Hope, History, and Harmony: Ragtime Opens at Dallas Theater Center
Featuring a Tony Award–winning score, this beloved musical explores the pursuit of the American Dream (Credit: Andy Nguyen)
Dallas Theater Center (DTC) is pleased to announce that the fourth production of its 2025–2026 season will be the sweeping musical Ragtime, running Friday, March 27, 2026 through Sunday, April 19, 2026 at the Dee & Charles Wyly Theatre. The production is presented in partnership with SMU Meadows School of the Arts and the Sexton Institute for Musical Theatre.
Based on E.L. Doctorow’s acclaimed novel, Ragtime features music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and a book by Terrence McNally. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1998 and earned widespread critical acclaim, winning multiple Tony Awards, including Best Score and Best Featured Actress for Audra McDonald. In the years since, it has become a beloved and frequently produced classic, admired for both its historical depth and its unforgettable score.
“I am excited to welcome Dallas audiences back to DTC for the landmark American musical, Ragtime, helmed by Dallas legend, Joel Ferrell,” said Interim Artistic Director Jonathan Norton. “And I not only celebrate Joel's return but our partnership with SMU Meadows School of the Arts and the Sexton Institute for Musical Theatre. It is an honor and a privilege for DTC to collaborate with the next generation of musical theater artists.”
Set in New York at the dawn of the 20th century, Ragtime captures a moment when everything seemed possible and the nation stood on the brink of profound change. With a soaring, Tony Award–winning score, the musical interweaves the lives of three families from different backgrounds, each pursuing their version of the American Dream. Their journeys unfold against a backdrop of social upheaval, innovation, and shifting cultural tides, creating a powerful portrait of hope, perseverance, and the promise of a new era.
“When I first read Ragtime as a young man, it was the first modern American novel to grip me completely, sweeping me into its world as Dickens and Twain once had,” said Joel Ferrell, director of Ragtime and Inaugural Director of the Sexton Institute for Musical Theatre. “Shortly after the musical opened on Broadway, I sat in the sixth row and felt the score lift me again and again—at once timeless, immediate, and quintessentially American. The creative team achieved something extraordinary: a musical equal to Doctorow’s achievement, now recognized as a modern classic. We are proud to share that classic with you—brought to life by our Meadows student artists, members of the Brierley Resident Acting Company, and exceptional Dallas musicians. Musicals like Ragtime are the direct result of the rich, complicated, and beautiful tapestry that is the United States of America.”
Both intimate and epic in scope, Ragtime remains one of the most celebrated works in modern musical theatre. Its emotionally rich storytelling and sweeping music continue to resonate with audiences, offering a stirring reflection on America’s past and an urgent reminder of its future. With its grand scale and deeply human stories, DTC’s production of Ragtime invites Dallas audiences to experience a landmark of American musical theatre — and to continue the conversation long after the curtain falls. Following each performance, audiences are invited to Stay Late, DTC’s signature post-show conversation with members of the cast and creative team.
The production is directed and choreographed by Joel Ferrell. Ferrell is joined by Vonda K. Bowling (Music Director), Kimberly Grigsby (Music Supervisor), Lauren Wheat (Scenic Design), Travis Chinick (Costume Design), Jessica Ann Drayton (Lighting Design), Brian McDonald (Sound Design) and Stephen Ravet (Production Stage Manager).
Ragtime features a talented cast including Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company members Blake Hackler, Bob Hess, Alex Organ, Tiffany Solano, Zachary J. Willis and Bri Woods. They are joined by Sinclair Freeman, Laila Jalil, Jeremy Landon Hays, Max J. Swarner, Akron Watston, and Alexandra Zeto, as well as by SMU students Andrew Briseno, J’Von Brown, Makena Brown, Chyna Dillard, Sidney Floyd, Imani Jones, Emmet Overcarsh, Irene Rising, Criston Starks, and Pierre Tannous. The cast is completed by Lexington Bartholomew, Noah Brown, Sofia DeSena, Ryan Duck, Luna Echo Rodriguez, and Ellington Wilson. Bri Woods will lead the post-show conversation Stay Late following each performance. Ragtime is licensed by Music Theatre International (MTI).
The 2025-26 season is dedicated to the memory of Bill Custard, Life Trustee of Dallas Theater Center.
SHOW DETAILS:
Ragtime
March 27 – April 19, 2026
Dee & Charles Wyly Theatre, 2400 Flora St, Dallas, TX 75201
Tickets start at $51
The show runs 2 hours 45 minutes with a 15-minute intermission
ABOUT DALLAS THEATER CENTER
Dallas Theater Center is one of the leading regional theaters in the country and the recipient of the 2017 Regional Theatre Tony Award. Dallas Theater Center (DTC) is committed to producing theater with resident artists that illuminate diverse experiences and spark collaboration and dialogue. Founded in 1959, DTC is a resident company of the AT&T Performing Arts Center and presents its annual season at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramus and Rem Koolhaas. DTC also performs at its original home, the Kalita Humphreys Theater, the only freestanding theater designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Under the leadership of Executive Director Kevin Moriarty and Interim Artistic Director Jonathan Norton, DTC produces a year-round subscription series of classics, musicals, and new plays and an annual production of A Christmas Carol for more than 100,000 North Texas residents annually. Additionally, the theater produces extensive education programs, including the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award-winning Project Discovery; a partnership with SMU Meadows School of the Arts; and many community collaborations. DTC is also the home of the Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company, which features twelve resident artists that perform in every season.
Throughout its history, Dallas Theater Center has produced many new works, including A Texas Trilogy by Preston Jones in 1978; Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men, adapted by Adrian Hall, in 1986; and recent premieres of I Am Delivered’t and penny candy by Interim Artistic Director Jonathan Norton; The Supreme Leader by Don Nguyen; Miller, Mississippi by Boo Killebrew; Stagger Lee by Will Power; Giant by Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson; Hood: The Robin Hood Musical Adventure by Douglas Carter Beane and Lewis Flinn; Bella: An American Tall Tale by Kirsten Childs; Clarkston by Samuel D. Hunter; The Fortress of Solitude by Michael Friedman and Itamar Moses; and Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical by Robert Horn, Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally.