It didn't take long for the cast to win the crowd over, however, as The Gig turned into an interesting character study of six middle-aged musicians who drop out of their regular lives to pursue the dream of two-week professional gig at a resort in the Catskills.

The Gig, a musical by Douglas J. Cohen, and directed by John DeLuca, who choreographed Andrew Lloyd Webber's Music of the Night, was highly entertaining throughout as it detailed the experiences of the six jazz musicians as they chased their dream.

After playing together every Wednesday night for years, Marty (William Perry), the group's leader (and used car salesman) answers a newspaper ad for a band to play at Paradise Manor, a resort in the Catskills. He talks his cohorts Jack (James Judy), a Wall Street broker; Georgie (David Brummel), a deli store owner; Aaron (Steve Routman), a clarinet teacher; Gil (Charles Pistone), a real estate agent; and Arthur (Scott Robertson), a dentist - into giving up their regular lives for two weeks for The Gig. It's what they always wanted, but each band member has his hesitations about leaving what is familiar and striking out into uncharted territory. At the urging of Georgie, who is sick and can't join the band, the rest of the group decides to follow their dream. They hook up with Marshall Wilson (Don Mayo), a talented bass player with an attitude, and strike out for the resort. Opening night jitters aside, the band overcomes an un-paradise-like Paradise Manor and a character of an innkeeper who wants them to play quiet music, rather than the boisterous jazz they enjoy.

Everything is going great, two band members find romance with waitresses, and the group is overwhelmed when they find that they are to open for the legendary - and trying to make a comeback - singer Ricki Valentine. The band is so nervous, they mess up Valentine's numbers and the star demands they be fired immediately.

This initially strains the longtime friends' relationships to the max, but ultimately draws them together in a close bond of even more intense friendship as they realize that they got to experience - even for a short time - what they had always dreamed of - The Gig.

After an unsure start, The Gig won the audience over and received a well-deserved standing ovation at the end of the performance. The musical is lighthearted and full of humor and sight gags - many of which left the audience in uncontrolled fits of laughter. One in particular which caught the crowd's fancy was when the band loaded up their van (a group of chairs on a raised platform) for the trip to the Catskills. As the Music Circus' trademark rotating stage sent them on their way at a crawl, the crowd let loose with non-stop laughter. Reviewed by Joe Blenkle

Next up at the Music Circus - July 22-28 - is Kiss Me, Kate, based on the William Shakespeare play The Taming of the Shrew.