By Ben Lerner
Ragtime has risen at Lincoln Center. The musical revival, based on E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 historical fiction novel, opened October 16 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater as a transfer of New York City Center’s hit Encores! production from last fall. The cast and direction are largely the same, but unlike City Center, with its huge capacity and sky-high balconies, this Ragtime feels intimate, performed in the round with stadium seating — so everyone can see the performers’ faces. The result is transcendent: a glorious revival of a musical masterpiece that is always timely, but remarkably so in 2025.
Set in NYC suburb New Rochelle during the early twentieth century in the years leading up to World War I, Ragtime blends the stories of real life personalities like Evelyn Nesbit, Emma Goldman, and Harry Houdini with the fictional tales of a wealthy white family, a poor immigrant family, and Coalhouse Walker Jr. and Sarah, a Black pianist and his lover. The stories intertwine over a decade, at times comically and often tragically, tackling racism, classism, xenophobia, and the unrealized American dream.
Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s score is breathtaking, spanning genres and gorgeously performed by a 28-piece orchestra. It’s elevated to new heights by the lead performances and large ensemble cast. As Coalhouse, Joshua Henry is a vocal and dramatic tour de force. The sheer power and range of his instrument is otherworldly, and the Tony for Best Actor should be locked. Nichelle Lewis devastates as Sarah, with a wholly different vocal performance from role originator Audra McDonald — Lewis and Henry’s “Wheels of a Dream” is sensational. Caissie Levy, Brandon Uranowitz, and Ben Levi Ross are in top form, giving nuanced and moving performances as Mother, Tateh, and Younger Brother, respectively.
Ragtime opens with a lone child actor on an empty stage. When the full ensemble rises from the back of the stage, it’s a chills-inducing moment — the first of many. And when Sarah’s Friend (the spectacular Allison Blackwell) belts “Till We Reach That Day” at the end of the first act, praying through grief for an America that is truly antiracist and finally free of discrimination, it’s palpable that day has still not been reached. Don’t miss the opportunity to witness this story, with this score, sung by this cast — at the Vivian Beaumont Theater until January 4, 2026. Tickets at: https://www.lct.org/shows/ragtime/