The latest word is that Garth Drabinsky's production of Ragtime, which is currently breaking box office records in New York, is headed to the West End sometime in the spring of 1999. According to London's The Stage magazine, the production is scheduled to open at the Prince Edward Theatre which is set to be the home of another of Drabinsky's shows, Show Boat, for a limited interim run. The Prince Edward Theatre is the current home of the Cameron Mackintosh musical Martin Guerre which is set to close Feb. 28. Even after extensive rewrites and changes, the show has proven unable to sustain its weekly costs and therefore must close.

As soon as Martin Guerre is loaded out, Show Boat will begin loading in. If the show is a major success then it will look to transfer to another West End house so the Prince Edward can be ready for Ragtime. The cast for the latter show has not been determined and date of ticket sales has not yet been announced.