ragtime cast...

i know that we just did a movie cast, but how about a dream cast of theatre people? i would like to see a concert staging of this show brought about soon... so who, out of anyone in the theatre would you like to see take on the roles for a concert... base your choices on the voices you would like to hear in the cast as a concert! my submissions:

coalhouse - norm lewis
mother - rachel york
tateh - michael cerveris
father - matthew broderick
sarah - anika noni rose
younger brother - neil patrick harris
grandfather - john lithgow
little boy - harrison chad
little girl - molly ephraim
emma goldman - victoria clark
evelyn nesbit - sutton foster
harry houdini - hunter foster
henry ford - joel grey
j.p. morgan - james naughton
booker t. washington - ben vereen
sarah's friend - kecia lewis
willie conklin - christian borle

thoughts???

Anybody other then Audra playing Sarah is herecy.

This is going to be fairly obvious, but I'd much rather see Stokes and Audra in thier respective roles, though I hear Norm Lewis is great, and Anika Noni Rose is an intreresting idea. Overall, bot bad, but I'd like to see Lithgow as Father, and I don't see Matthew Broderick as Father (maybe he would have made a good Younger Brothera few years ago). And while I LOVED Christian Borle in Spamalot, and I'd like to see him in something dramatic, I'd just don't see him as Willie Conklin. I can't think of anyone else, though.

---

While Sarah, I beleive, was originally written for LaChanze, she didn't do "every workshop and production pre-broadway." If for no other reason or proof, Aurdra sang Sarah on the 1996 Toronto cast recording, Songs from Ragtime, which is almost like a concept album, only they were doing a production in Toronto at the time. It's a nice CD, with some extended versions of some songs ("He Wanted to Say," "Make Them Hear You," etc.), and even a song that was cut, "The Show Biz," sang by Houdini and Evelyn Nesbit in place of their Atlantic City part. In fact, they didn't even record "Your Daddy's Son" for the Broadway recording - they simply used Audra's recording from the Toronto recording, since that was the only song that hadn't changed actors or had any revisions to it. The same is true for about half of "New Music," though the Toronto cast had a different Mother and Father. Stokes, Aurdra, and Stephen Suttclif(sp?) as Younger Brother were also in the Toronto recording.

---

Updated On: 7/22/05 at 01:29 PM

I DID Ragtime with Norm...and I thought he was FAB-U-LOUS. Perfect for the role.

Julia Murney played Mother and she was equally FABOO.

And Michael Rupert played Tateh...and he was just dreamy and perfect.

I sound like a teenager in the 50's talking about my favorite band.

Anyway...keep dreaming- you might see those folks popping up in the roles around the country. Mother's Younger Brother is SO MY ROLE...not Mr. Harris. Thank you.

Marin Mazzie and Mark Jacoby were in the Toronto cast as Mother and Father and can be heard on the recording. The only main cast member who did not reprise their Toronto role on Broadway was Camille Saviola, who was replaced by Judy Kaye as Emma Goldman on Broadway.

Updated On: 7/22/05 at 06:39 PM

Jane Krakowski needs to be Nesbit.

---

you are absolutely right. and i think it would work... renee flemming and bryn terrfl (spelling?) have a recording of wheels of a dream on their duets cd.