Entertainment

A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY

‘WHEN the Lights Go on Again,” the new 1940s musical, has scarce scenery and props, and costumes that are nothing to write home about.

What it does have, in spades, is the sound of four voices singing together in glorious harmony – delivering more than two dozen hit songs that perfectly recapture a wonderful and vanished musical era.

Written and staged by Bill Daughtery, who also performs – you may recall him from his stint in Daughtery & Field, the acclaimed musical comedy duo – the show also stars Paul Kropfl, Christine Morrell and Connie Pachl as the Moonlighters, an up-and-coming quartet that recalls any number of vocal groups from the period.

There’s a very slight story, of sorts. The group is just hitting its stride when its fortunes are interrupted by the outbreak of World War II (signaled, naturally, by Roosevelt’s famous Pearl Harbor announcement).

One of the members, Joe, decides to enlist, while the others, including his secret girlfriend Nancy (Morrell), soldier on. Needless to say, they’re ultimately reunited – on a USO tour where they perform such lump-in-the-throat numbers as “The White Cliffs of Dover.”

That song is one of 28 featured in the show, including classics like “Moonlight Serenade,” “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree,” the title tune and others far more obscure.

The performers – who sing beautifully, both in unison and alone – are occasionally interrupted by audio clips featuring the likes of Ike and Edward R. Murrow, also provide amusing re-creations of musical advertisements for such products as Pepsi-Cola and Cream of Wheat.

If at times the artificiality of the proceedings wears a bit thin – you get the distinct feeling the characters were named the way they were just to hear such numbers as “Nancy (With the Laughing Face)” and “Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe” – this is one warm nostalgia trip, as the beaming faces of the older members of the audience suggest.

WHEN THE LIGHTS GO ON AGAIN
Triad Theatre, 158 W. 72nd St. (212) 352-3101. Through Feb. 24.