The new musical “Fly by Night” is off-Broadway’s answer to “The Fault in Our Stars” — earnest, enthusiastic and possibly requiring a tissue or two by the end. Romance doesn’t come any sweeter than it does in this winsome love triangle set around the time of the 1965 New York blackout.
The slightly dorky Harold (Adam Chanler-Berat, late of “Peter and the Starcatcher”) falls for the irrepressibly perky Daphne (Patti Murin, “Lysistrata Jones”), who dreams of being a Broadway star.
But maybe it’s Daphne’s shy sister, Miriam (Allison Case), a diner waitress, who is Harold’s true love — this is the kind of show that takes words like “soulmate” seriously, so don’t even bother going if that makes you snicker.
Miriam believes in her bond with Harold because a fortuneteller predicted it — the gypsy recommends looking for three cryptic signs, the last one a melody. Miriam can’t steal her sister’s beau! But the romance is written in the stars, and Miriam’s an astronomy buff!
It’s no surprise that “Fly by Night” originated as a school project when its creators (Will Connolly, Michael Mitnick and Kim Rosenstock) were grad students at Yale, just five years ago. The show is about the hopes and innocence of youth, untainted by the merest whiff of cynicism. It’s cuter than a kitten video, which is also its problem.
The production piles it on thick, starting with its impish narrator (Henry Stram), who also plays the gypsy and the sisters’ mom. Stram is droll, but a little narration goes a long way — ditto the gooey focus on the connection of romance and fate.
Still, the show has a lot going for it. The score — backed by a four-piece band but not the least bit ’60s-ish — is charming and often catchy. And the central trio, well directed by Carolyn Cantor, is absolutely darling.
“Fly by Night” isn’t perfect, or even great, but its unabashed emotionalism — when time stops for lovers, it’s no figure of speech — could turn it into more than a hit. It could turn it into a cult phenomenon.