Singing! Dancing! Politics!

Though practically unknown today, the musical "Fiorello!" has a score by the team that, three years later, created "Fiddler on the Roof." It is a little gem of a show, a flawed gem, but one that sparkles nonetheless. And in Bloomington Civic Theatre's current production, it shines brightly.

"Fiorello!" is a musical biography of one of the most colorful figures in New York City politics, Fiorello La Guardia, who was mayor for 12 years during the 1930s and '40s. And it does him justice. An astute politician, he beat the political machine to win election to Congress. He was a statesman with integrity, supporting the U.S. entry into World War I, even though it made him unpopular. But in his first bid for mayor, he fell victim to hubris and his own arrogance.

Carl Schoenborn bears an uncanny resemblance to La Guardia. And he dominates the stage, confident enough to capture the larger-than-life figure without going over the top.

The score by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick is tuneful if not memorable, though the touching ballad "Till Tomorrow" is marvelous and "Little Tin Box" is the best sendup of political corruption ever penned. This show is an act of love for the Civic Theatre's music director, Anita Ruth, and it's hard to imagine it being played more convincingly.

But there isn't much razzmatazz. So there is not the kind of flashy choreography that is director John Command's specialty. But he makes clever use of movement, as with the chorus line of rolling desk chairs in "Politics and Poker." And he maintains a nice balance between sentimentality and satire.

Robin McIntyre's striking set, a series of cut-out drops of real New York City streets, adds to the sense of realism.

La Guardia has a contrasting pair of love interests: the romantic Thea and the spunky Marie. Both characters are underdeveloped, but Lara Trujillo and Colleen Somerville do the best they can with them. Michael Fischetti, as a political boss, is also a standout.

The epic sweep of the narrative becomes increasingly diffuse, and the ending is rather abrupt and perfunctory. But that does not spoil what comes before. In this political season, "Fiorello!" makes a nostalgic contrast to the current political malaise.

William Randall Beard is a Minneapolis writer.