in (“Wheels of a Dream”).
Taking refuge from a wintry night, Younger Brother enters a workers' hall. There, Emma Goldman speaks passionately about atextile mills strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where Tateh and his daughter are among those targeted by federal troops and strikebreakers. Younger Brother imagines Goldman is speaking directly to him (“The Night That Goldman Spoke at Union Square”). Goldman is arrested, prompting a riot that mirrors the chaos in Lawrence, where Tateh is beaten by a policeman while trying to flee. He and the Little Girl escape Lawrence on a train; he gives his daughter aflip book of moving silhouettes to calm her. The train conductor offers to buy the book, and Tateh, hurriedly dubbing it a "movie-book", sells it for a dollar. Tateh realizes that "movie-books" may be a route out of poverty (“Gliding”).
Returning to New Rochelle, Coalhouse and Sarah are stopped by Will Conklin and the fire squad. Conklin demands a fictitious toll; Coalhouse refuses. A lecture by Booker T. Washington on patience and dignity ironically underscores the white firemen's destruction of Coalhouse's new Model T (“The Trashing of the Car”). Incensed, Coalhouse vows legal action (“Justice”), postponing his marriage to Sarah until he gets justice. Sarah hears of a campaign rally nearby and goes to ask for help from the vice presidential candidate; as she approaches, an onlooker shouts "She's got a gun!" and Sarah is beaten to death by the Secret Service (“President”). At her funeral, Black mourners demand an end to such injustice and pray for true equality. Mother, Father, Younger Brother, Tateh and Emma Goldman look on as Coalhouse weeps at Sarah's grave (“Till We Reach That Day”).
The Little Boy wakes up screaming from a nightmare in which Harry Houdini attempts a daring escape after being locked in a dynamite-laden box by Will Conklin ("Harry Houdini, Master Escapist"). This dream proves prophetic: news arrives that a volunteer firehouse has been bombed. Coalhouse has vowed to get justice on his own terms (“Coalhouse's Soliloquy”) and now terrorizes New Rochelle while demanding his car be restored to him and that Will Conklin be delivered to him. Booker T. Washington condemns Coalhouse's actions (“Coalhouse Demands”). In the chaos, Mother retains custody of Sarah and Coalhouse's baby. Father blames her for bringing this turmoil into their lives, but Younger Brother lambastes him for his blindness and storms out of the house. Mother grows increasingly offended by her husband's ignorant outlook. Father, to distract Edgar from the unrest, takes his son to a baseball game, but feels alienated from the raucous, working-class crowd, and begins to realize that his genteel way of life is passing (“What a Game”). Coalhouse's campaign continues (“Fire in the City”), and so Father decides to temporarily move the family toAtlantic City.
In Atlantic City, Evelyn Nesbit's career is on the downslide and Harry Houdini has become intrigued by the supernatural and the afterlife following the death of his mother (“Atlantic City”). Edgar cryptically shouts "Warn the Duke!" to Houdini. Mother encounters Tateh again, not recognizing him from their brief meeting months ago; now a wealthy filmmaker, he has re-invented himself as "the Baron Ashkenazy" and is directing a silent movie in Atlantic City (“Buffalo Nickel Photoplay, Inc.”). Edgar and the Little Girl soon become fast friends, prompting Mother and Tateh to become friends as well; eventually, Tateh reveals who he is, and they grow even closer (“Our Children”).
Back in Harlem, Younger Brother seeks out Coalhouse but is repeatedly turned away until Coalhouse is convinced that he can be trusted. Coalhouse has banished music from his life but watches a carefree young couple ("Harlem Nightclub") and recalls meeting Sarah (“Sarah Brown Eyes”). Younger Brother meets with him but is inarticulate and nervous: his profound thoughts, narrated to the audience by Emma Goldman, stand in contrast to the only phrase he can muster: "I know how to blow things up." (“He Wanted to Say”). With Younger Brother's help, Coalhouse and his men take over J.P. Morgan's magnificent library in the heart of New York City, threatening to blow it up. Father is summoned to help reason with Coalhouse. Before he goes, he assures Mother that everything will soon return to the way it was, but Mother knows such hopes are naive (“Back to Before”). Meeting with the police, Father devises a mediation strategy involving Booker T. Washington, whom Coalhouse allows to enter the library. Washington, invoking the violent legacy Coalhouse is leaving his son, works out a deal with Coalhouse. Younger Brother is enraged at Coalhouse's abandonment of their cause (“Look What You've Done”).
Washington leaves and Father enters the library as a hostage. There, he finally realizes the profundity of society's troubles while seeing Coalhouse convince Younger Brother and his men that violence cannot solve injustice. Coalhouse exhorts them to fight through the power of their words (“Make Them Hear You”). Coalhouse's sacrifice and oratory convince Younger Brother and the men to leave while Father tells Coalhouse about his son. Coalhouse thanks Father for his kindness. Once he leaves the library, Coalhouse is shot dead by the police.
