It is operatic in scope, following the intertwined lives of white Westchesterites, African-Americans and Jewish immigrants – and in 1998, “Ragtime” lost the best-musical Tony to “The Lion King.”

But for the next three days, “Ragtime” – based on E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel – soars again, with an ambitious concert staging at the White Plains Performing Arts Center.

Concert versions have become popular, with the successful “Encores!” series at Manhattan’s City Center leading to Broadway runs of “Chicago” and “Wonderful Town.”

The idea behind “Encores!” is to present forgotten shows, difficult shows or shows people love but never get to see. The actors hold scripts, there is some staging, but it’s a one-weekend affair, with just a hint of costumes and no sets.

That is the same concept behind “Ragtime” – WPPAC’s first “Broadway in Concert” offering.

Like “Encores!,” “Ragtime” will be performed with little in the way of sets or costumes.

But inlike “Encores!,” the script will be memorized by director Sidney J. Burgoyne’s cast of 21 who play 50 characters.

Burgoyne, a fixture at Symphony Space, where he’s part of the Thalia Follies political cabaret, was in the “Man of La Mancha” cast that inaugurated the new performing arts center in White Plains. He played the priest and sang the memorable “I’m Only Thinking of Him.”

Now he’s directing “Ragtime,” which will star Jerry Dixon as Coalhouse Walker, the role created by Brian Stokes Mitchell in a production that landed Audra McDonald a Tony award.

Dixon will direct the next mainstage WPPAC show – “Ain’t Misbehavin’” – which runs Feb. 28 through March 16.

Burgoyne and Dixon took a break from rehearsal to chat.

So two weeks of rehearsals?

Burgoyne: “Not quite: 68 hours. And some of those hours have passed.”

That’s a lot of work for five performances.

Burgoyne: “But if you’re going to do a lot of work, this is the lot of work to be doing.

It’s epic, isn’t it?

Burgoyne: “The scale of it is huge. I sometimes refer to it as Everest.”

Your actors won’t hold scripts?
Burgoyne: “It’s just a difficult story to tell without being free. You can do ‘Brigadoon’ with tuxedos and a Tartan sash standing in front of music stands, but somehow this one didn’t lend itself to that.”

Have you done the show before?

Burgoyne: “No. It’s fresh to many of us. That makes it good, because we don’t have preconceived ideas about a million-dollar set. We’re just telling a story.”

Is it your hope to mount a full production of “Ragtime” down the road?
Burgoyne: “I hope that because we’re doing it small, people will see that they can do it small. Right now, I’m looking to Opening Night and making it as good as I possibly can, which is terrific. Anything beyond that is so far out of my scope of thought right now. But we all have dreams.”

You were in “Man of La Mancha,” the first show at the new White Plains Performing Arts Center. Is it a new home for you?
Burgoyne: “A new artistic home, yes. It’s a really wondrous place: a beautiful theater, very comfortable, great sightlines. It’s a great place to present your work, as an actor and as a director.”

And Jerry, you’ll direct a full production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” Have you directed that before?
Dixon: “No. I haven’t even seen it. I’ve seen pieces on the Tonys, but I’ve never seen a regional production. But I loved the music. (WPPAC Executive Director) Jack Batman called me up and said, ‘Hey, have you ever done “Ain’t Misbehavin’?” And I said, “No.” And he said, “Good.” And I knew exactly where he was coming from. They want to bring fresh productions to White Plains, not the ones everyone sees all over the country.”

You couldn’t find two more different shows to follow each other.
Dixon: “There’s epic theater and there’s dramatic theater. And ‘Ragtime,’ to me, balances perfectly between the two of them. You have these iconic characters but they have to seem real in the scenes. There’s a danger of these characters becoming representational. In ‘Ain’t Misbehavin,’’ the characters are bigger than life but they’re real people still. They’re presenting this breaking-out-of-the-box theater, but they’re also, when it comes down to them, real people, too.”

Burgoyne: “It always comes back to telling the truth.”

Have you two worked together before?
Burgoyne: “We met at the (Actors) Equity auditions for the first part of the season. He was sitting next to me, and I watched the way he dealt with people and spoke with people and after a while I said, ‘That’s Coalhouse. He’s Coalhouse.’”

Dixon: (Laughing.) “It wasn’t on my radar at all.”

You were like: “I have a show to direct…”

Burgoyne: “I had made up my mind at that moment. So I just kept at him and told him to take it seriously and he said ‘I never dismiss any idea.’”

Dixon: “I said ‘I heard you, I heard you.’ I’m just digesting that information.”

How’s Coalhouse fitting you?
Dixon: “I consider myself a fairly happy person, but doing Coalhouse I do have to admit to myself that I can access rage.”

Burgoyne: “It’s gorgeous!”

Dixon: “We forget those emotions that we keep in check because we’re part of a society. I wasn’t wondering if I had it, I was just surprised at how easily it was accessed.”

Burgoyne: “What happens to Coalhouse is cruelty. And to think that people thought it was cruel but didn’t do anything about it and it kept going on – and it’s still going on. I love the theater because the last thing we want to let people know that it’s doing is showing them the mirror.”

Dixon: “The piece tells us that one injustice is not enough to make a dramatic play. We are all complicit in saying ‘It’s all right. It’s not just. But it’s all right.’ But it’s not all right.”

This is the full show?

Burgoyne: “People are going to see the complete ‘Ragtime.” There’s nothing we can cut.”

How big is your “Ain’t Misbehavin’” cast?
Dixon: “Three women and two men.”

Burgoyne: (With mock indignation.) “Five people and three weeks to rehearse it? Fine.”

Dixon: (Laughing.) “Don’t you dare! Do you know how many songs are in it? Thirty-two songs. Each of them is like presenting 32 different plays. You’re creating moments.”

Are you the kind of directors who, once the show is open, will continue to give the cast notes on their performances?

Burgoyne: “Sure. As much as you can.”

Dixon: “Not much. I think the company needs to feel it’s their show. I love what August Wilson used to say about the relay of a production. It starts with the writer and he takes the baton and hands it off to the director. And the director hands it off to the actors. The actors give it to the crew and to the technicians and then we all give it to the audience and it’s theirs. You have to relinquish the baton.”

Burgoyne: “I only have a weekend, so they’ll be hearing from me. But as an actor, I know that the first really good performance I give is when I know the director isn’t there. Then suddenly I stop thinking about what’s next and just let go.”
‘RAGTIME’
Where: White Plains Performing Arts Center, City Center mall, Main Street at Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains.
When: Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday at 8 (in what producers are calling a “Super Bowl alternative.”); Sunday at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $45 and $35.
Call: 914-328-1600.
Web: www.wppac.com.

PHOTO by Tania Savayan of The Journal News: Sidney J. Burgoyne, right, director of the concert version of “Ragtime” production at White Plains Performing Arts Center with Jerry Dixon, who plays Coalhouse Walker