For Anna Grace Barlow, performing on Broadway has been a lifelong dream — and this season, she steps into the spotlight in the Broadway revival of Ragtime.
Based on the novel by E. L. Doctorow with the same title, Ragtime follows the stories of three fictional families — a wealthy white family in New Rochelle, a Black Harlem pianist named Coalhouse Walker Jr and a Jewish immigrant named Tateh — all trying to pursue the American Dream. Set in 1906, the musical explores themes of race, class and social justice through the characters’ experiences, which are set against the backdrop of real historical figures and events of the era, such as Harry Houdini, Evelyn Nesbit and Emma Goldman.
The 31-year-old actress is playing Evelyn Nesbit, a real historical figure and a character in both the novel and musical versions of Ragtime, where she represents the era’s fascination with celebrity and scandal. In 1905, the famous model married millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw, but then a year later, an insanely jealous Thaw murdered Stanford White, a renowned New York architect, with whom she was having an affair. Despite her work as a model and showgirl of that decade, this scandal unfortunately tarnished her image.
“It’s been so fun to do research on her, because there’s so much information out there. She was one of the few historical figures that are real people in the story of Ragtime, so I got to research her real-life history, which is quite dark, and there’s just so much out there about her,” Barlow told Parade. “The way that she was adapted to the show is just perfect. And she’s there at the perfect time, doing her job in the story and the purpose that she serves.”
Anna Grace Barlow posing in front of Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
Barlow started performing at a very young age as a violinist, singer and musician. In elementary school, she participated in show choir. Then, when she and her family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, in middle school, that’s when she started acting and participating in school musicals.
She attended Pace University to study musical theater, but her professors pushed her to try on-camera gigs in Los Angeles. The summer after her freshman year, she decided to take a week-long trip to LA, but then ended up staying and living there for 10 years, pursuing roles in television and parody musical theater.
She and her husband decided to move back to New York City two years ago when Barlow felt the pull to return. It was convenient that her husband’s family lives nearby in New Jersey, plus performing on Broadway has always been her dream, something she hoped would happen one day.
“If the Broadway thing wants to come back, it’ll come back around,” Barlow said. “And [Ragtime] was just such, like a random blessing of an audition, and just like it just felt perfect.”
Anna Grace Barlow as Evelyn Nesbit in ‘Ragtime’.
The actress recalled auditioning for the role of Nesbit in her high school’s production of the musical, but she didn’t get the part. Years later, she would audition for Ragtime again, but this time, the role she’d long dreamed of became reality. After submitting a self-tape and getting an in-person callback, she recalls feeling unexpectedly at ease.
“I just went in and truly had fun… I always feel like I perform my best when I’m enjoying it and not stressing,” she told Parade. Weeks later, Barlow learned that she had the part. “It was the craziest day of my life… it does not even come close to matching how amazing that moment actually was.”
The revival of Ragtime opens on Thursday evening after weeks of previews, and will be playing at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center until January 4. The musical also stars Joshua Henry, Caisse Levy, Brandon Uranowitz, Colin Donnell, Nichelle Lewis, Ben Levi Ross, Shaina Taub, John Clay III and Rodd Cyrus.
“It just felt so sweet coming back around now and just re-approaching musical theater from this acting lens that I now have,” she said.
Fans can purchase tickets for the Broadway revival on their official website.
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This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 16, 2025, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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