Scott Joplin

Little Rock connection: A native of Texarkana, he visited Little Rock from time to time throughout his early life and early career. His second wife, Freddie Alexander, was from Little Rock. He met her on a visit here and dedicated his composition The Chrysanthemum to her.  In June 1904, he married Freddie. She died ten weeks later of pneumonia. Aspects of her life, as well as his mothers, form the story for his opera Treemonisha.

Tony Awards connection: Treemonisha was never performed during Joplin’s lifetime. In 1975 it was produced on Broadway. Joplin received a 1976 Tony nomination for Best Score for Treemonisha – 59 years after he had died.