The Poplar Pike Playhouse is set to both electrify and inspire audiences with its upcoming spring production Ragtime. The show opens May 4th. This dramatic and affecting musical was the 1998 winner of 4 Tony Awards and was named Best Musical of the year by both the Drama Desk Critics and the Outer Critics Circle. This will be the first non-professional staging of Ragtime in the Memphis area.

Ragtime tells the story of turn of the century America by seamlessly integrating historic and fictional characters to create a moving epic tale that centers around the lives of three unique families. The show is loaded with tuneful songs written by the team of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, the award-winning composer and lyricist who brought us Seussical and Once on This Island. The New York Times said the “combined achievement of the creators [of Ragtime] is… an astonishment.” The Los Angeles Times called it “the rare musical big enough to address millennial concerns about where we come from and who we would like to be.” This production promises to be one of the biggest and best ever at the PPP.

The cast for Ragtime includes Vicki Beall, Boomer Brigman, Scott Byers, Courtney Calvin, Drew Clements, Stacey Cotham, Wesley Cox, Chris Dixon, Stuart Downing, Shari Drury, Cassie Farrier, Mark Farrier, Brittany Flaherty, Kristina Hanford, Beth Hoag, Jon Hoag, Phylicia Hollis, Brittney Howard, Jessie Jones, Johnalee Kutzkee, Lauren Levins, Kenni Liggins, Erika Maclin, Jessie Mason, Deven McKay, Brittany Mickens, Courtney Mickens, Archie Mitchell, Courtney Mock, Josh Moore, Patrick Nugent, Raphael Onwu, Emily Pilkington, Kasey Porter, Kelsey Porter, Jocelyn Ramiah, Emmi Ramey, Ashley Simms, Greg Stephen, Jonathan Smith, Jacob Strong, Ryan Sweeney, Quinton Thompson, Tucker Wade, Patrick Warren, and Brandon Winfrey.

The show is directed by E. Frank Bluestein with musical direction by Steve Danielson and choreography by Elizabeth Anne Brown. Lanny Byrd is the musical conductor.

Tickets for this production of Ragtime will go on sale March 27th at the Poplar Pike Playhouse Box Office and online at www.ppp.org. The show opens at the Poplar Pike Playhouse on May 4th and runs through May 20th. For information, call the Poplar Pike Playhouse Box Office at 755-7775 between 7:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The Poplar Pike Playhouse is the theatre complex located on the campus of Germantown High School.