Nice Work If You Can Get It is a nice show if you can see it! Everything about the show was absolutely spectacular: the music was enchanting, the sets were marvelous, and goodness, it was hilarious!

With his characteristically youthful style, Matthew Broderick was a clear natural for the starring role of Jimmy Winters, the wealthy yet socially oblivious playboy who always seems to be running into trouble. Co-starring alongside Broderick in the role of gritty bootlegger Billie Bendix was Cameron Adams, who filled in for Kelli O’Hara. The entire cast seemed to really come to life to support Ms. Adams in the leading role, and she certainly performed incredibly.

One of my favorite characters was the bootlegger who unexpectedly became a butler, Cookie McGee, played by Brad Oscar. Although he begrudgingly does the job he inadvertently roped himself into, Cookie comically executes every task. In the aptly-named “Ritzy Dining Room,” Cookie hilariously rushes everyone through the wedding banquet and in a spell of irony, adds alcohol to the drink of the staunch Prohibitionist, Duchess Estonia Dulworth. Estonia and Cookie’s antics in this scene, as well as in their “By Straus” and “Looking for a Boy” duets, serve as  outrageously entertaining subplots.  The characters really brought the comedy of the play to life.

It was the music, though, that really added the pizzazz to Nice Work. Staying true to its Gershwin roots, the show features classics such as “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “I’ve Got a Crush on You,” and of course, the title song, “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” Every aspect of the music was put to perfection, with the orchestra and singers performing brilliantly.

At the end of the play, Chris Sullivan, who played Duke Mahoney, acknowledged the Kids’ Night on Broadway, giving a classy culmination to a classy show. Kids’ Night is a program of The Broadway League where children ages 6 to 18 can accompany a full-paying adult for free to designated performances. Sullivan remarked that all of the actors were all once just kids with dreams of Broadway, and that he and the rest of the cast hoped the dreams of today’s kids would come true. By dedicating a wonderful performance to the kids in the audience, the cast certainly made the evening a memorable one.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed Nice Work, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in an entertaining musical!

The musical comedy Nice Work If You Can Get It is currently playing at the Imperial Theatre on 249 West 45th Street. Visit niceworkonbroadway.com for more information on tickets and show times. Also, for more info about Kids’ Night on Broadway, visit www.kidsnightonbroadway.com.