2.5 out of 5 stars

Why, oh why-oh did City Center Encores revive “Wonderful Town” so charmingly two decades ago, yet so awkwardly now? In this production of the Bernstein/Comden/Green ode to bohemian 1930s Greenwich Village, the songs sound great (despite the blaring sound) but the scenes lack coherent direction. Left to their own devices, female leads Anika Noni Rose and Aisha Jackson give little 1930s feel, while their male counterparts cartoonishly give too much. Javier Muñoz gets the tone right – but therefore seems out of place. Encores’ laudable goal is to make missed musicals memorable again; unfortunately, they’ve made this memorable one seem missable. — Adam Z. Horvath

At the New York City Center, through May 11, 2025; nycitycenter.org. (Review date: May 7, 2025)