Goodspeed Musicals announces its ‘Ragtime’ cast; Adds Broadway talent
The turn-of-the-century musical will run from Apr. 25 to Jun. 15, 2025 in upstate Connecticut.
Image Source: Goodspeed Musicals
The people called it! The musical Ragtime is being produced at Goodspeed Musicals this April!
The two-time Tony-award winning musical comes from a book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty, and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; Based on the novel of the same name by E.L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells a story of three fictional families who are simultaneously striving for the ‘American Dream’. The families are led by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; upper-class suburbanites, represented by Mother, the matriarch of a white upper-class family in New Rochelle, New York; and Eastern European immigrants. The musical had its 1996 world premiere in Toronto and ran for nine months before being staged in Los Angeles in 1997 and transferring over to Broadway in 1998. It has since been widely produced domestically and internationally with a 2009 Broadway revival at the Neil Simon Theatre. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Ragtime, the Entertainment Community Fund hosted a one night only benefit reunion concert which starred six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald Sarah, two-time Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell as Coalhouse Walker, Jr. and SAG Award winner Peter Friedman as Tateh, with Tony Award winner Kelli O'Hara as Mother.
The Goodspeed Musicals cast includes a bevy of Broadway talent with Mamie Parris (Cats, School of Rock) as Mother, Michael Wordly (Spamilton) as Coalhouse Walker Jr., David R. Gordon as Tateh, Brennyn Lark (Broadway’s Six, Les Mis, Dreamgirls) as Sarah, Edward Watts (The Fantasticks) as Father as well as emerging actors Behr Marshall as Younger Brother, Sawyer Delaney as Little Boy, and Sofie Nesanelis (Les Mis National Tour, How the Grinch Stole Christmas National Tour) as Little Girl.
The ensemble features Jordan Alexander, Joseph Fierberg, Mia Gerachis as Evelyn Nesbit, Blair Goldberg as Emma Goldman, Shaunice Maudlyn Alexander, Mia Bergstrom, Tommy Betz, Jodi Bluestein, Yophi Adia Bost, Jonathan Cobrda as Harry Houdini, Jalyn Crosby, Nathan Haltiwanger, Benjamin H. Moore as Booker T. Washington, Jeremiah Valentino Porter, Rory Shirley, Stephen Tewksbury as Grandfather/Conklin, and Matt Wall. Swings include Henry H. Miller and Xavier Turner with Robin Louise Miller understudying Little Boy/Little Girl.
This production of Ragtime is directed by Christopher Betts (Yale Rep: Choir Boy; Hartford Stage: Trouble in Mind, The Hot Wing King), choreographed by Sara Edwards (Broadway – associate choreographer: Pirates! The Penzance Musical, Harmony, The Music Man), and music directed by Adam Souza (Goodspeed Resident Music Director).
Goodspeed Musicals is known for being the development home of many classic musicals we know today such Annie, Man of La Mancha, and Shenandoah. The theatre is located on 6 Main Street in East Haddam, Connecticut.
While we are a month away from the premiere, Goodspeed Musicals released a video featuring Betts speaking to his vision for this production on their official YouTube page. Check it out below:
Is this the first time you’re hearing about Ragtime? Are you heading up to Connecticut to see this production of ‘Ragtime’? What’s your favorite song off of the soundtrack? Happy reading! 💫
