After debuting on Broadway more than 40 years ago, the musical "The Robber Bridegroom" is back on the boards. The revival is currently playing off-Broadway, courtesy of the Roundabout Theatre Company. Contributing critic from Time Out New York David Cote has a review.

Before the Roundabout announced its revival of The Robber Bridegroom directed by Alex Timbers, I’d never heard of it. Last seen on Broadway in 1976, this bluegrass fairytale musical had fallen into obscurity – and community theater. Timbers may have given it a second life.

Based on a novella by Eudora Welty, The Robber Bridegroom is refreshingly frisky. Robert Waldman’s twangy, jangly music lends itself to sprightly dance and slapstick comedy. The story is a tall tale about a gentleman bandit who disguises himself with berry juice smeared on his face. Played by the handsome and golden-voiced Steven Pasquale, Jamie Lockhart finds himself smitten by Rosamund, daughter of a local rich man.

The story’s conceit is that Jamie and Rosamund fall in love with false versions of themselves. Two-facedness in all its silliness and even menace is explored, including two villainous brothers, one of whom is a head in a box.

Alex Timbers’ giddy staging makes use of a tireless ensemble and onstage band for maximum foot-stomping, skirt-twirling joy. Newcomer Ahna O’Reilly is a sparkling Rosamund and Leslie Kritzer steals her scenes as the wicked stepmother Salome.

Who knows if Robber Bridegroom will enter the canon of great American musicals, but it’s a rip-snorting hoedown, one guaranteed to steal your heart.