Although there is no historic record of Irving Berlin and Scott Joplin ever having met, it's not unlikely that the legendary songwriters' paths might have crossed in that district of New York City known in the early part of the last century as Tin Pan Alley.
When the aging Joplin happens into young Berlin's office in search of a publisher, a musical discourse unfolds highlighting influential and emotional moments from each of their lives. This bracingly original piece contrasts the ironic similarities and differences between the men to the sustaining surge of musical abundance. While Joplin received a conservatory education as the prodigy of a father born into slavery, it was Berlin, the Russian immigrant who couldn\'t read music, who had his first international hit song at the age of 23. But art versus commerce aside, what's clear is that both Berlin and Joplin possessed musical gifts beyond measure and THE TIN PAN ALLEY RAG illuminates and showcases those gifts beautifully.
Cast Requirements: 3 Female, 6 Male, singing ensemble doubling in many roles.
Musical Numbers: Hightlights: I Love A Piano, Oh Promise Me, The Maple Leaf Rag, When The Midnight Choo Choo Leaves For Alabam, The Entertainer, Alexander\'s Ragtime Band, A Real Slow Drag, Play A Simple Melody.