From an article by Steve Cohen in The Cultural Critic entitled "The making of Ragtime":
"Drabinsky also had the foresight to invite, separately, the young composers Michael John LaChiusa and Adam Guettel, who were then unknown to the public but have since become respected. Among the songwriters who submitted audition tapes were the teams of John Kander & Fred Ebb and David Shire & Richard Maltby."
The article also mentions that Marvin Hamlisch was invited and refused because he didn't want to write ragtime music again after having written "The Entertainer".
