East Arkansas Community College presents the national tour of Ragtime at the EACC Fine Arts Center on Saturday, April 22nd at 7:30 p.m.  The Tony Award® winning musical production will culminate the Fine Arts Center’s 2015-2016 performance season.  Tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, March 7th at 10:00 a.m.

At the dawn of a new century, everything is changing, and anything is possible.  Ragtime returns to the road in an all new touring production that Bloomberg News hails as “explosive, thrilling and nothing short of a masterpiece.”  Set in turn of the century New York, the stories of an upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant, and a daring young Harlem musician unfold, and all three are united by their desire and belief in a brighter tomorrow.  Their compelling stories are set to theatre’s richest and most glorious Tony Award® winning score.

Winning awards for Best Book and Best Musical Score, the 13-time Tony Award® nominated musical is a timeless celebration of life, what it could and should be.  The Hollywood Reporter declared Ragtime as “one of the best musicals of recent decades.”  The celebrated score includes “Wheels of a Dream,” “Back to Before,” and the title song, “Ragtime.”

Directed and Choreographed by Tony® nominated Marcia Milgrom Dodge and produced by Phoenix Entertainment, Ragtime features a book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and is based on E.L. Doctorow’s best-selling 1975 novel, Ragtime.  The novel won the National Book Critics Circle award and sold 4.5 million copies. 

Doctorow’s best-selling and award-winning Ragtime novel became a film in 1981, and the Broadway musical was produced in 1998.  The original Broadway production of Ragtime ran for 834 performances.  In 2009, a Broadway revival received rapturous reviews, and Phoenix Entertainment’s touring production of Ragtime is currently appearing throughout North America. 

Phoenix Entertainment celebrates seventeen years of artistic excellence and remains a revered international theatrical producing and management enterprise dedicated to the development, production, and presentation of top-notch Broadway musicals and family entertainment throughout North America and beyond.  Founded by Stephen Kane and Michael McFadden, Phoenix Entertainment has delivered thousands of performances of over 100 live productions on four continents.  Past touring productions include Rock of Ages, Camelot, The Color Purple, Grease starring Frankie Avalon, The King and I, 42nd Street, Phantom of the Opera, Smokey Joe’s Café, Sesame Street Live, and more. 

Tickets for the musical Ragtime are $39 and are now on sale. Tickets may be purchased online at www.eacc.edu, by calling 870-633-4480, ext. 352, or in person at the Fine Arts Center Ticket Office.  Group discounts are available and save 20%.  The EACC Fine Arts Center is located at 1700 Newcastle Road in Forrest City, just off Interstate 40.