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‘Ragtime’ revival begins its tour at The Smith Center

As we all know, all roads lead to Vegas.

Including the road tour for the revival of the Tony-winning musical "Ragtime," which launches Oct. 27 at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

Now rehearsing at the University of Florida in Gainesville, "Ragtime" will preview there twice before starting its national tour, which is booked through the middle of 2016.

"We're in the trenches" to "figure out the solutions we need before we go on to Vegas," explains Josh Walden, "Ragtime's" associate director/choreographer, in a telephone interview from Gainesville.

Walden and director/choreographer Marcia Milgrim Dodge "had to look at the original concept" they developed for "Ragtime's" 2009 revival and "reimagine them for a touring show" able to "move easily on the ground," he explains. "We're transforming it into a brand-new show."

That show becomes the second Broadway musical to launch a national tour in Las Vegas; the Tony-winning "Kinky Boots" kicked off its road trip at The Smith Center in September 2014 following more than a week of rehearsal in Reynolds Hall.

And a reimagining of Shakespeare's "The Tempest," co-created by Las Vegas' own Teller, had its world premiere at The Smith Center in April 2014; the production, which was subsequently staged in Cambridge, Mass., and Costa Mesa, Calif., continues at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater through Nov. 8.

Another premiere — of the work-in-progress musical comedy "Idaho" — closes The Smith Center's Broadway Las Vegas series next May.

Additional information on "Ragtime" is available at www.thesmithcenter.com or www.ragtimeontour.com.

For more stories from Carol Cling go to reviewjournal.com. Contact her at ccling@reviewjournal.com and follow @CarolSCling on Twitter.

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