Lincoln Center Theater to Revive RAGTIME at the Vivian Beaumont, Fall 2025- Page 5

[goodtimes123]

Posted: 5/7/25 at 3:44pm

TotallyEffed said: "I've never heard Levy be anything but pitch perfect."

Same. 

I am glad her voice is a bit more contemporary and different than Marin's. I thought she was incredible during the city center run and commanded the stage during "back to before". I can't wait to see how she makes this role her own. 

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 5/7/25 at 4:42pm

I thought Cassie Levy at Encores came across as a little too bohemian for Mother. The journey of that character has to be that she starts in a place of extreme conservatism.  She did indeed also sing the score (IMO) with a little too much of a pop feeling to it.

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 5/7/25 at 4:44pm

QueenAlice said: "I thought Cassie Levy at Encorescame across as a little too bohemian for Mother. The journey of that character has to be that she starts in a place of extreme conservatism. She did indeed also sing the score (IMO) with a little too much of a pop feeling to it."

This hits the nail on the head. Her Mother didn’t change.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/7/25 at 4:53pm

Yeah, she is so boring in everything I've seen her in, especially Caroline or Change. I guess that's why everyone around me was asleep for that one. 

[TheatreMonkey]

Posted: 5/7/25 at 4:56pm

I had the honor and privilege of working on the North Carolina Theatre (RIP) production of Ragtime some twentyish years ago -- and we had amazing leads; Norm Lewis as Coalhouse, Michael Rupert as Tateh, Montego Glover as Sarah, and Julia Murney as Mother. Mother is a tricky role -- it starts in one place, but ends in another. Murney gave an amazing performance -- almost cold, detached at first (but with hints of her fire underneath) but then ending up blossoming into her true self by the end. It's a deceptive role in that regard.

[getatme]

Posted: 5/7/25 at 4:58pm

I thought Levy acted the role well, there was a warmth and kindness to her especially in scenes with the Little Boy and with Younger Brother that were lovely. Vocally, it was not the best fit but she has great technique and maneuvered it well (aside from Goodbye My Love which I think is just placed too high for her), and delivered a wonderful Back to Before. She would not be my first choice for Mother in a Broadway revival (Kate Baldwin, please!) but she was not my biggest problem with the principal cast at City Center (Colin Donnell and Nichelle Williams were).

[binau]

Posted: 5/7/25 at 5:48pm

TotallyEffed said: "I've never heard Levy be anything but pitch perfect."

I saw her many many times in next to normal and I was always surprised how pristine and on pitch her vocals were every single time. It is hard for me to imagine her singing Ragtime because Marin set the bar and I associate legit soprano with the character. This does feel like the kind of role that Kate Baldwin would be better suited to, but C Levy’s vocals are quite special!! 

[Kad]

Posted: 5/7/25 at 9:39pm

I think Cassie Levy is a fine performer, but not for this role. I really do wish it was Kate Baldwin. But alas.

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 5/7/25 at 10:49pm

Do we think Sarah, Father, Brother, Evelyn etc. may be diffferent or is this a direct transfer, assuming schedules comply?    A second round of casting comes out prior to on sale dates?

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 5/7/25 at 11:16pm

Kad said: "I think Cassie Levy is a fine performer, but not for this role. I really do wish it was Kate Baldwin. But alas."

Im so confused by this--theres no right answer, of course, but I thought Caissie was warm, reserved and then properly unleashed when I saw her at City Center. Her Back to Before stopped the show, except then Josh Henry stopped the show and beat it to death a few minutes later so she was overshadowed. 

Anyway, she appears to be enjoying quite a revitalized career--smaller parts in Leopol and Caroline (in which she was notably excellent)-- and now leading two major revivals, as well as her involvement in the Lost Boys. Kudos to her.

All that said, its Henry and Uranowitz that blew me away, so this is welcome welcome news in any event.

[Dreamboy3]

Posted: 5/8/25 at 8:50am

LCT member tickets go on sale on Tuesday at 10 am. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/8/25 at 8:59am

If the show extends through the tony season, curious to see who they’d replace Caissie(there is an “i” after the a) with considering she’ll be busy with Lost Boys

[slow_the_rain]

Posted: 5/8/25 at 12:30pm

Kate Baldwin would be thrilling, as would Laura Michelle Kelly. Elizabeth Stanley, even. Caissie Levy lacks the nuance, both as a singer and an actor, to really pull this off.

I’m cautiously optimistic about what Lear DeBessonet will do with a proper rehearsal process. I’ve only seen her Public Works productions, and Into the Woods at City Center. While they all had the promise of decent direction, they possessed a hodge podge, slapdash quality that I’m hoping was the result of truncated rehearsals.

