Buried deep down in Paramount Theatre Artistic Director Jim Corti’s lengthy and impressive bio is an amazing career accomplishment from 25 years ago: Corti, a veteran Broadway actor, originated the role of Harry Houdini in the first Broadway production of Ragtime.
That life-changing experience and the resulting accolades came flooding back for Corti when he flew back to New York to join his fellow original cast members in a one-night-only benefit reunion concert of Ragtime, Monday, March 27 at the Minskoff Theatre.
The special event celebrated the 25th anniversary of Ragtime‘s Broadway opening and featured Corti performing with original cast members including six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald (Sarah), two-time Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell (Coalhouse Walker, Jr.), and SAG Award winner Peter Friedman (Tateh).
L to R: Archival candid of Jim Corti as Harry Houdini, backstage at Ragtime with fellow cast member Elisa Heinsohn; Original cast members backstage at Ragtime Reunion Concert rehearsal.
The concert benefitted the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), which provides human services nationally for people who work in film, theater, television, music, opera, radio and dance, on stage and behind the scenes. Based on the classic American novel by E.L. Doctorow, Ragtime has a Tony-winning book by Terrence McNally. Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, who wrote the Tony-winning score, were front and center Monday night.
In addition to Ragtime, Corti’s Broadway credits include appearing in the original New York cast of Candide, performing in the long running A Chorus Line, and touring nationally in Urinetown, Cabaret and Bob Fosse’s Dancin’.
Fast forward to today, and Corti is best known for inaugurating Paramount’s Broadway Series with President and CEO Tim Rater in fall 2011. Since then, Paramount Theatre has grown to be the largest subscription house in the U.S., with more than 35,000 subscribers from all over Chicagoland and the Midwest signing up for Paramount’s critically acclaimed, Broadway-caliber productions.
Since becoming Jeff eligible in 2015, Paramount’s Broadway Series has earned 81 nominations with 25 wins, including three consecutive Best Large Musical awards for Les Misérables, West Side Story and Sweeney Todd. Corti helmed all three, and won Best Director for two of them, Les Misérables and Sweeney Todd.
Corti also directed Paramount’s My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, Miss Saigon, RENT, The Who’s Tommy, Oklahoma!, Mamma Mia!, Million Dollar Quartet, Once, The Producers, Newsies, Groundhog Day: The Musical and, most recently, Into the Woods with co-director Trent Stork. He is the only director to have two productions in the same year in the Chicago Tribune’s list of 10 Best Shows, for Drury Lane’s Cabaret and Writers Theatre’s Oh, Coward! in 2009. Corti remains the sole honoree to have won Jeff Awards as an actor (Marriott’s Grand Hotel), choreographer (Drury Lane’s Singin’ in the Rain) and director (Paramount’s Sweeney Todd and Les Misérables.
“We rocked the Minskoff!” said Corti. “A quarter of a century of richness in this epic piece was exchanged in a synergy back and forth, from the stage to the packed house. Deeply emotional, revelatory work from my fellow cast members and orchestra last night. I will never be quite the same, changed by this experience and by the power of theater.”
