Stan Behavior, Much? RAGTIME Playbill Refers to Caissie Levy as "Mother"

by Brady Thomas. @cbradyt.

NEW YORK, NY. —  It looks like stan culture has broken free from the internet and made it all the way to Lincoln Center! According to theatregoer McKenna Jones, audience members expecting a refuge from online discourse are in for a rude awakening when they open their Ragtime programs to see Caissie Levy referred to as “Mother.”

“I mean, that’s a pretty bold statement for them to make right out of the gate,” claimed Jones, high school freshman and avid theatre-tok follower. “Like, ok, she did Frozen, she can belt, we get it. Still, it’s giving very ‘I’m down with the kids’ vibes from the Vivian Beaumont. Whatever, I don’t even know Ragtime. My parents just told me the Suffs lady was in this.”

Will Solomon, a separate theatre patron and aggrieved elder millennial, scoffed upon hearing Jones’s reaction to the program listing.

“Oh please, kids these days don’t know enough to dictate who is and isn’t ‘Mother’ anyways,” ranted Solomon, an avid r/Broadway user. “All they care about is Heathers this and Great Gatsby that, it’s insufferable! Not like me. I’ve never myopically obsessed about the hot new musicals of my youth. Real ones know that Caissie’s been ‘Mother’ since she was in the LA sit-down production of Wicked, and now it’s just been made official.”

When asked for a comment, Ragtime director Lear DeBessonet regarded us quizzically.

“I mean, yes, Caissie Levy is Mother,” noted DeBessonet, seemingly bemused by the line of questioning. “She’s been Mother ever since she auditioned for the Encores! production, and it’s sort of imperative that she comes across as Mother at all times. When she gets over her own prejudices and gives refuge to Sarah? That's Mother. When she delivers her rendition of ‘Back To Before?’ That’s also Mother. Honestly, I don’t get why there’s any confusion here—is the Playbill not clear?”

Upon exiting the theatre, McKenna Jones admitted that, given the context of the production, Caissie Levy wasn’t just Mother—she was, in fact, Mother.