NEW YORK - For weeks before a new Broadway production of "Ragtime" began previews, Christopher Cox and Sarah Rosenthal kept coming up with creative excuses to sneak a peek inside the Neil Simon Theatre in Manhattan. Even though Chris and Sarah are child actors in the show, they weren't allowed inside the building while the set was being constructed. But quite often, the backstage door was left open, and Chris could catch glimpses of boxes of props and lighting equipment being hauled inside. And Sarah felt a little thrill every time she saw the marquee trumpeting the show's title in bold black letters.
"There have been so many times that I've waited outside a stage door in the cold to get someone's autograph," she says. "It's exciting to think that now, someone might want my autograph."
So Sarah has spent weeks practicing her signature. One recent version had an elaborate swirl on the "S" and daggers shooting from both the "h" and "l" ending her first and last names. If her autograph will adorn a program that might become someone's theatrical keepsake, Sarah wants it to look distinctive."To know that I'm actually part of a Broadway show is pretty cool," she says.
Dozens, possibly hundreds, of actors and actresses debut on the Great White Way each year. But no more than a handful are still in middle school.
When the musical revival opens next Sunday, the cast will showcase the talents of five local performers, including 12-year-old Chris of Columbia and 13-year-old Sarah of Pikesville.
The other three native Marylanders in the cast are Bobby Steggert, 28, who was raised in Frederick; Dan Manning, 57, of Ellicott City, who portrays Grandfather; and Carly Hughes, 27, of Columbia, who is a member of the ensemble.
"When you're in a Broadway show, you feel like you're part of a larger history," says Steggert, who plays Younger Brother, one of the show's biggest roles. "You're part of an esteemed community of some of the finest performers in the world."
But the odds were stacked against either Chris or Sarah making it this far. For both youngsters, their characters - named respectively The Little Boy and The Little Girl - are the first professional roles they've ever tackled.
"I remind my son that he's one of the few actors to perform on Broadway without ever having actually auditioned for a Broadway show," says Chris' father, David Cox.
