The musical adaptation of E. L. Doctorow’s award-winning novel hasn’t had it easy since its premiere in 1998. Ragtime follows three families chasing the American Dream: a Black pianist and his girlfriend, a Latvian immigrant and his daughter, and a wealthy white family ruled by its matriarch. The show won four Tony Awards when it first opened, but the aftermath wasn’t as positive. “Why does this $10 million show,” a New York Times critic wrote that same year, “feel so utterly resistible?” A 2009 production closed early, having been “one of the slowest ticket sellers of the major fall musicals.” In 2010, the leaders of the Tony Awards withdrew the nomination given to the production’s costume design. This year, however, things may be looking up. As City Center’s Annual Gala Presentation, Ragtime will be directed by Lear deBessonet, whose recent work on Into the Woods and Once Upon a Mattress was well received. Meanwhile, the show’s themes of social upheaval have never been more relevant. Let’s see how this one goes. —Jeanne Malle