Ragtime (9-Piece Orchestration)
This version of Ragtime features a revised text and score so that it can be done with minimal visuals and scenic effects, or even in a concert format, using no scenery whatsoever. It is designed to be played with as few as 9 players. (The full, Broadway-sized orchestration of Ragtime (Version 1) is also available for this version for concert presentations, if desired.)
Written by the award-winning composer/lyricist team of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (Once on This Island, Seussical and Lucky Stiff), noted playwright Terrence McNally, and based on E.L. Doctorow's distinguished novel, Ragtime is the winner of the 1998 Tony Awards for Best Score, Book and Orchestrations, and both the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Musical and Best Score. Called by TIME Magazine "A triumph for the stage," and by the International Herald Tribune "the best musical in twenty years," this acclaimed musical is filled with pageantry, emotion and hope, bursting onto the stage like no other musical.
At the dawn of a new century, everything is changing… and anything is possible. Set in the volatile melting pot of turn-of-the-century New York, three distinctly American tales are woven together – that of a stifled upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant and a daring young Harlem musician – united by their courage, compassion and belief in the promise of the future. Together, they confront history's timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair, and what it means to live in America.
The Tony-winning score is just as diverse as the melting pot of America itself, drawing upon many musical styles, from the ragtime rhythms of Harlem and Tin Pan Alley to the klezmer of the Lower East Side, from bold brass band marches to delicate waltzes, from up-tempo banjo tunes to period parlor songs and expansive anthems. A truly unique and powerful portrait of America, Ragtime is sure to inspire actors and audiences alike!
- Note on the 9 Piece Orchestration
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This version of Ragtime features a reduced orchestration listed below:
1 Reed: Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone
1 Trumpet
1 Trombone
1 Keyboard 2
1 Guitar
1 Violin
1 Bass / Tuba
1 Drums / Percussion: Drum Set, Glockenspiel, Mark Tree, Gran Cassa, Circus Whistle, Xylophone, Chimes, Whirly Tube, Key Tree, China Cymbal, Woodblock, Triangle, China Sizzle, Toms, Concert Bass Drum, Suspended CymbalFor the full, Broadway-sized orchestration, please see Ragtime (Version 1).
A triumphant return to Broadway!
"New Music" is here. Stream the Ragtime 2025 Broadway Cast Recording!
Show Essentials
Songs
Ragtime
Goodbye, My Love
Journey On
The Crime of the Century
What Kind of Woman
A Shtetl Iz Amereke
Success
His Name Was Coalhouse Walker
Getting Ready Rag
Henry Ford
Nothing Like the City
Your Daddy's Son
The Courtship
New Music
Wheels of a Dream
The Night that Goldman Spoke at Union Square
Gliding
Justice
President
Till We Reach That Day
Coalhouse's Soliloquy
Coalhouse Demands
What a Game
Atlantic City
Buffalo Nickel Photoplay, Inc.
Our Children
Sarah Brown Eyes
He Wanted to Say
Back to Before
Look What You've Done
Make Them Hear You
Epilogue
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Questions & Answers
Can the full version rehearsal and performance tracks be edited and thus be used for the 9-Piece version?
Answer this QuestionDifference in script from original full version?
Concert Selections for Ragtime (Version 1)
MTI is pleased to provide the pre-approved rental materials of select songs for your symphonic concert performance. Please note, MTI is unable to grant the necessary Performance Rights with this material rental. The Performance Rights needed must be obtained separately through the individual song’s respective small rights agency such as ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. Please email concerts@mtishows.com with any questions.
