When you think about it, we already experienced the turn of a century. So, technically, if you think about it, a turn-of-the century musical like Ragtime should really be set in the here and now. It should present contemporary people with ... contemporary issues. It should really accurately represent events and the lives of people living today in all their ... modern ... glory. On the other hand, the only thing more disturbing than the world today is a musical version of the world today, played back to you onstage. Oh, my dear sweet Lord, let's hear it for nostalgia! Anyhoo, Tacoma Musical Playhouse's Ragtime intertwines the lives of three distinct families of the early 20th Century and poignantly illustrates history's timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair, and love and hate ... for you today.

RAGTIME, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through Aug. 4, Curtis High School Theater, 8425 40th St. W., University Place, $12-$29, 253.565.6867