It's a long play, three hours give or take, even after some numbers were trimmed from the 2009 Broadway revival. On opening night of Tacoma Musical Playhouse's second production (the first was seven years ago), early numbers were plagued by recurring sound issues and the hollow acoustics of an unfamiliar auditorium. But don't let that dissuade you, as the remainder of the show is as trenchantly absorbing as Downton Abbey.

Ragtime is a show about how America gets made, one sweeping change at a time, one small life at a time, one gut decision at a time. It was a work in progress a century ago and still is. You'll find yourself humming its main theme days later, hoping its idealistic characters built a nation they could love.

Read Christian Carvajal's full review of Ragtime in Northwest Military's Music & Culture section.

RAGTIME, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, through Aug. 4, Tacoma Musical Playhouse, Curtis High School Theater, 8425 40th St. W., University Place, $20-$29, 253.565.6867