[singer234]

Posted: 5/8/25 at 4:04pm

I would have loved to see Katie Rose Clarke as Mother-but I'm happy for her that she is otherwise engaged!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/8/25 at 4:48pm

Tickets go on sale to the public Wednesday, May 28th at noon.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 5/8/25 at 7:17pm

Sutton Ross said: "Yeah,she is so boring in everything I've seen her in, especially Caroline or Change. I guess that's why everyone around me was asleep for that one."

 

Now I have to agree with you 100%!

I was in college when I first saw this and most of you did not have the chance to experience Marin Mazzie - NO WORDS! RIP

 

Updated On: 5/8/25 at 07:17 PM

[inception]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 10:09am

Ooof, I'm probably a complete Philistine, but finally listening to OBC album for first time.  I've never been a fan of Ahrens/Flaherty and this reminds me why - completely earnest & totally boring.  I think come Tuesday I will pass on tickets. 

More power to you all who love it.  But I'd say see it early, because it won't last long.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 10:15am

inception said: "
More power to you all who love it. But I'd say see it early, because it won't last long."

It’s a limited nonprofit run of a very popular show, and in this case it’s essentially a transfer of an already acclaimed and successful production. It’ll be fine. 

[Bwaygurl2]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 12:14pm

inception said: "Ooof, I'm probably a complete Philistine,but finally listening to OBC album for first time. I've never been a fan of Ahrens/Flaherty and this reminds me why - completely earnest & totally boring. I think come Tuesday I will pass on tickets.

More power to you all who love it. But I'd say see it early, because it won't last long."

I think it is one of the best scores of the past thirty years. One of the best opening numbers of all time. Not liking it doesn't make you a philistine, though. 

[willep]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 12:17pm

CoffeeBreak said: "Do we think Sarah, Father, Brother, Evelyn etc. may be diffferent or is this a direct transfer, assuming schedules comply? A second round of casting comes out prior to on sale dates?"

Casting notice has all roles cast except Evelyn, Little Boy and Little Girl. Whether everyone else is the same from Encores or not is not confirmed, but I would guess most, if not all, are.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 12:22pm

Call_me_jorge said: "If the show extends through the tony season, curious to see who they’d replace Caissie(there is an “i” after the a) with considering she’ll be busy with Lost Boys"

If they are indeed hoping to sell well enough for an extension, I'm sure it would be a happy problem to have to replace Caissie after January.

In the past, the big LCT musical revivals were budgeted such that they needed to extend to an open-ended run to make real money. But there is an entirely new team there now, so truly who knows.

RAGTIME has never been a moneymaker and its fanbase is incredibly niche. I suspect that initial 14-week run will sell well, but January-to-June is a long time unless this gets reviews on the level of AUDRA GYPSY or MAYBE HAPPY ENDING.

[binau]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 12:53pm

inception said: "Ooof, I'm probably a complete Philistine,but finally listening to OBC album for first time. I've never been a fan of Ahrens/Flaherty and this reminds me why - completely earnest & totally boring. I think come Tuesday I will pass on tickets.

More power to you all who love it. But I'd say see it early, because it won't last long."

I know exactly what you are saying and I accept every other criticism of the score such as too many power ballads etc. as  true intellectually, but somehow I still find the melodies very unique and beautiful (e.g. especially Your Daddy's Son, Wheels of a Dream, Till We Reach That Day, Back to Before, Make Them Hear You), the harmonies in some of the big choral numbers are quite moving, and some very important OBC performances that all could win Tonys in the right year (Marin, Audra, Brian Stokes). I don't really enjoy much of Ahrens/Flaherty either (don't even get me started on how boring much of the score for Anastasia is) but I think Ragtime is well worth the investment to try and get to know....

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 1:03pm

I wonder what Stephanie Styles is doing (maybe TV?) that won’t let her transfer as Evelyn. I can’t imagine they didn’t offer it to her. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 1:29pm

There are many reasons why someone might not transfer with a show. Money, the size of the role, other jobs, creative differences, health/family/pregnancy, etc. Evelyn is a pretty small part, has basically no chance of awards attention, and Styles works on TV a decent amount these days. Committing to a 2-week run at City Center is much different than committing to a 14-week Broadway run + 5-week rehearsal process.

Here's the EPA notice, which also confirms James Moore (music director) and Ellenore Scott (choreographer) are continuing on from City Center.

https://playbill.com/job/ragtime-nyc-epa-05-20-25/4273ef24-5f37-42e6-a98e-370b9bf0184f

Updated On: 5/9/25 at 01:29 PM

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 5:34pm

I would be hard pressed to call this bombardment of anthems the best score of the last 30 years.