There is a very good reason why members of the audience feel they can't help but dance up the aisles after the curtain falls on this exuberant, ebullient, effervescent revival of this classic 1944 musical about sailors on leave looking for love. It would be enough if you had only the gorgeous score by Leonard Bernstein to lift your spirits, but there is the warmly funny book written by geniuses Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and the alternately robust and dreamy choreography created by Joshua Bergasse to further enrich a show that may be familiar to many. Just about every aspect of this musical that has come to Broadway by way of a well-received summer production at Barrington Stage in Massachusetts, is perfection as directed by John Rando.
There is nothing summer-stock-ish about it visually. Its wonderfully mobile, spectacularly stylized scenic and projection designs by Beowullf Boritt are a plentiful, eye-filling delight, as enhanced by Jason Lyons's sparkling lighting. But best of all is the unusually large and versatile cast, all of whom have been winningly costumed to reflect the 1940s by Jess Goldstein. Standout among them is the sensational Tony Yazbeck, as Gabey the gob in search of his love Miss Turnstile, as played to perfection by the lovely New York City Ballet's principal ballerina Megan Fairchild, in her Broadway debut.
Comical show-stopper Jackie Hoffman deserves high marks for playing three equally hilarious roles. And just think what a 28-piece orchestra does for such memorable songs as "Lonely Town," "Lucky to be Me," and "Some Other Time." It's enough to keep you swooning through the crooning in this thoroughly joyous entertainment.
