Nichelle Lewis Is Still Floating After Ragtime’s Emotional Opening Night

It’s the day after Ragtime’s opening night on Broadway, and Nichelle Lewis is still basking in the afterglow. “It feels overwhelming in a beautiful way,” she tells Bustle on Friday afternoon.

The stirring musical, based on E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel of the same name, weaves together multiple storylines to depict a turn-of-the-century America on the brink of seismic change. Lewis, who made her Broadway debut last year searching for “Home” as Dorothy in The Wiz, plays Sarah, whose love story with Harlem musician Coalhouse Walker, Jr. (Joshua Henry) spans hope and tragedy.

It was a surreal moment for the actor, who first learned of Ragtime while she was in college, to perform as Sarah onstage — and to do so in front of six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, who originated the role in the musical’s 1998 Broadway run. (Brian Stokes Mitchell, the original Coalhouse, was also in the audience.) Getting to speak with McDonald, in an elevator of all places, was an emotional high point on an already emotional night.

“She looked me in the eye and was like, ‘Make sure you leave her at the theater, because you will not be able to come back and put everything into her if you bring some of her home with you every night,’” Lewis says. McDonald also told her something that made her “heart burst out of her chest”: “I told her I feel like I’m learning things from people every night and I feel so honored to be amongst my castmates. Because let’s face it, they’re some of the best on Broadway,” Lewis says, referring to an ensemble that also includes Henry, Caissie Levy, and Brandon Uranowitz. “And she said, ‘Well, you’re teaching people as well.’ I was screaming inside, because that’s the nicest thing to hear. It was a confirmation for me that I’m on the right track.”

Lewis began the night feeling grounded, walking the red carpet in a Tanner Fletcher gown that she felt evoked a sense of timelessness and honored Sarah’s purity and kind heart. But the nerves kicked in once she got backstage. “I want people to connect to this character and what she’s going through, because I feel like she’s the voice of so many people in America right now, and I think I started to feel the weight of that,” she says. Her dressing room roommate, — Suffs actor-composer Shaina Taub, who plays activist Emma Goldman — helped steady her, and a pre-show circle led by Henry brought the cast together before they went onstage.

After the euphoria of curtain call, where Lewis “could feel everyone in that room celebrating,” it was off to the afterparty, where she got to bask in the opening with her partner, friends, and the full cast and crew. The whirlwind evening ended with Lewis getting home around midnight and ordering takeout — and falling asleep before her food arrived.

Lewis will be back onstage at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in a couple of hours, but the opening night high won’t leave her anytime soon, nor will the ongoing relevance of the show’s themes about those who strive for — but aren’t always afforded — the American Dream. “It's very emotional that it is still so relevant. What’s so crushing about Sarah and Coalhouse is that they are two people of color who just want the American Dream like everybody else. They fought for that dream, and they tried to go about it the right way,” she says. “Unfortunately, there are some people who still don’t have access to the American Dream and are told that they don’t deserve it.”

But there’s hope amid the show’s tragedies, and Lewis hopes that resonates with audiences too. “That’s what’s so beautiful about pieces like Ragtime — they inspire change and inspire people to chase after those dreams,” she says. “Even amongst all of the sadness and the heartbreaking moments, there’s still hope that people carry.”