It’s a Highland fling

The Reprise! Broadway’s Best series formula -- choreograph, tech, rehearse and open a high-profile musical in two weeks -- comes with a built-in disclaimer: If it’s not quite ready for prime time, well, isn’t it admirable what can be done by pros with such short prep time?

Reprise’s latest production, Lerner and Loewe’s “Brigadoon,” one of the most unabashedly romantic musicals ever written, is more than an admirable effort. Yes, it had its stumbles during its Wednesday opening at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse -- a few ragged edges in ensemble songs, a few missed cues and some silly swaths of cloth used to usher in scene changes. But, oh, what a lovely treat it is.

By turns boisterous, bawdy, melancholy and tender, this is vibrant tale-spinning about love and redemption in a spellbound 18th century village that slumbers in the remote Highlands of Scotland but for one day each 100 years.

When the village appears out of the mist to a vacationing, mid-20th century New Yorker and his friend, their visit there will seem no more than a bizarre dream to Jeff, the cynic of the pair. (Larry Cedar, in this thankless role consisting of little more than a series of one-liners, isn’t able to make any more of the part than did Van Johnson in the 1954 film starring Gene Kelly.)

To lost and lonely Tommy (Jason Danieley), however, it will bring, after a crisis of faith, salvation in the form of the fair Fiona MacLaren (Marin Mazzie).

Under Stuart Ross’ lively direction, ably matched by Gerald Sternbach’s musical direction and Lee Martino’s rousing, balletic choreography, this production is more fully realized than expected on the Freud’s tight stage, made more cramped by the presence of the 17-piece orchestra.

Gorgeously dressed by Alex Jaeger, it’s also capably served by lighting designer Tom Ruzika’s blue and violet washes and Evan A. Bartoletti’s spare scenic design -- ramps and a couple of raised platforms -- and Philip G. Allen’s sound design, although some miking irregularities were in evidence Wednesday.

The cast is led by Danieley and Mazzie, the real-life husband and wife who appeared recently in “110 in the Shade” at the Pasadena Playhouse. They are well-matched here, with expressive, full-throated voices and emotional depth that makes the signature song, “Almost Like Being in Love,” a thrilling show-stopper.

Mazzie is an especially vivid presence, sensuous and playful with an all-embracing warmth. She’s the production’s heart too; when she sings Fiona’s musical goodbye, “From This Day On,” her tears and yearning tenderness are real.

Others in the sterling cast include Deborah Gibson, who enjoyably romps through her depiction of a flirty free spirit, and Orson Bean, a robust, Scottish-burred delight as village elder and keeper of the town’s legend.

Sean McDermott is a kick as village golden boy Charlie, whose wedding day it is, despite a tendency toward self-admiration. He missed the cue for his entrance Wednesday, leaving Mazzie to fill the discernible pause with a “Where’s Charlie?” -- but his soaring vocal range makes “I’ll Go Home With Bonnie Jean” pretty nigh irresistible.

A strong ensemble player too, he’s also among the show’s many assets in the leaping, spinning, kilt- and skirt-whirling dance numbers.

Another is Chris Holly, who adds a convincingly dark note as Harry, the angry odd man out who desires Charlie’s bride, Jean (ethereal Elisa Nixon).

The consequences of his actions spark a deeply affecting ballet solo performed by Kim Mikesell as Harry’s would-be bride, Maggie, in a visceral expression of loss danced to a punishing drumbeat.

Blake Pullen, who plays Sandy Dean, and Robert Pike Daniel, notable as gravel-voiced patriarch Andrew MacLaren, are the show’s bagpipers, hauntingly underscoring both the town’s shaken innocence and its reconfirmed faith.

After a stylishly efficient shift to a Manhattan bar -- love the neon cocktail sign and the capable orchestra’s sudden, raucous jazz rhythms -- Tommy’s desperate return to the Highlands, because “somewhere out there, between the mist and the stars, is someone I want so terribly,” leads to a redemptive, happily-ever-after finale that is all it should be.

*

‘Brigadoon’

Where: Freud Playhouse, UCLA, Hilgard Avenue at Sunset Boulevard, Westwood

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays

Ends: Aug. 29

Price: $60 and $65

Contact: (310) 825-2101

Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes