Broadway's Caissie Levy saw this celeb 'rocking out' at 'Ragtime'

Actress Caissie Levy explains to USA TODAY why the Broadway revival of \

NEW YORK – The musical "Ragtime" is set in early 20th century New York City. The production is based off of a 1975 novel and first came to Broadway in 1998.

But for Caissie Levy, one of the stars of the show's latest revival, the story is as relevant as ever.

"I feel like it's showing us the lesson we're learning in the news cycle every day, which is the need to listen to one another and to open ourselves up to ideas that might not come naturally to us," Levy, 44, tells USA TODAY. "It's this American story of these three really distinct groups of people coming together and being changed by one another ... and I think that's what's resonating with people right now."

In "Ragtime," the journeys of three families are interwoven through racial injustice, struggles and success. Levy plays "Mother," the matriarch of a white, upper-class family in New Rochelle, New York. Her family crosses paths with a Black couple from Harlem and Jewish immigrants on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

"No matter what walk of life you come from, there's something in 'Ragtime' that you can hook onto," Levy continues. "There's no easy answers in our show. There's no answers, actually. There's just more questions and more conversation and I think that's what we need."