A CONVERSATION WITH “RAGTIME” COMPOSER AND DORMONT NATIVE STEPHEN FLAHERTY

Coming home to accept the Richard Rodgers Award is “a big, beautiful arc,” Stephen Flaherty was saying just the other day. Catching up with Flaherty was no easy task – he and his songwriting partner, lyricist Lynn Ahrens, have been on a seemingly endless red-carpet ride with the acclaimed revival of “Ragtime” ahead of the 2026 Tony Awards on June 7. Flaherty will then head home to the Pittsburgh CLO Gala on June 12, when he will become receive the award that has been bestowed on an impressive list of luminaries, starting with Mary Martin in 1988.