Entertainment

Short of a touchdown

Considering how obsessed we are with football, it’s downright crazy that theater doesn’t tackle it more. This may go back to high school, when drama-club members split from jocks. At the same time, you’d think the stage could make good use of the game’s larger-than-life characters and brutal skirmishes, no?

Eric Simonson’s new, deferential “Lombardi” — likely the first Broadway show to ever get marketing support from the NFL — certainly has plenty of the first, but not enough of the second.

The show looks back in wonder at the famed Green Bay Packers coach, but curiously lacks momentum.

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The format is partly to blame: Despite a couple of brief flashbacks, this isn’t so much a bioplay as a snapshot of Lombardi (Dan Lauria, of TV’s “The Wonder Years”) in 1965, when he was at the peak of his powers.

The occasion is a visit by a football-savant journalist, Michael McCormick (Keith Nobbs), who interviews the main man, his stoic wife, Marie (Judith Light), and three iconic Packers. This allows us to see glimpses of Lombardi on and off the field — gruffly loving with Marie, lovingly gruff with the athletes.

While McCormick is a made-up character, the rest of the show, based on David Maraniss’ acclaimed bio “When Pride Still Mattered,” is a feast of quotable quips and authentic references. Granted, the explanation of the Power Sweep went over my head — I’m a soccer fan — but you could feel excited recognition coursing through the audience. The theater’s lobby also includes memorabilia displays.

Lauria, bellowing with authority, holds our attention even as he constantly shuffles sideways to accommodate the Circle in the Square’s in-the-round configuration; director Thomas Kail (“In the Heights”) makes the best of this awkward set-up.

Yet it’s Light who rules the stage, her Marie the sardonic cool to Vince’s volcanic hot. A cocktail glass permanently attached to her hand, hair shellacked into submission, the actress reveals to us an isolated woman, bored to death in the small city she rules by default.

Lombardi was idolized by players and fans for his tough-love approach. His reputation lives on, bolstered by his real accomplishments on the field and maybe even more by his inspirational speeches — he’s basically Elizabeth Gilbert for guys. It would have been good to spice up the play with some plays.

elisabeth.vincentelli@nypost.com