Ragtime On Ellis Island has announced that a limited number of seats to the highly anticipated site-specific developmental concert on Monday, August 8, will be distributed to the public by way of an online ticket lottery. Effective immediately, fans can enter the lottery at www.ragtimeonellis.com/lottery.
Entries are limited to one per person, but fans can boost their chances and earn a second entry by sharing pieces of their family history from the turn of the 20th Century on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, and tagging@RagtimeOnEllis. The lottery will be open until 7:00p.m. EST on Sunday August 7. Winners will be announced at 10:00a.m. EST on Monday, August 8, and will have until 1:00p.m. to claim their seat to the concert that evening.
“We are incredibly moved by the response this project has received from Ragtime and Ellis Island enthusiasts alike,” said producer Brandon Powell. “This developmental concert has always been poised as a stepping stone to a full public production, and in Ragtime’s spirit of inclusion, we’re thrilled to host this lottery for our one-night concert as the first step in sharing the piece with as wide an audience as possible.”
The invitation-only, one-night-only event will be narrated by two-time Tony Award winner and original Ragtime Broadway cast member Brian Stokes Mitchell (Shuffle Along, Man of La Mancha), and will star two-time Tony Award nominee Brandon Victor Dixon (Shuffle Along, Motown) as Coalhouse Walker Jr., Olivier Award winner Laura Michelle Kelly (Finding Neverland, Mary Poppins) as Mother, Emmy Award winner Michael Park (Dear Evan Hansen, Tuck Everlasting) as Father, acclaimed stage and television star Andy Mientus (Spring Awakening, Les Miserables) as Younger Brother, Shaina Taub (Hadestown, Old Hats) as Emma Goldman, Aisha Jackson (Waitress, Beautiful) as Sarah, and Robert Petkoff (All The Way, Ragtime) reprising his 2009 Broadway revival role of Tateh.
Directed by Sammi Cannold (Violet on a moving bus at A.R.T.; Assistant Director for Diane Paulus & Rachel Chavkin), the cast will perform a selection of songs from the Tony Award-winning musical that features music byStephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and a book by Terrence McNally. The concert is being presented by Suzanne Friedman with an eye towards an immersive, full production of the acclaimed American musical on Ellis Island in 2017.
Ragtime is a portrait of a turning point in American history as it follows three families in pursuit of the American dream at the start of the 20th century. In Ragtime, we meet an upper-class family from New Rochelle that must grapple with their notions of class and agency, we meet determined Latvian immigrants who come to New York through the gateway of Ellis Island, and we meet a daring young couple from Harlem who must combat racism and bigotry to ensure a bright future for their son.
In a site-specific re-telling of this classic musical, these stories will be told in Ellis Island’s historic Registry Room, through which 12 million immigrants passed between 1892 and 1954. The question of what it means to be and become American is just as relevant now as it was in 1902, and in asking that question in the very room where so many of our ancestors discovered the answer, Ragtime on Ellis Island offers an unprecedented opportunity to bring history to life in new ways. The evening’s experience includes sailing to and from Ellis Island by private ferry, and an opportunity to explore Ellis Island’s museum exhibits following the performance.
