There’s a reason “It’s a Bird . . . It’s a Plane . . . It’s Superman” hasn’t had a major revival since its 1966 Broadway premiere: That musical isn’t very good. Yet the concert version presented by Encores! through the weekend is a giddy, proudly inane hoot.
The ’66 show re-teamed composer Charles Strouse and lyricist Lee Adams in an attempt to duplicate the magic of their earlier hit, “Bye Bye Birdie.” Sadly, that ploy didn’t quite pan out: “Superman” ran just four months.
Still, Strouse was no slouch when it came to catchy melodies — he’d go on to write “Annie” — and his score boasts more good songs than many current Broadway offerings.
Director John Rando (“A Christmas Story, the Musical”) is particularly good at comedy, and here he went all out with the cartoon vibe. Not that he had any choice, considering that the nutty book works in a troupe of Chinese acrobats, a plot to nuke Metropolis and a number titled “Pow! Bam! Zonk!”
The basic premise is familiar: Plucky reporter Lois Lane (Jenny Powers) keeps getting saved by the cowlicked Superman, not realizing he’s actually her meek colleague Clark Kent. In the dual role, the hunky, droll Edward Watts (“Scandalous”) wears the iconic cape and tights with knowing confidence.
David Pittu throws himself into the part of villainous scientist Abner Sedgwick, a “10-time Nobel Prize loser” who wants to take out Supes. “Plan A didn’t work,” Sedgwick crows after one of his schemes fails, “but it’s a biiiig alphabet!”
The most fun performance is by Will Swenson as vain columnist Max Mencken. Looking a lot more comfortable in a fitted ’60s suit than in the drag frocks he wore in “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” Swenson sashays, shimmies and shamelessly milks Max’s songs.
Too bad Alli Mauzey doesn’t match up his infectious energy as Max’s exasperated girlfriend, Sydney. It’s a missed opportunity since Sydney happens to have great numbers in “You’ve Got Possibilities” and “Ooh, Do You Love You!”
At least we can bask in the 20-strong ensemble deployed by choreographer Joshua Bergasse (TV’s “Smash”) in other scenes. It’s hard to go wrong with large groups of dancers twisting away.
This “Superman” is a silly good time. And sometimes that’s just what you want from a musical.