West End Ragtime Announces Early Closure, 14 JunDate: 2 June 2003Despite enthusiastic reviews when it opened in March, the award-winning Broadway musical Ragtime has posted early closing notices in the West End. The musical - starring Dave Willetts, Maria Friedman, Graham Bickley and American Kevyn Morrow - opened at the Piccadilly Theatre on 19 March 2003 (previews 8 March). It had originally been booking to 11 June 2003 but, in its first week, extended for a three-month period until 6 September 2003. It will now close on 14 June 2003 after a run of just over three months. Based on EL Doctorow's epic 1975 novel, Ragtime traces the cultural and political sea-changes in America at the turn of 20th century. In a portrait of three very different American families, fictional lives become dramatically intertwined with one another as well as with factual characters and events including Henry Ford, Harry Houdini and the sinking of the Lusitania. Although the Piccadilly Theatre is hotly tipped to host Jerry Springer - The Opera when its run at the National Theatre finishes at the end of September 2003, there has been no official announcement as to what will follow Ragtime. - by Hannah Kennedy Related Content | ||||||
