Brooklynite **

This new musical about superheroes in Brooklyn, now in previews at the Vineyard Theatre, has lots of talent behind it. Composer/lyricist/ book co-author Peter Lerman has won both a Jonathan Larson Award and a Stephen Sondheim Young Artist Citation. Director and book co-author Michael Mayer brought us “Spring Awakening.” Choreographer Steven Hoggett’s many successes include “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” and “Once.” The story is based on characters created by Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman. The cast includes Nick Cordero, so impressive in “Bullets over Broadway,” and the always entertaining Ann Harada. The production is lavish by Vineyard standards. Donyale Werle’s modular set creates several diverse locales, Andrea Lauer’s superhero costumes are wonderful, as are Andrew Lazarow’s projections. With all this talent, why did I find the show curiously flat and uninvolving? I think the main problems are the book and the music. The story of six superheroes created when an asteroid hit Gowanus and the nebbishy hardware store clerk who would like to join their ranks works better for a comic book than an off-Broadway musical. Except for a couple of songs, the music seemed merely serviceable. The cast, led by Matt Doyle and Nicolette Robinson, do their best to animate cardboard characters. The other recent musical about Brooklyn, “Fortress of Solitude,” was superior in every way. With its story of Brooklyn superheroes and in-jokes about that borough, this show might have been more suitable for some Williamsburg venue than for the Vineyard. I think a younger audience would appreciate it more. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes including intermission.

Bullets over Broadway ***

Woody Allen's musicalization of his 1994 film, now in previews at the St. James Theatre, provides a consistently entertaining, if not inspired, evening. Susan Stroman's choreography and direction add significantly to the show's strengths, but her collaboration with Allen does not lead to the giddy heights of her work with Mel Brooks. The decision to use popular songs of the 20's instead of an original score works out surprisingly well, with many songs fitting into the plot in clever unexpected ways. Best of all is the strong cast, particularly Marin Mazzie as Helen Sinclair, Nick Cordero as Cheech, Helene Yorke as Olive Neal and Brooks Ashmanskas as Walter Purcell. Zach Braff was out, so I got his understudy Andy Jones as David Shayne. Jones was fine in a vanilla way, but unfortunately looked at least 10 years younger than Betsy Wolfe, his love interest Ellen. Karen Ziemba makes the most of her one number. Santo Loquasto's sets and William Ivey Long's costumes are the best that money can buy. The show moves along at a rapid clip and rarely sags. I was a bit disappointed in the finale, which somehow seemed less than the rousing conclusion the show needed, but I had a good time. Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes including intermission.