Lynn Ahrens, a musical theater lyricist and member of the Theater Hall of Fame with Stephen Flaherty, her composing partner, said recently, "Sometimes the magic works and the show goes on to have a really long life, and sometimes it doesn't."
Now in its 25th year and still going strong, the long life of "Ragtime the Musical" will take it to Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, where it will begin previews on Tuesday and open a three-week run on Aug. 6.
The original 1997 Broadway production was adapted from E.L. Doctorow's award-winning 1975 novel, with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Ms. Ahrens, and music by Mr. Flaherty. It won Tony and Drama Desk awards for all three artists, and garnered 13 Tony and 13 Drama Desk nominations.
Set in the years between 1902 and 1912, the novel and play have three intertwining narrative lines, involving the Black musician Coalhouse Walker and the Harlem community; Tateh, a Jewish immigrant, and his daughter, and a prosperous white family in New Rochelle.
A sweeping drama about America's Gilded Age, it also incorporates historical figures, among them Houdini, Henry Ford, Stanford White, Harry Thaw, Evelyn Nesbit, and J.P. Morgan.
While the original Broadway production was lavish, with a reported budget of $10 million, Will Pomerantz, Bay Street's associate artistic director and director of the production, said, "I'll tell you up front that we're spending less than $10 million."
"We've done several large shows over the years, like 'My Fair Lady' and 'Evita,' " he said, "and we've found these more intimate versions are very satisfying. They have an aspect of spectacle to them, but it's through a much more intimate lens."
Of the cast, Mr. Pomerantz said, "It's quite rare to have performers who can be thrilling singers, profoundly moving actors, and great movers. We had to find people who could do all of those things really well. That means vocal power, acting power, and moving power. It's thrilling to watch."
He considers "Ragtime" a masterpiece of musical theater that has grown in stature since its original production. The score "encompasses so many styles of music, and it does it so seamlessly that you don't realize it. It has a wonderful feeling of ragtime music running through it, and our band is constituted in the form of a ragtime band."
Both Mr. Pomerantz and Ms. Ahrens commented on the show's enduring, if shifting, topicality. "When we first did it back in 1997," Ms. Ahrens said, "It seemed like a period piece that allowed us to understand how we got to where we were by looking back at the turn of the century."
She noted that when the 2009 Broadway revival was happening, Barack Obama had just been elected. "When that little black child ran out on the stage and into the arms of his adoptive mother, there was an audible gulp and cheer. All of the strife that happened at the turn of the century suddenly took on a new meaning: We had a Black president!"
As evidence that the show's relevance and evolution continue, two of its songs, "Make Them Hear You" and "Till We Reach That Day," have become anthems for the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements. "This show seems to really have a cumulative force," said Ms. Ahrens.
Mr. Pomerantz concurred. "Sadly, the resonance of the piece and some of the issues that are contained in it, such as race, immigration, women's rights, who gets to be an American, and what an American is, are all powerfully before us and surrounding us."
He'd had an idea, he added, for a slight modification to the musical structure of the epilogue, and approached Ms. Ahrens and Mr. Flaherty about it. "We had multiple exchanges about it, the possible form of it, and they were very open and very generous, which I really appreciated."
If the idea is good, said Ms. Ahrens, "it's fine with us."
The cast includes Kyrie Courter (Sarah), Derrick Davis (Coalhouse), Lora Lee Gayer (Mother), Zachary Prince (Tateh), Daniel Jenkins (Father), Harrison Bryan (Younger Brother), Davon Williams (Booker T. Washington), Clyde Voce (Matthew Henson), Rachel Parker (Sarah’s Friend), Taylor Jackson (Harlem Woman). Cathryn Wake (Evelyn Nesbit), Victoria Huston-Elem (Emma Goldman), Ryan Hunt (Willie Conklin), Cecelia Ticktin (Kathleen), Will Hantz (The Boy), Sonnie Betts (The Girl). Ian Lowe and Brianna Kaleen are swings, cast members who have multiple small speaking parts, and additionally serve as understudies and ensemble members.
Performances will take place Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays at 7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with matinees set for Aug 10, 14, 17, 21, 24, and 28. Tickets range from $49.99 to $134.99.
