Scott Joplin & Ragtime: MT History Final 2025

What are the key details of the 1998 musical Ragtime (creators, awards, production issues, performance history)

• Music: Stephen Flaherty

• Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens

• Book: Terrence McNally

• Tony Nominations: 13

• Early run: Toronto (9 months, not very successful)

• Producer: Garth Drabinsky (later jailed for fraud)

• Performance history:

  • 1996 Toronto — 288 performances

  • 1998 Broadway — 834 performances

  • 2009 Revival — 65 performances

Pastiche

an artistic work imitating another style, period, or artist.

Scott Joplin Overview

Joplin was “The King of Ragtime,” composing 40+ ragtime pieces. Ragtime faded with the rise of jazz but had a major revival in the 1970s with the film The Sting (1973) (starring Paul Newman & Robert Redford), which used Joplin’s music and won an Academy Award.

Syncopation & Ragtime Style

• Syncopation = stress on offbeats.

• Joplin’s early 1900s works heavily used syncopation.

• Left hand = march rhythm, creating a “square” base.

• This contrast between steady march + offbeat syncopation defined classic ragtime.

“Maple Leaf Rag” (1899)

Written in 1899, it became extremely popular and sold over 1 million copies of sheet music. It helped define the ragtime era.

History of Ragtime

• Originated in St. Louis Red Light District.

• Derived from march rhythm + African musical influences.

• Passed down mainly through sheet music, not recordings.

• Not meant to be played fast or danced to, but it still moved audiences.

• Related forms: cakewalk (popular in minstrelsy & ragtime).

• John Philip Sousa contributed to American march culture (“Stars and Stripes Forever”).

What was special about Joplin’s “Original Rags”?

Featured multiple modulations in the form: AA–BB–C–DD, with the modulation in the C section.

“The Entertainer” (1902)

It is one of Joplin’s most famous piano rags (1902). Joplin insisted it should not be played fast—subtle tempo increases add emotion and intensity.

“Rag It”

To perform music in ragged time—syncopated rhythms characteristic of Scott Joplin’s ragtime style.

Treemonisha (Scott Joplin Opera)

• Opera by Scott Joplin.

• Set in summer 1884.

• Treemonisha = the name of the young heroine.

• Finale song: “A Real Slow Drag” (celebration of the new community leader).

• Sung by Carmen Balthrop in notable productions.

• Opera was filmed by the Houston Grand Opera.

Lara Downes

modern pianist known for reinterpretations and revivals of Joplin’s music.

Louis Johnson

choreographer/dancer influential in bringing ragtime and Black American dance forms forward (often referenced in Joplin discussions).