The revival of “Ragtime” has taken on more of the epic feel to which it aspires, thanks to its move from an Encores series concert to a full Broadway production on the Vivian Beaumont’s grander stage, turning an already superb production into a sumptuous spectacle. The opening number, “Prologue: Ragtime,” shows the entire cast ascending dramatically through a trap door; Harry Houdini plummeting spectacularly from the fly space; the new group of Jewish immigrants walking poignantly in a circle on the turntable (mirroring how the Jewish emigrants wind up at the end of “Fiddler on the Roof”): Ellenore Scott’s choreography has more room to tell its own wordless stories. 

Director Lear deBessonet, who was artistic director at Encores when she oversaw the musical’s 12-day run at New York City Center a year ago, has chosen a 12-week run of “Ragtime” to be her first show as the new artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater, keeping the cast and most of the design team intact (There is new set by David Korins and new projections by 59 Studio.) If anything, this musical adaptation of E.L. Doctorow’s novel about the cultural and political upheavals in the New York of the early 1900s, feels even more timely in the midst of the cultural and political upheavals in the America of 2025.There are some astonishing echoes of current moments in a script that dates back to the original 1998 production. Mother’s climactic song contains the refrain: “We can never go back to before.” (echoing one of Kamala Harris’ main campaign slogans.) Tateh arrives in a “rag ship,” which Admiral Peary explains is loaded with “immigrants from every cesspool in western and eastern Europe.”  (echoing Donald Trump’s denigration of immigrants’ countries of origin.) 

Mother (Caissie Levy), Tateh (Brandon Uranowitz) and Coalhouse Walker Jr. (Joshua Henry) are the three fictional protagonists in “Ragtime” who are meant to be representative of the era, and, by extension, of America.  Each evolves over the course of the story in ways that Doctorow might have argued is quintessentially American. (Spoiler alert for the next three short paragraphs, although I try to keep the evolution vague for the few of you who have never read the best-selling novel, watched the 1981 Oscar-winning movie or caught any of the previous stage productions, including two on Broadway )

Mother starts off living an affluent White Protestant family life in New Rochelle. She “often told herself how fortunate she was to be so protected and provided for by her husband,” she says of herself in the opening number. Father (Colin Donnell) is himself so evidently a stand-in for America that he got rich by selling American flags and Fourth of July fireworks. Mother’s journey is toward greater independence – emotionally, politically, and physically.

Tateh, a poor Jewish immigrant from Latvia who “dreamed of a new life for his little girl,” begins a street cart peddler selling pictures made from paper cut-outs. He reinvents himself, marries outside his faith, becomes  part of a new American industry that continually reinvents America, defining it for Americans and for the rest of the world.

Coalhouse Walker Jr., a ragtime pianist, begins by providing the music that the people of Harlem danced and reveled to, so that they could “forgot their troubles.” He winds up taking up arms to battle all the troubles of Black America after experiencing a humiliating incident of racism.

These storylines, which cross-pollinate in engagingly pulpy ways, are ably adapted by librettist Terrence McNally from Doctorow’s 1975 novel. They have always struck me as more a reflection of the trends and movements of the 1960s and the 1970s (feminism, Black power, intermarriage)  than an accurate depiction of the early 1900s.

That “Ragtime” is trying to say something epic about America is hard to avoid (To make sure you don’t miss this, it even throws in an out-of-nowhere song about baseball.)  But in watching the musical once more, it suddenly occurred to me that “Ragtime” is as much an embodiment of American values, for better and for worse, as a depiction or commentary about them. It serves up violence as entertainment. It treats pop culture as culture. It idolizes fame, conflating celebrity with history – there are cameos of Henry Ford, Houdini, J.P. Morgan, Evelyn Nesbit, Admiral Peary, Stanford White; somewhat larger roles for Booker T. Washington (John Clay III) and Emma Goldman (stand-out Shaina Taub.)

And – most American of all? — it apparently sees itself as of epic importance: How else to explain its three-hour running time, its 48 actors and 28 musicians, its operatic (implausible) resolutions; its largely stentorian score (Is it just me, or, out of almost three dozen musical numbers, is there surprisingly little ragtime music in a musical entitled “Ragtime”?)

None of this took away from my enjoyment of “Ragtime,” and not just because I, too, am American. 

As at Encores, the three principal cast members carry us through the swirl and the sprawl, with their credible, impassioned performances and their golden voices; it helps that each is given some of composer Stephen Flaherty’s most distinctive songs, reflecting their character’s individual personality and culture. One can question whether “Ragtime” will be considered one of the great American musicals and still feel grateful to have been able to witness Joshua Henry, the Baritenor of Broadway, deliver a shattering “Make them hear you.”

Ragtime
Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater through January 4 Update: Extended to June 14, 2026
Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes, including one intermission
Tickets: $114 – $341
Book by Terrence McNally 
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Directed by Lear deBessonet
Orchestrations by William David Brohn
Based on the novel Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
Choreography by Ellenore Scott
Set design by David Korins, costume design by Linda Cho, lighting design by Adam Honoré and Donald Holder, sound design by Kai Harada, hair and wig design by Tom Watson, sensitivity specialist Ann James
Cast: Joshua Henry as Coalhouse Walker Jr., Caissie Levy as Mother, Brandon Uranowitz as Tateh, Colin Donnell as Father, Nichelle Lewis as Sarah, Ben Levi Ross as Mother’s Younger Brother, Shaina Taub as Emma Goldman, John Clay III as Booker T. Washington,  Rodd Cyrus as Harry Houdini, Anna Grace Barlow as ‘Evelyn Nesbit,’ Nick Barrington as ‘The Little Boy,’  Tabitha Lawing as ‘The Little Girl.’ Ensemble members Nicholas Barrón, Lauren Blackman, Briana Carlson-Goodman, Jordan Chin, Billy Cohen, Rheaume Crenshaw, Charity Angél Dawson, Ellie Fishman, Jason Forbach, Ta’Nika Gibson, David Jennings, Kaleb Johnson, Marina Kondo, Morgan Marcell, Kane Emmanuel Miller, Tom Nelis, Kent Overshown, Kayla Pecchioni, John Rapson, Deandre Sevon, Jacob Keith Watson, and Alan Wiggins. Swings and off-stage understudies:  Eean Sherrod Cochran (dance captain), Kerry Conte, Nick Gaswirth, Jackson Parker Gill, Jenny Mollet, Matthew Scott, and Ellie May Sennett.