The music of the show is by George Gershwin, the lyrics are by his brother Ira and the clever book is by Joe Depitro. Really, “who could ask for anything more?” The show in question is “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” now playing at the Ogunquit Playhouse in this their 83rd season.

I would describe this show simply as sophisticated, even riotous entertainment with a capital “E.” It was refreshing to see a musical where the dancers really danced in marvelous ensemble, combining athletic grace with toe tapping precision. There were no spastic twitchy movements. The singers had real voices, even the ones with minor parts, and all contributed to the marvelous whole. What dialogue there was not only advanced what passed for a plot but was more than clever and often had the audience in stitches. (Struthers: “I’d rather die.” Beaman: “I’d like to help you.”)

The plot, roughly drawn from an earlier Gershwin show (“Oh Kay”) takes place during the Prohibition era. Three folks have several hundred cases of gin to hide. By chance one of them, a lass named Billie (Amanda Lea LaVeragne), meets a drunken playboy named Jimmy (Joey Sorge). He thinks Billy is going to kill him (“Don’t shoot, I’m wealthy!”) He lets on that he has a home in Long Island that he never uses before he passes out.

Billy confides this to Cookie (James Beaman) and they soon place the gin in the basement of the home.

Soon a sober Jimmy shows up with wife number four and Cookie, Billy and a third member of the gang, Duke (Aaron Fried.) The plot thickens as the group pose as servants of Jimmy, with Cookie as a butler, Billy as a maid, and Duke as a cook. Jimmy and Billy fall in love and after many comedic twists and turns, love conquers all and (spoiler alert) they marry. After all, this is a musical comedy. It is not a drama, it is not trying to make a social statement, the show is what musicals used to be about, namely to entertain the audience.

Sally Struthers played the part of an anti-prohibitionist who was also a duchess by marriage. She did not rely on her laurels but really put herself into the character she was portraying. Her duet “By Strauss” was a riot. Her voice lies somewhere between Burt Lahr and Florence Foster Jenkins. Her love interest, Cookie, James Beaman, displayed multiple talents as a foil for Ms. Struthers as a dancer and singer (”Sweet and Lowdown”). He wisely decided not to carry the drunk duchess off the stage, Ms. Struthers picked him up and carried him off.

As for the principals, Ms. LaVergne is a multi-talented performer. Her voice could be brassy as well as tender (”Will You Remember Me”). She stopped the show singing “But Not for Me.” I thought that pulling a shotgun cartridge from her cleavage and loading it while expressively singing “Someone to Watch Over Me” combined modern feminism with 1930s ideals.

The male lead, Jimmy is played by Joey Sorge. He has an expressive voice. While he impressed in every song he sang, my favorites were “Nice Work If You Can Get It” and the duet “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off.” He can dance too!

A secondary pairing involved Duke (Aaron Fried) and one of the female party girls, Jeanine (Elyse Collier.) For someone like Ira Gershwin who wrote so many memorable lyrics to come up with “Blah, Blah, Blah” as a meaningful love song only underlined his association with his brother George who supplied a beautiful tune, which Fried and Collier sang.

The remaining principal is Eileen, fiancée of Jimmy, Breighanna Minnema. I fondly recall the scene where she sang “Delishious” in the bath and the chorus arose from the tub. A reprise of this song also showed off the vocal talents of Valton Jackson who played the sheriff. Valerie Harper appears at the end of the second act and ties the loose ends of the plot together. As for the chorus, their singing and dancing were spectacular throughout.

Much credit needs to be given to Charlie Reuter, the show’s music director and Shoko Kambara for the imaginative sets. Director Larry Raben along with choreographer Peggy Hickey should be described as the artists who brought this entertaining masterpiece to fruition.

The show continues through Aug. 15. Tickets may be purchased by calling 246-5511 or visiting the website ogunquitplayhouse.org.

— Dr. Gold is a composer/conductor and an arts reviewer for the Journal Tribune.