Ragtime School Edition
The original score has been transposed down slightly in some places to accommodate younger voices.
The dialogue about Evelyn Nesbit has been cut from "Admiral Peary's March."
A gesture of racism has been added between the First Officer of Admiral Peary's ship and Father during "Journey On."
The Chorines and Sob Sisters in "Crime of the Century" have been replaced by the Jurors and the Press.
Henry Ford is given a dialogued introduction similar to that of other characters at the top of the song, "Henry Ford."
The end of the "Lawrence, Massachusetts," scene, in which Tateh gets hit in the head and stumbles toward the train, has been cut.
The version of "He Wanted to Say" that is included in the original script as an alternate, is used as the preferred version here.
The short scene at the end of "Look What You've Done (Part 3)," in which the characters shout what will be lost if the library is destroyed, has been cut.
Throughout the script, a number of additional stage directions and/or notes have been added to guide the creative team.
Written by the award-winning composer/lyricist team of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (Once on This Island, Seussical, Lucky Stiff), noted playwright Terrence McNally, and based on E.L. Doctorow's distinguished novel, Ragtime was 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, and has now been adapted for high school performers. Called by TIME Magazine "A triumph for the stage," and by the International Herald Tribune "the best musical in twenty years," Ragtime School Edition 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.
Ragtime School Edition has become a favorite of schools across the country and a valuable teaching tool with which educators can discuss such issues as class and prejudice, social conditions, immigration and the history of America itself. The show's many characters offer opportunities for many performers, and the vocal arrangements are slightly rearranged for student voices.
A triumphant return to Broadway!
"New Music" is here. Stream the Ragtime 2025 Broadway Cast Recording!
Show Essentials
Songs
Prologue: 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
The Trashing of the Car
Justice
President
Till We Reach That Day
Coalhouse's Soliloguy
Coalhouse Demands
What a Game
Atlantic City
Buffalo Nickel Photoplay, Inc.
Our Children
Harlem Sequence
Sarah Brown Eyes
He Wanted to Say
Back to Before
Look What You've Done
Make Them Hear You
Ragtime/Wheels of a Dream (Reprise)
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Questions & Answers
Materials Included
Hello, I had a general question about what materials are included in the school editions. Is doing a school edition title like doing a Jr./KIDS title, where you get a show kit that you get to keep (ie. the scripts) and do you get the accompaniment CD included with the show or do you need to get that separately?
Thanks!
Ragtime
What are the differences between Ragtime version 2 and the school edition?
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.