Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Happy closing weekend to Village Theatre’s Ragtime musical by Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty & Lynn Ahrens. Starring Yusef D Seevers (later Erick D Patrick), Jed Resnick & Allison Standley. Its turn-of-the-century score brings a rare sound to the modern stage. Urgently resonant amid conversations around Palestine & BLM Who gets to claim the American Dream? Buy your tickets before closing 11/15/26!
See it, especially if you enjoy the ragtime genre and discussions about race.
Was This the First Time I Attended a Production of this Show? No, I’ve seen The 5th Avenue Theatre production almost 10 years ago.
Would I See It Again 3 Years from Now? Yes
Mainstream Appeal: Medium
If A Random Stranger Asked What Show They Should See This Weekend, Would I Mention This Production? Yes
My Synopsis (No Spoilers): Driven by the syncopated pulse of ragtime music style, this show weaves together the colliding lives of three distinct American communities: African Americans, newly-arrived immigrants, and established/suburban white society.
Synopsis from the Licensor or Theatre Company: In 1902 New York, anything seemed possible. RAGTIME is a uniquely compelling exploration of America at the turn of the 20th century, weaving together three unforgettable stories: a daring Harlem pianist, a determined Jewish immigrant, and an affluent society woman. Each navigates a changing world, united by courage, compassion, and belief in the promise of the future. With its Tony Award-winning score blending ragtime, blues, jazz, and show tunes, RAGTIME has been hailed by TIME Magazine as “a triumph for the stage,” and by the International Herald Tribune as “the best musical in twenty years.” In a production marking our nation’s 250th birthday, this beloved epic musical bursts onto the Village stage, painting a vivid portrait of the people who built this country with hope for a brighter tomorrow.
Type: Musical
World Premiere: No
Several or Few Scenes: Several
Several or Few Settings/Locations: Several
Static (Stationary) or Dynamic Set: Mostly stationary
Prior Exposure/Knowledge Required: You must have some surface level knowledge of early 1900s American history.
Defined Plot/Storyline: Yes
Live Band/Orchestra: Yes
Union Actor(s): 11
Total Actor(s): Too many to count
Perceived Pace of the Show: Medium speed
Was there an intermission? Yes
Length (Including Any Intermission): 2.75 hours
Other Rave(s)
- Musical Highlights:
Ragtime-style music by Stephen Flaherty was a welcome novelty on the modern musical theatre stage where it is rarely heard. That momentum began with the opening number, “Prologue: Ragtime,” when the ensemble built toward a glorious, swelling climax. Throughout the production, Yusef D Seevers (as Coalhouse Walker Jr.) showcased his rich, commanding tenor reminiscent of his previous starring turn in Sweeney Todd. In “Sarah Brown Eyes,” he blended sweet harmony with Jaden Dominique (as Sarah) against a poignant backdrop of alternating major and minor ragtime chords alluding to their bittersweet love story.
- Commentary on the Unequal Racial Experience in America:
Ragtime landed as a strikingly timely examination of systemic inequality among Americans. While national mythology touts the United States as a meritocratic land of opportunity where you can do/be anything if you put your mind to it, the musical exposed how this easy upward mobility came with a steep caveat dictated by skin color. Juxtaposing a multi-generational established well-to-do African American man against a first-generation white European immigrant, the story underscored how much more readily non-black immigrants achieve economic/social ascent.
The production evoked contemporary debates in which Americans, blind to their own privilege, scoff at the idea that race remains an issue under the assumption that the Civil Rights era resolved everything. Onstage, the affluent white upper class were insulated within manicured suburban enclaves and acted as complicit bystanders. Like today, they indulged in hollow patriotism rather than uncomfortably confronting the racial brutality occurring just beyond their gates. The narrative starkly contrasted double standards of justice where a white millionaire could commit murder, white public servants could vandalize a Black man’s property, and a white demonstrator could protest with impunity. On the other hand, a Black person merely approaching a prominent white figure was killed. Furthermore, the show illuminated how exhausting every “correct” sanctioned, peaceful avenue without success inevitably breeds more militant resistance. It echoed the modern Black Lives Matter response, “Do not tell us how to protest,” when non-black people express horror at the BLM demonstrations. Respectability, hard work, patience, and adherence to incremental correct legal channels sometimes fail to yield an adequate response, leaving the marginalized no choice but to “make them hear you.”
