Anika Noni Rose, Aisha Jackson, and Cast Photo by Joan Marcus

As such, there are individual scenes and musical moments that manage to break through. But what has been nearly lost in the shuffle is the glue that holds the narrative together, the story of Ruth and Eileen Sherwood, the sisters from Ohio who have come to New York to jumpstart their lives and careers. They are meant to serve as our eyes and ears, so that we experience the New York version of la vie bohème along with them.

Eileen is the bubbly ingénue type, an aspiring actress who attracts men like a magnet and is quite adept at making use of her natural talents to carefully manipulate them, though she stays just this side of innocence. On the other hand, Ruth is a no-nonsense and brainy aspiring writer; in fact, putting her in situations where she winds up being engaged in nonsense is significant to the telling of the story. The contrast between them needs to be quite evident. Here, it isn't.

Eileen is portrayed, pretty much as described, by Aisha Jackson. She's actually quite good in the role, and is especially delicious in the silliness that is "My Darlin' Eileen," in which she is surrounded by Irish cops who decide that she, too, is "from the land of the green." For the first time, the production relaxes enough to allow the joke to be enhanced by the fact that the actress playing Eileen is a Black woman. And Jackson seems to be having a ball running with it, fake Irish accent and all. (It certainly plays much better than an earlier added line for their landlord to say as he welcomes them in: "I don't care if your tan never goes away.")

On the other hand, Ruth, played by Anika Noni Rose, problematically comes off as something of an ingénue herself. Talented, no question, but for this role, she lacks the brazenness that has been a hallmark of the character ever since its first Broadway production in 1953, with Rosalind Russell seizing the role like a ravenous wolf and winning a Tony Award for her efforts. If we look only at productions that have played at City Center through the years, the role of Ruth was performed by Nancy Walker, Kay Ballard, and Elaine Stritch. And the Encores! production of 25 years ago starred Donna Murphy, who led the show to a thrilling Broadway run.

Whenever we think of Wonderful Town, it is the character of Ruth who stands out in our minds, and the performers who played the role (Russell, Walker, Ballard, Stritch, Murphy) stand out for their skill at offering up bold-as-brass performances. As an example, the comic number "One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man" uses self-deprecatory humor to make its point. It works, in part, because we don't think Ruth really believes this, at least not literally. It's exaggerated for comic effect. But here, it sounds like a sad confession, and, worst, it simply dissipates into the air without leaving much of an impact. Only with "Conga!" does Rose come close to the light nonsense feeling inherent in the role. It's the Act I closer and ends with a conga line of performers dancing up the aisles.

Wonderful Town is a mix of solo, duets, and ensemble numbers. For the solo work, I'd single out Javier Muñoz for his warm and touching performances of "A Quiet Girl" and "It's Love."

Both Jackson and Rose do best when they are singing with each other ("Ohio" and "Wrong Note Rag") or as part of the larger group of the ensemble. The talented members of the ensemble often seem to be doing the heavy lifting, especially as they perform some delicious dance sequences choreographed by Lorin Latarro (responsible for the mix of Broadway-style, swing, and classical ballet moves) and by Ayodele Casel (responsible for some terrific tap moves). It's wild and crazy when these multiple styles are being performed simultaneously, but that's what this production needs more of, wildness and craziness.

Linda Cho's costumes and Ben Stanton's lighting design tend toward the dark, while Teresa L. Williams' set design embodies minimalism. Still, the show's changing tones and moods are conveyed so perfectly in Bernstein's score (a mix of jazz, swing, and romantic ballads) and in Comden and Green's witty lyrics, that even a wildly uneven production cannot harm them. Hope I'm around for the next revival.