Ragtime

City Center has corralled a very impressive cast indeed for its two-week gala concert staging of this widely cherished 1998 musical. Adapted by composer Stephen Flaherty, lyricist Lynn Ahrens and book writer Terrence McNally from E.L. Doctorow's great American novel, the musical offers a panoramic look at seismic shifts in American culture at the turn of the 20th century, as exemplified through the interlocking stories of a fictional WASP family, a Black piano player and a Jewish immigrant. Broadway bold names Joshua Henry, Caissie Levy, Brandon Uranowitz, Nichelle Lewis, Colin Donnell, Ben Levi Ross and Shaina Taub lead the large ensemble in a production helmed by Encores! artistic director Lear deBessonet.