Lawson Taitte

Can a musical be fabulous fluff and a soapbox at the same time?

Zanna, Don't! manages the trick. Tim Acito (with help from Alexander Dinelaris) constructed a fairy tale – the pun is the author's – about a world in which gay is normal and straight is forbidden. Title character Zanna (Ryan Cowles) has a wand that helps him arrange high school romances between guys and guys and between gals and gals.

The captains of the chess and football teams (in this world, chess gets all the attention) form a couple, as do the two stars of the girls' artificial-bull-riding team. But when the drama club does a show about allowing heterosexuals into the military, Steve (James Chandler) and Kate (Kayla Carlyle) discover they have a forbidden passion for each other.

The plot makes its points surely, if not always subtly. What makes it all work is that Mr. Acito's music bubbles and zips and fizzles as infectiously as any score in the last decade. Love songs abound, but when a situation turns serious, the tunes achieve drama, too.

Uptown Players' area premiere, directed by Coy Covington and reviewed Saturday, is entirely winning. The eight actors don't all have that slick musical comedy polish, but that's not much of an impediment. Both singing and acting are strong, and you might find yourself surprisingly moved when things turn dark, despite the plot's schematic nature.

Everyone in the cast has at least one moment to shine brightly, but the best turns come from the two rejected lovers. You'd never guess that Steven Guez, an actor from Florida with strong drama credits, only recently broke into musicals; his voice is suave and solid. Lindsey Holloway adds to her long list of musical successes as the bossy, plain-spoken cowgirl type.

Zanna, Don't! may preach, mostly to the converted. But it's also guaranteed to leave three or four very bouncy tunes gyrating in your brain for days after you've seen it.

PLAN YOUR LIFE

Through Sept. 7 at KD Studio Theatre. Runs 130 min. $22 to $25. 214-219-2718; www.uptownplayers.com.