The Music Theatre West production of the musical ‘Ragtime’ is slated for Sept. 15 to 23 at the Ellen Eccles Theatre in downtown Logan.
LOGAN – Music Theatre West has announced the casting of local performers in its upcoming production of Ragtime.
The musical — based on a 1975 novel by E.L. Doctorow — centers on uneasy relations between three American groups in the early 20th Century.
Those groups are African-Americans, represented by Colhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; upper-class natives, represented by the matriarch of a white suburban family; and Eastern European immigrants, represented by a Jewish newcomer from Latvia.
Knowing that African-American performers would be difficult to find within Cache Valley’s largely homogeneous theater community, MTW proactively recruited statewide for those roles.
The list of local performers in the Ragtime cast, however, reads like a who’s who from previous Cache Valley productions.
Celeste Baillio will portray the upper-crust Mother who struggles to find her footing when the dreams of the aforementioned three groups collide in Ragtime.
That role will be something of a departure for the talented Ms. Baillio, who is normally cast in comedy roles. Those have memorably included Lina in Singin’ in the Rain, Mrs. Hannigan in Annie and Rosalie in the recent Cache Theatre Company production of School of Rock.
Ms. Baillio’s husband will be played by Logan McKenna, who is best remembered as dancing in a storm — literally – in Singin’ in the Rain.
Kyle Cottam will play Tateh, the Jewish immigrant. Cottam was recently seen in the title role in the Four Season’s Theatre Company’s production of The Wizard of Oz.
Like others of Doctorow’s novels, Ragtime places fictional characters into context with known historical figures.
The role of J.P. Morgan will be portrayed by Cary Youmans, a music-teaching staff assistant at Utah State University.
Stepping into similar historical roles as Harry Houdini and Henry Ford are Ben Pedersen and Aaron Lacey, respectively.
The African-American roles in Ragtime are mostly filled with veteran performers from the Salt Lake and Provo areas. They are Conlon Bonner, Brittany Andam, Krispin Banks, Daysha Lassiter, Kile Allen, Avery Sims, Madelaine Lamah, Nicolas Warren, Nneka Barcelona, Oba Bonner and Issa McKnight.
As usual, this MTW production will lean toward putting a huge cast on stage.
Other local performers in Ragtime include Mason Bast, Jared Rounds, Rany Jensen, Barbie Haggerty, Sophia Rowe, Sarah McKenna, Chris Metz, Dallin Patton, Seth Mulkey, Rany Wellbaum, Harmony Gailey, Chelsi Pulley, Rachel Olsen, Lily Allen, Molly Cottam, Kim Day, Stephen Taylor, Blake Hobbs, Logan O’Donell, Soren Pedersen, Karen Tuescher, Halle Jensen and Haven Draper.
The MTW production of Ragtime is slated for Sept. 15 to 23 at the Ellen Eccles Theatre.
Ticket can be purchased online at https://www.musictheatrewest.org.