Classic Stage Company will stage a one-night-only benefit concert performance of Rags—featuring a book by Joseph Stein, music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz—later this fall.
Directed by Leigh Silverman, the concert will take place on September 28 at 7 PM at CSC’s Lynn F. Angelson Theater. The evening will feature music direction by Mary Mitchell Campbell, with casting by Alldaffer & Donadio Casting.
Rags will star Drama Desk nominee Nicholas Barasch (Pirates! The Penzance Musical) as Ben Levitowitz, Tony nominee Judy Kuhn (The Baker’s Wife, Fun Home) as Rachel Halpern, Jenna Lea Rosen (Suffs) as Bella Cohen, and Tony nominee Steven Skybell (Cabaret) as Avram Cohen. Notably, after originating the role of Bella in the Broadway premiere, Kuhn returns to Rags as Rachel in this concert presentation. Rags follows CSC’s successful concerts of Fiorello! and The Rink.
Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
Rags takes place in the Lower East Side of New York in 1910, a time when America worried it was being overwhelmed by a flood of immigrants. Using the revised version of the 1986 Broadway musical, the show follows the struggles and triumphs of Jewish immigrants striving for the American Dream. After fleeing Russian pogroms, Rebecca and her young son arrive at Ellis Island, entering a world of sweatshops, pushcarts, and the birth of both the American labor movement and American popular song.
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