Edgar appears to introduce the Epilogue. Younger Brother departs for Mexico to fight forEmiliano Zapata. Emma Goldman is arrested and deported. Booker T. Washington establishes theTuskegee Institute, while Evelyn Nesbitt fades into obscurity. Harry Houdini realizes upon the assassination ofArchduke Franz Ferdinand that Edgar's shout of "Warn the Duke!" was a true mystical experience. Father dies aboard theRMSLusitania; after a year of mourning, Mother marries Tateh, adopts Coalhouse and Sarah's son, and moves to California. Tateh is struck by an idea fora film series centering on a diverse group of children banding together. The ghosts of Coalhouse and Sarah watch their son grow up (“Epilogue: Ragtime/Wheels of a Dream: Reprise”).
|
|
Notes:
*The original cast recording features a bonus track titled "The Ragtime Symphonic Suite" rather than the exit music composition. The suite premiered at theHollywood Bowl on July 4, 1997, months before the Broadway transfer.[50] The piece is orchestrated by David Brohn and was conducted byJohn Mauceri, with original musical directorDavid Loud playing piano.
‡ - shortened in the 2009 Broadway revival
≠ - excised from the 2009 Broadway revival
TheTony Award-winning orchestration byWilliam David Brohn consists of twenty-six musicians.[51] On the original cast recording, the orchestra was expanded to 38 players.[52]
Notes:
| Character | Toronto | Los Angeles | Broadway | US Tour | Chicago | West End | Broadway Revival | London Revival | London Revival | Broadway Revival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 2003 | 2009 | 2012 | 2016 | 2025 | |||
| Coalhouse Walker Jr | Brian Stokes Mitchell | Alton Fitzgerald White | Hinton Battle | Kevyn Morrow | Quentin Earl Darrington | Rolan Bell | Ako Mitchell | Joshua Henry | ||
| Tateh | Peter Friedman | John Rubinstein | Peter Friedman | Michael Rupert | Peter Kevoian | Graham Bickley | Robert Petkoff | John Marquez | Gary Tushaw | Brandon Uranowitz |
| The Mother | Marin Mazzie | Marcia Mitzman Gaven | Marin Mazzie | Rebecca Eichenberger | Donna Bullock | Maria Friedman | Christiane Noll | Rosalie Craig | Anita Louise Combe | Caissie Levy |
| Sarah | Audra McDonald | LaChanze | Audra McDonald | Darlesia Cearcy | LaChanze | Emma Jay Thomas | Stephanie Umoh | Claudia Kariuki | Jennifer Saayeng | Nichelle Lewis |
| The Father | Mark Jacoby | John Dossett | Mark Jacoby | Cris Groenendaal | Joseph Dellger | Dave Willetts | Ron Bohmer | David Birrell | Earl Carpenter | Colin Donnell |
| The Mother's Younger Brother | Steven Sutcliffe | Scott Carollo | Steven Sutcliffe | Aloysius Gigl | John Frenzer | Matthew White | Bobby Steggert | Harry Hepple | Jonathan Stewart | Ben Levi Ross |
| Emma Goldman | Camille Saviola | Judy Kaye | Theresa Tova | Mary Gutzi | Susie McKenna | Donna Migliaccio | Tamsin Carroll | Valerie Cutko | Shaina Taub | |
| Evelyn Nesbit | Lynette Perry | Susan Wood | Lynette Perry | Amy Bodnar | Rebecca Thornhill | Savannah Wise | Katie Brayben | Joanna Hickman | Anna Grace Barlow | |
| Harry Houdini | Jim Corti | Jason Graae | Jim Corti | David Bonanno | Hal Fowler | Jonathan Hammond | Stephane Anelli | Christopher Dickins | Rodd Cyrus | |
| The Little Boy (Edgar) | Paul Dano | Blake McIver Ewing | Alex Strange | Nathan Keen | Andrew Keenan-Bolger | Thomas Brown Loye Jordan Calvert Matthew Protheroe | Christopher Cox | Fin Banks Rory Fraser Ewan Harris | Ethan Quinn Samuel Peterson | Nick Barrington |
| The Little Girl | Lea Michele | Danielle Wiener | Lea Michele | Amy Carrey | Jessica Stauffer | Natasha Jules Bernard Sarah Bowling Ruby Williams | Sarah Rosenthal | Lily Burgering Lila Heller Oriana Pooles | Alana Hinge Riya Vyas | Tabitha Lawing |
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best New Musical | Nominated | |
| Best Actor in a Musical | Graham Bickley | Nominated | ||
| Kevyn Morrow | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress in a Musical | Maria Friedman | Won | ||
| Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical | Matthew White | Nominated | ||
| Best Director | Stafford Arima | Nominated | ||
| Best Lighting Design | Howard Harrison | Nominated | ||
| Best Sound Design | Peter Kylenski | Nominated | ||
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Tony Award | Best Revival of a Musical | Nominated | |
| Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Christiane Noll | Nominated | ||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical | Bobby Steggert | Nominated | ||
| Best Direction of a Musical | Marcia Milgrom Dodge | Nominated | ||
| Best Scenic Design | Derek McLane | Nominated | ||
| Best Lighting Design | Donald Holder | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Christiane Noll | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Bobby Steggert | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Director of a Musical | Marcia Milgrom Dodge | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Choreography | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Set Design | Derek McLane | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Sound Design | Acme Sound Partners | Won | ||
The show's original creative team of McNally, Ahrens, and Flaherty created a "new symphonic arrangement" of the musical titledRagtime: The Symphonic Concert. It premiered in May 2023 withKeith Lockhart leading theBoston Pops Orchestra atSymphonic Hall, with a reprise in July 2023 atTanglewood.
