THEATER REVIEW : Slices of ‘Music Man’ Are as Americana as Apple Pie, If Not as Tart : The principal casting works best in Elizabeth Howard’s Curtain Call production of the classic small-town musical.

When Meredith Willson first tried peddling his first musical, “The Music Man,” on Broadway, he was turned down by every producer. On the second go-round he found someone who would take the chance. No one thought it was commercial.

That seems odd, considering that the show is highly distilled Americana, a sort of sentimental apple-jack about a small-town life that never really was, like the “good old days.” It’s a crowd-pleaser, and a specially apt choice for a dinner-theater audience.

This production at Elizabeth Howard’s Curtain Call Dinner Theatre is divided about 50-50 between its pleasures and those missteps that keep it from being a top-drawer paean to turn-of-the-century American hustle that Willson intended.

To begin with, director Doug Shaffer made the decision to cut the opening number, the traveling salesman’s ode to “knowing the territory.” The number sets up the rest of the evening like a four-course dinner’s appetizer. Without it, a powerful ingredient is missing.

Also, without it, Hill is less the intended scamp than the true con man. That imbalance is somewhat made up for here by the performance of Gene Frances as Hill. He has a full, rich voice and a nice, gentle way about him, but often isn’t as free physically as Hill should be.

He’s also very lucky that Quick cast Diane Benedict as his Marion. Benedict has a proper, slight primness that doesn’t ever get in the way of the charms that attract Hill and her audience. She sings effortlessly and at moments gloriously.

Teddy Tapscott couldn’t be more right for Marion’s mother, Mrs. Paroo, as Irish as can be, her presence a highlight of the production. Sean Aguinaga, who alternates in the role of young, lisping Winthrop (“Gary, Indiana”), is a little charmer, and Fred Ingalls is an energetic, believable Marcellus, friend and abettor of Hill’s.

As Mayor Shinn, who owns the pool hall Hill disparages, Gene Collins gets right up to the point of going overboard and just misses by a hairbreadth, managing some honest laughs.

Most of the supporting cast, however, is allowed by the director to fidget and fuss in a cartoon approximation of small towners of long ago, an honest error, but one the director should have known to squelch.

All of the women are guilty, and of the men, Dan Stroud is the worst offender. Stroud makes up for it, though, when he joins the production’s superior barbershop quartet for its three numbers, including a delightful rendition of “Lida Rose.”

Music director Doug Shaffer has managed a marvelous orchestral sound and tempos that could have come right out of a vaudeville pit and are just right for Willson’s period score. Choreographer Jim Bates achieves the same right tone in his dance numbers, although only one ensemble member, Chris Giroux, is able to give his work the energy, detail and athletic crispness it needs.

* “The Music Man,” Curtain Call Dinner Theatre, 690 El Camino Real, Tustin. Tuesdays-Thursdays & Saturdays, 8:15 p.m.; Fridays, 8:45 p.m.; Sundays, 1:15 & 7:35 p.m. (dinner served two hours before curtain time). Ends Sept. 5. $20.95-$31.95. (714) 838-1540. Running time: 2 hours, 35 minutes.

Gene Frances: Prof. Harold Hill

Diane Benedict: Marion Paroo

Teddy Tapscott: Mrs. Paroo

Gene Collins: Mayor Shinn

Fred Ingalls: Marcellus

Char Salkin: Eulalie Shinn

Sean Aguinaga: Winthrop

A Curtain Call Dinner Theatre production, produced by Elizabeth Howard. Music, book and lyrics by Meredith Willson. Directed by George Quick. Choreography: Jim Bates. Musical director: Doug Shaffer.