[title of show]

In the final number of [title of show], the four cast members come center stage to sing that they’d “rather be nine people’s favorite thing than a hundred people’s ninth favorite thing.” It’s an honest assessment by the show’s creators and stars, Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell, that this clever meta-musical about the making of a musical called [title of show] isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of Darjeeling.

Luckily for them, the show is being performed in New York City, the show queen capital of America. So many more than nine people will laugh hysterically when one character, for no particular reason, turns to another and intones, “Don’t be silly, of course you were meant to have children.” (It’s an Into the Woods reference). In fact, there will probably be lots of people in every audience at the Vineyard Theater who’ll get the show’s inside jokes, like an excited mention of Ken Billington (the production’s lighting designer) or the irony that Bowen and Bell consider replacing lesser-known co-star Heidi Blickenstaff with Emily Skinner. (Blickenstaff was Skinner’s understudy in The Full Monty.)

For another hundred people per performance, [title of show] will certainly speak to them because they, too, have worked hard to make their dreams come true despite the nasty opinions of others and the discouraging voices in their own heads. Their enjoyment will only be slightly dimmed if they don’t understand references to Mary Stout, Dinah Manoff, and Kwamina. As for your average accountant, plumber, or attorney, they may well tune out the show within five minutes and settle in for a nice nap.

Bowen, who wrote the score, and Bell, who wrote the book, are well aware of their dilemma; the script includes several conversations about whether the show is too non-commercial for its own good. But commercialism wasn’t the original point of this enterprise. The project began as the pair’s submission to the 2004 New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF); it was accepted, performed, and created strong buzz. Since then, [title of show] has been developed into its present form, which includes much of what happened on its way to the Vineyard. Some of the latter section of the musical, in which the creators inevitably melt down, second-guess themselves, and hurt each other, simply can’t transcend its own clichés. And while the score is both tuneful and clever, it isn’t as memorable as one might like — though Heidi’s 11-o-clock number, “A Way Back to Then,” is worth repeated listening.

The Vineyard has wisely chosen not to over-produce the show, content to make do with Neil Patel’s simple set (which consists mostly of four chairs) and Chase Tyler’s well-chosen street clothes. The decision to keep the orchestra to one synthesizer — played by musical director Larry Pressgrove, who also did the arrangements — was equally wise, lending the piece just the right “Hey kids, let’s put on a show” attitude. Kudos to Michael Berresse, who took some time off from his Light in the Piazza role to direct the proceedings with a sure hand and to provide just enough movement to keep the musical from seeming too static without overdoing the choreography.

[title of show] wouldn’t be the same without Bowen and Bell playing themselves, and their innate charm and conviction compensate for their merely pleasant singing voices. Despite the running joke that the boys wanted a big female star for the role of “Heidi,” Blickenstaff is a major asset, contributing both a winning personality and a kick-ass voice to the proceedings. But to my mind, the evening’s true standout is the sassy, sardonic Susan Blackwell, a self-described “handsome lady” who could have a great future playing all the sharp-edged roles that Randy Graff and Julie Halston don’t have time for. Better yet, if Bowen and Bell write their next show for her and fill it with fewer inside theater jokes, they might come up with a musical that could be 900 people’s favorite thing.