30 | Summer 2017 Five years ago, my phone rang. Every so often in my career, I receive one of those calls—a call that opens the door to an amazing opportunity. The Caller ID said—“NYC”—so I eagerly picked it up. It was a company called Manhattan Concert Productions (MCP). There are various companies that arrange trips for choral and musical groups to perform in exciting places. MCP, after years of producing classical choral and musical experiences at Carnegie Hall in New York, was beginning a special Broadway series. They were planning a complete concert version of Ragtime—with a cast of Broadway stars, the New York Philharmonic, and a chorus of 250, to be held at Lincoln Center—the most iconic and exciting arts venue in New York. Before I even hung up, I told them we were doing it! I knew this was going to be something special, and I wanted us to get in on the ground floor of this unique opportunity. We had to audition in order to be accepted. While most groups who work with MCP are choral groups, I explained this was our Upper School Drama Club, so I included footage of some of our recent musical performances. We were accepted! In February 2013, a group of 10 students in February 2013, the previous Upper School choral teacher, Christy Elkins, and I were scheduled to attend. We worked on Saturdays through January and early February with Jonathan Emmons to learn the score. We committed to doing the trip before we knew who would be in the cast. It was the dream cast of Ragtime! The actors included notables such as Norm Lewis (Javert in Les Miserables, Triton in The Little Mermaid) as Coalhouse Walker, Patina Miller (Pippin) as Sarah, Lea Salonga (voice of Jasmine in Disney’s Aladdin, original Kim in Miss Saigon) as Mother, Harold McGillin (Broadway’s longest running Phantom) as Father, Kerry Butler (original Penny in Hairspray, Kira in Xanadu) as Evelyn Nesbitt, Tyne Daly (TV’s Cagney and Lacey, Mama Rose in Gypsy) as Emma Goldman, and others. There was also a secondary chorus of former members of Broadway and National Tour productions of Ragtime as well. We arrived in New York and immediately went into rehearsals with musical directors David Loud and Sheila Walker. What makes participating in the chorus for these concerts such an enormous educational experience is that you are working with Broadway’s best musical directors on shaping a Broadway- level experience. The work in New York is on interpretation, dynamics, phrasing, nuances of meaning in the score and making it come alive. Director Stafford Arima came in with the full cast for several rehearsals, and then it was off to Lincoln Center for a technical rehearsal. Performing in an MCP concert is truly like performing on Broadway for one night only! We had to have passes to get into the stage door at Avery Fisher Hall (now renamed David Geffen Hall) and were ushered onstage. Ragtime was more than sold out, with people scalping tickets Performing in New York Broadway Concerts at Lincoln Center Parade Rehearsal Audience at AFH | By Ruthie Tutterow, Director of Fine and Performing Arts, Drama Department Chair