Other Musing(s) and Observation(s)
- The “White Savior” Dynamic: While white allyship is essential to advancing racial justice, I’m conflicted with the production’s reliance on “white savior” tropes. Much like films such as The Help and Hidden Figures, these depictions risked suggesting that people of color needed benevolent white intervention to rescue them from other white people, rather than centering their own agency and self-sufficiency. That tension was especially pronounced given that the musical’s three principal creators were all white, leaving no representation from people of color at the top creative helm.
- Subplots: During the performance, the anarchist subplot and even the immigrant storyline (despite its importance) felt somewhat disconnected from the central narrative. In hindsight, however, those threads served a revealing comparative purpose, illustrating how the white American establishment treated “white others” versus “Black others.
Rant(s)
- Attic Motif: The production framed the story within an attic motif, repurposing assorted household knick-knacks (such as using a dresser as a doorway) as theatrical props. Initially, those staging choices felt puzzling, and the overarching attic concept only registered much later in the performance. Ultimately, the design struggled to support a work of this magnitude. The A-frame structure and support beams crowded the stage, making the space look cramped in contrast to the large cast. As more characters filled the stage, the tight quarters grew increasingly incredulous. A musical of Ragtime’s sweeping scope called for a more traditional scenic approach rather than a confining attic theme.
Theatre Company: Village Theatre
Venue: Village Theatre
Venue Physical Address:
2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett, WA 98201
or 303 Front St N, Issaquah, WA 98027
Ticket Affordability Options: Check out the Village Theatre discount page.
Dates:
Sept 15 – Oct 18, 2026 in Issaquah
Oct 24 – Nov 15, 2026 in Everett
Seating: Assigned Seats
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Photos: See production photos below by Nikki Womac.
Cast and Production Team: See after photos below.
Ragtime
Village Theatre
Adam Immerwahr, Artistic Director
Derek Watanabe, Managing Director
Francis J. Gaudette Theatre (Issaquah): September 15 – October 18, 2026
Everett Performing Arts Center (Everett): October 24 – November 15, 2026
Writers & Music
- Book by: Terrence McNally
- Music by: Stephen Flaherty
- Lyrics by: Lynn Ahrens
- Based on the novel Ragtime by: E.L. Doctorow
- Original Orchestrations by: William David Brohn
- Additional Orchestrations by: Kim Scharnberg
Creative & Design Team
- Director: Joe Calarco
- Music Supervisors: Sheilah V Walker & Tim Symons
- Choreographer: Jimmy Shields
- Set Designer: Christopher J Mumaw
- Costume Designer: Sarita P. Fellows
- Lighting Designer: Sherrice Mojgani
- Sound Designer: Gino Scarpino
- Stage Manager: Colleen Nielsen
Cast
- Harlem Activist and Others: Brandi Birdsong
- Coalhouse Walker III: Zachary Bruce III
- Younger Brother: Kooper Campbell
- Sarah: Jaden Dominique*
- Coalhouse Walker III: Ari Hunter
- J.P. Morgan and Others: Mark Ivy*
- Grandfather and Others, Fight Captain: Eric Polani Jensen*
- Sarah’s Friend and Others, u/s Sarah: Zhanea June
- Little Girl: Sloane Lewis
- Harlem Trumpet Player and Others: Donovan Mahannah
- Harry Houdini and Others, u/s Tateh: Nick McCarthy*
- Little Boy: Will Pengelly
- Father: Matthew Posner
- Tateh: Jed Resnick*
- Coalhouse Walker, Jr.: Yusef D Seevers* or Erick D Patrick*
- Little Girl: Sawyer Settles
