Valentine Theatre | April 19 & 21

Ragtime

Nominated for 13 Tony Awards including “Best Musical,” and winning for “Best Original Score” and “Best Book of a Musical,” Ragtime makes its premiere to Toledo Opera audiences! Based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow, this musical tapestry depicts an African-American family, a Jewish family, and a wealthy white suburban family in turn-of-the-century New York. As they collide in pursuit of the American Dream, they discover the surprising interconnections of the human heart, the limitations of justice, and the unsettling consequences when dreams are permanently deferred. Ragtime is a powerful portrait of life at the turn-of-the-20th century, exploring America’s timeless contradictions of freedom and prejudice, wealth and poverty, hope and despair. Ragtime stars baritone Derrick Davis (Toledo Opera’s I Dream) as Coalhouse Walker, Jr., Broadway soprano Raquel Suarez Groen as Mother, and baritone Joshua Jeremiah as Tateh. J. Ernest Green returns to Toledo to conduct, as James M. Norman brings this poignant musical to life.

Book by Terrence McNally, Music by Stephen Flaherty, and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens

Starring Derrick Davis as Coalhouse Walker, Jr.,  Raquel Suarez Groen as Mother, and Joshua Jeremiah as Tateh.

Sung in English with English Supertitles