ZACH's RAGTIME Opens 10/17 at the Topfer Theatre

ZACH welcomes a new era with the opening of the Topfer Theatre, and no production is better suited to showcase the deep and inspired talents of ZACH's full company and new performance space than the uplifting Tony Award-winning musical RAGTIME. More than 50 of Austin's finest actors, supported by a glorious orchestra, tell the story of how we forged a nation that all people could call home. Bold anthems, Harlem ragtime, and delicate waltzes lift our aspirations for all that we can and will be. RAGTIME will set a new standard for musicals in Austin, so intimate and immediate, that discerning patrons will rejoice at the power of the experience.

ZACH's Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley says: "In planning the first season at the new Topfer Theatre, I focused on plays and musicals which involve dreams of some kind-chasing the American dream, dreams to which one aspires, literal dreams while sleeping, and the theatre as a place where dreams are realized. I selected RAGTIME to inaugurate the theatre because it is of an epic scale befitting our grand opening, it allows us to use all the new technology we have invested in, it will involve large segments of our community with a cast of 50 actors, it has never been produced locally, it was written by native Texan Terrence McNally, it creates the opportunity to have a full orchestra for the first time in our history, it has roles for youth to perform, it has a multi-racial cast, and thematically it has much to say about this time in ZACH's life and in our lives as Americans, as some characters welcome and embrace change, while others struggle with it."

ZACH's production of RAGTIME features an all-star cast including: Jill Blackwood, Jamie Goodwin, Andrew Cannata, Kia Dawn Fulton, David Jarrott, Meredith McCall, Roderick Sanford, Jennifer Young, & Janis Stinson, with New York guest artists Andrew Foote as Tateh & Kyle Scatliffe as Coalhouse Walker, Jr.

To order tickets call 512-476-0541 ext. 1 or visit www.zachtheatre.org. Tickets range from $35-$65. Student Rush Tickets: $18 one hour before showtime (with valid ID). ZACH's new, full bar opens one hour before showtime and remains open for one hour post-show.

For real-time updates on ZACH Theatre news, events and happenings, visit http://www.zachtheatre.org/blog, be a fan of ZACH Theatre on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/zachtheatre, and follow ZACH on Twitter @zachtheatre http://www.twitter.com/zachtheatre.

In support of its landmark production of RAGTIME, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded ZACH a $70,000 grant, making this ZACH's sixth consecutive year of funding from NEA with awards totaling $240,000. ZACH's grant was one of only three Art Works grants awarded in Texas in the theatre category this year. Additional support for RAGTIME was provided by Gary and Karen Goldstein, and Eric and Maria Groten.

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