STAGE REVIEW : ‘MY ONE AND ONLY’ IN ORANGE COUNTY

Put Tommy Tune on the cover of Time magazine.

His character in “My One and Only,” Captain Billy Buck Chandler, wants a Time cover more than anything. But Chandler’s claim to fame is nothing but a solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927. It isn’t much, compared to the pleasure that Tune dishes out as he continues barnstorming the country with “My One and Only.”

Tune has landed for a few days at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, and he brings with him a new one-and-only, Stephanie Zimbalist, and a new Mr. Magix, Arthur Duncan.

Both additions serve the show well. Not previously known for her tap dancing, Zimbalist zips through her steps with aplomb, if not punch. Otherwise, she seems absolutely world-weary compared to Sandy Duncan, who played the role at the Ahmanson in 1985. But that’s OK; this blackmailed aquacade star is something of a moper.

Zimbalist’s singing voice is no natural resource, but it got Ira Gershwin’s lyrics across to my seat in the middle of this huge hall with no problem. And her vocal interpretation matches her characterization; when she lingers a moment on the “can” of “Nice Work if You Can Get It,” it points to the possibility of a “can’t.”

Duncan must literally follow in the footsteps of Charles (Honi) Coles, the original Mr. Magix. He can’t match Coles in the suave department. But he is effortlessly agreeable, with a generous smile that warms up the stage. And his second act duet with Tune is still the breathlessly hushed event that it was when Tune did it with Coles.

Nearly everything else about the show remains the same--which is to say, ‘swonderful. This “new” 1927 musical, with a book by Peter Stone and Timothy Mayer manufactured to meet the requirements of a pack of vintage Gershwin tunes, is a convincing argument for the occasional benefits of tampering with theatrical sources.

Tune’s boyish exuberance, after so many years in the role, is a miracle of modern stagecraft. His middle-American charm, his uncanny grace (especially considering he’s 6-foot-6), and his way with a lyric stamp him as his era’s Astaire.

With Thommie Walsh, Tune also staged and choreographed this show--and it surely helps to have the co-director on hand as the star, when a show is on tour. This production is put together just as capably as its predecessor at the Ahmanson. The chorus line is in top form.

The sets, designed by Adrianne Lobel and Tony Walton, may not pop quite as many eyes this time around. The picture-frame proscenium doesn’t fill up the Segerstrom Hall stage as it seemed to do at the Ahmanson; perhaps the touring version has been scaled back slightly in order to accommodate smaller stages.

Nevertheless, the star-spangled backdrops and the giant blotches of cut-out color still come and go with a healthy disdain for realism. Tune and Zimbalist still splash up a storm on their deserted Staten Island beach, as they sing “ ‘S Wonderful.” And Marc B. Weiss’s lights still create as much magic as Mr. Magix himself.

Peggy O’Connell and Don Amendolia are back as the comic foils. O’Connell’s speaking voice is sharp enough to open cans, and it digs into the ‘20s vernacular with relish. Amendolia is one cuddly villain.

A cuddly villain fits right into “My One and Only”--this is an enchanting escape, not a show that confronts anyone with anything. One of the Gershwin lyrics goes like this: “Our bonds and shares may fall downstairs/Who cares?”

Stockbrokers may wish to take note.

Performances are at 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, tonight at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2 and 8 p.m. Tickets: $15-$38; (714) 740-2000 or (213) 480-3232.