Entertainment

Preachin’ a Dusty, lusty tale

In search of the perfect echo, Dusty Springfield recorded her vocals for her classic album “Dusty in Memphis” in a bathroom. That scene is dramatized in “Forever Dusty,” the new bio-musical about the singer of such hits as “Son of a Preacher Man,” “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” and more, which ticks off such factoids like a musical Wikipedia entry.

Luckily, Kirsten Holly Smith does a fine job of bringing Springfield to life. Not only does she sound like the late star, but she also looks like her — heavy makeup, beehive hair and all — and rides this musical vehicle for all it’s worth.

The tale certainly doesn’t lack for plot points. In Smith and Jonathan Vankin’s book, the British native was deported from South Africa for defying apartheid, succumbed to drugs and alcohol and came out as a lesbian before dying of cancer in 1999, at 59.

But for every clunkily written scene — “The bigger the hair, the blacker the eyes, the more I can hide!” and, from frustrated producer Jerry Wexler (Benim Foster), “We never got this crap from Aretha” — there are terrific musical numbers in which Smith, backed by an onstage band, effectively replicates the singer’s blue-eyed soul sound. The highlight is her full-throttle rendition of “Preacher Man,” good enough to provide the illusion that we’re watching the real thing.

The show is less effective when it awkwardly tries to inject songs into the narrative, as when Dusty croons “Just a Little Lovin’ ” to her lover (Christina Sajous), a composite of several women in her life.

Musical tribute shows like this one — capably staged by Randal Myler, who also helmed ones about Janis Joplin and Hank Williams — have become a theatrical staple. Who knows? One day we may well be sitting through “Forever Bieber.”