Keeping in Rhythm
Doctorow was wary when the call from Toronto came four years ago. Garth Drabinsky, the maverick theater producer who runs his company like a 1930s movie mogul, had a proposition: He wanted to turn Doctorow\’s 1975 best seller, \”Ragtime,\” into a musical. Drabinsky had won Tonys and made millions with \”Show Boat\” and \”Kiss of the Spider Woman,\” and wanted to repeat with \”Ragtime.\”