Lincoln Center Theater Opens a Sweeping Revival of “Ragtime”

 Lincoln Center Theater’s highly anticipated revival of Ragtime opens tonight at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, marking the first production of Artistic Director Lear deBessonet’s inaugural season.

The musical, based on E. L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel, features a score by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens and a book by Terrence McNally — all three Tony Award winners for the original 1998 Broadway production. DeBessonet’s new staging, featuring the largest orchestra currently on Broadway, revisits the story’s interwoven portraits of three American families at the turn of the 20th century: the African American pianist Coalhouse Walker Jr. (Joshua Henry) and his beloved Sarah (Nichelle Lewis); Jewish immigrant Tateh (Brandon Uranowitz) and his daughter; and a wealthy white family led by Mother (Caissie Levy).

The cast also includes Colin Donnell, Ben Levi Ross, Shaina Taub, Anna Grace Barlow, John Clay III, Rodd Cyrus, Nick Barrington, and Tabitha Lawing, along with an ensemble of more than 30 performers.

Production photographs, captured by Matthew Murphy, were released Thursday ahead of opening night. The musical’s trailer, which includes composer Stephen Flaherty at the piano, was filmed on the Lincoln Center campus.

The creative team includes choreographer Ellenore Scott, set designer David Korins, costume designer Linda Cho, lighting designers Adam Honoré and Donald Holder, and sound designer Kai Harada. Music Director James Moore leads a 28-piece orchestra using William David Brohn’s original orchestrations.

A new cast album will be recorded later this month, produced by Sean Patrick Flahaven with Flaherty and Ahrens. Release details will be announced in the coming weeks.

The production is presented in association with Tom Kirdahy, Kevin Ryan, Robert Greenblatt, and Lamar Richardson, among others, and supported by Barbara and H. Rodgin Cohen, the Stacey and Eric Mindich Fund for Musical Theater, and the Henry Nias and David Berg Foundations.

Founded in 1985, Lincoln Center Theater is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit theaters, producing plays and musicals across three venues on the Lincoln Center campus. Under deBessonet’s leadership as Kewsong Lee Artistic Director, the 2025–26 season also includes Kyoto, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Whoopi Monologues, and several productions through LCT3 at the Claire Tow Theater.

Tickets for Ragtime are available at www.lct.org and at the Lincoln Center Theater box office.