- Little Boy: Owen Shaflik
- Emma Goldman and Others: Jasmine Jean Sim
- Harlem Barber and Others, Dance Captain, u/s Booker T. Washington: Charles L. Simmons*
- Coalhouse Walker III: Brianna Sims
- Booker T. Washington and Others: Arlando Smith*
- Henry Ford and Others, u/s Father: Mike Spee*
- Mother: Allison Standley*
- Harlem Lawyer and Others, u/s Coalhouse Walker, Jr.: Chandler T. Thomas*
- Evelyn Nesbit and Others: Miranda Antoinette Westman
- Willie Conklin and Others: Cameron Widmark
Understudies
- Sarah’s Friend, Harlem Activist and Others: Ania Briggs
- Younger Brother, Harry Houdini, Henry Ford and Others: Will Chadek
- Evelyn Nesbit, Emma Goldman and Others: Cherisse Martinelli
- J.P. Morgan, Grandfather, Willie Conklin and Others: Christopher Puckett
- Harlem Trumpet Player, Harlem Barber, Harlem Lawyer and Others: Elijah Yale
- Mother: Jessica Ziegelbauer
Stage Management
- Stage Manager: Colleen Nielsen
- Assistant Stage Manager: Nicola Krause
- Assistant Stage Manager (8/4/26–10/4/26): Miranda Mikolaizik*
- Assistant Stage Manager (9/30/26–11/15/26): Anna Vraney*
- Production Assistant: Monique Otter Johnson
*The Actors and Stage Managers are members of the Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Orchestra
- Conductor (09/15/26–10/08/26): Tim Symons
- Conductor (10/08/26–11/15/26): Rebecca Smith
- Violins: Winnie Dungey, Elena Vukosavljev
- Bass: Olivia D Hamilton or Ethan Sobotta
- Flute/Piccolo: Susan Telford or Cassie Lear
- Clarinet/Soprano Sax: Lori Shepherd
- Trumpet: Brian Shaw or Greg Lyons
- Trombone: Keith Winkle or Nathan C Vetter
- Tuba: Clayton Dungey
- Keyboard 1: Ben Bentler or Gabriel Mangiante
- Keyboard 2: Joseph Tancioco
- Banjo/Guitar: Greg Fulton or Anthony Pooley
- Drums: Brian Kirk
- Percussion: Jesse Whitford
For This Production
- Associate Director: Bretteney Beverly
- Associate Choreographer: Katie J. Newbury
- Associate Music Director: Rebecca Smith
- Assistant Lighting Designer: Trevor Cushman
- Costume Design Associate: Matthew Lott
- Textured Hair Consultant: Jerrilyn Duckworth
- Cultural Consultant & Dramaturg: Cessalee Stovall
- Dialect Coach: Gin Hammond
- Vocal Coach: Aaron M. Davis Norman
- Intimacy & Fight Director: Geoffrey Alm
- New York Casting: Geoff Josselson, CSA
- Rehearsal Pianist: Ben Bentler
- Music Prep: Paul Stovall
Crew
- Head Stage Carpenter (Issaquah): Whitman Paylor
- Head Stage Carpenter (Everett): Chris Mikolaizik
- Lead Deck, Props (Issaquah): Paige Donald
- Lead Deck, Props (Everett): Kyle Morgan
- Key Deck: Richard Cole
- Head Electrician (Issaquah): Paul Arnold
- Head Electrician (Everett): Brandon Cullinan
- Follow Spot Operator (Issaquah): Jerena Layacan
- Follow Spot Operator (Everett): Olof Sander
- Follow Spot Operator (Full Run): Casey Leugemors
- Head Audio (Issaquah): Steven Younkins
- Head Audio (Everett): Jesse Worley
- Lead Audio (Issaquah): Max Hutzell
- Lead Audio (Everett): Charlie Sandford
- Swing Technician: Olof Sander
- Child Actor Guardian: Amy Jurkiewicz
- Head Wardrobe (Issaquah): Kate Simpson
- Head Wardrobe (Everett): Malena Langlie
- Lead Wardrobe (Issaquah): Malena Langlie
- Lead Wardrobe (Everett): Ash Smith
- Key Wardrobe: Myla Hightower, Arlo Stephenson
- Laundry/Daywork: Kanai Watson
- Head Wig Artisan/Resident Wig Designer: Doug Decker
- Wig Assistant, Everett Maintenance: Jordan Kearns
RAGTIME 9 PIECE ORCHESTRATION is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com
Any video and/or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.
Made possible in part by assistance from the Snohomish County Hotel-Motel Tax Fund.