Theater

This ‘Happy Fella’ is a charming crowd-pleaser

Fans of glorious singing should hustle to City Center, where the intoxicating Encores! revival of “The Most Happy Fella” runs through Sunday.

After landing a hit with “Guys and Dolls,” Frank Loesser followed up with “Fella” in 1956. That show is less well-known now, but its semi-operatic, stunningly beautiful score remains a connoisseur’s favorite.

Encores! does Loesser justice with a 38-member orchestra. There are just as many people in the cast, with leads Laura Benanti, Shuler Hensley, Cheyenne Jackson and Heidi Blickenstaff in top form.

Their charm is so high that it obscures the story’s “ick” factor: Set in 1927 Napa Valley, it concerns a plain-looking, heavily accented Italian vineyard owner (Hensley) who falls for a much younger waitress (Benanti).

The wall-to-wall score — the musical’s almost sung through — is vintage Broadway. Raucous numbers like “Big D,” staged with infectious exuberance by Casey Nicholaw, are obvious crowd-pleasers. But it’s the ballads (“Warm All Over,” “My Heart Is So Full of You”) that soar to musical-theater heaven. You just don’t want the show to end.