Andrew Lloyd Webber's Aspects of Love is not, perhaps mercifully, one of the blockbusters on which his fame and fortune have been built, although it has no doubt contributed its share.
It is essentially an intimate, almost Mills-and-Boon story adapted by Webber from a novel by David Garnett, garnished with his music and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart.
It opens with the show's one hit song, Love Changes Everything - which is milked for all it is worth - sung by Alex, a still-young man remembering the past. At 17, he falls for an older actress, Rose, and persuades her to an idyll in his uncle George's villa in Provence.
George is an ageing charmer; when he shows up, three's a crowd, and Rose finally marries him.
They have a child, Jenny, who at 15 has a serious pash on Alex, who reciprocates but sees the path of honour. The relationship still causes all kinds of trauma; George dies, Rose is bereft and the would-be lovers are left in a state of waiting. Corny but nice?
For those whose expectations are not pitched too high, there is enough here to provide an entertaining, if less than memorable, evening. The dialogue is virtually all sung, to easy-on-the-ear music, and a few numbers - Seeing is Believing, The First Man You Remember, There is More to Love - are quite beguiling. There seemed to me to be excessive repetition, as distinct from reprise, of word and music, but nothing too jarring.
Michael Scott's direction, against Bronwen Casson's effective design, gets the most from it all, and particularly from his cast. John Barrowman's Alex is the perfect, tuneful hero, and Rebecca Storm's captivating voice more than compensates for some acting limitations. David Kernan has infinite style as George, and Alex Sharpe is just right as Jenny.
Others to shine are Fiona Sinnott and Paul Monaghan, while another dozen or so, providing visual and vocal backing, contrive to make the show seem more than it is; a pleasant, old-fashioned musical which needs a few more good songs to stick in the mind.
Runs to September 13th, booking at 01-6777744; then moves to Cork Opera House for one week from September 29th, booking at 021-270022