Love’s on the Menu in ‘Country!’

At one point in the second act of “Country! The Musical,” Wild Troy Owens tells his buddy Frank, “I’ll see what’s going on over there in Peyton Place!,” referring to Owens’ restaurant-bar called Country, which is the setting for the musical.

But Pete Wilke’s show never stoops to the cheap melodrama one might expect from the kinds of romantic entanglements that are at the heart of the story.

Instead, it runs a gamut of real feelings--from tender and warm to angry and hurt to ultimately triumphant and celebratory.

Mainly through Wilke’s vivid story-songs, this impressive musical makes you care about the fate of its everyday-folk characters.

In the lump-in-the-throat-inducing ballad “No One Will Ever Love You More Than Your Daddy,” Frank (Bruce McKinnon), recently divorced, sings to his 6-year-old son, Jake: “Your mama loves you with all of her heart / And son, your daddy hates it / Whenever we’re apart.”

Later, the women practically steal the show with the spirited, hard-driving tune “Give Me a Try.” Although they’ve been on the wrong end of many a romantic arrow, waitresses Loretta (Lorraine Devon-Wilke), Annie (Ronna Jones) and Trina (Lauri Johnson) aren’t about to wave the white flag. With striking determination, the three sing out: “Take a chance / Sign up for some romance / Come on and don’t be shy / Give me a try.”

Arranged and produced by Nashville-based musician Phil Swann, the splendid music by bandleader Jeff Brown is seamlessly woven into the fast-moving, stylish production.