The audience was happy.

The nearly sold-out weeknight crowd at Shadow Theatre Company had heads bouncing, hands clapping and occasionally booties shaking to the sounds of Smokey Joe's Cafe.

They still deserved more than they got. There was an enthusiastic, hard- working cast and a classic catalog of hits by songwriters Leiber and Stoller, but a few stellar performances only showed how much the production directed by Hugo Jon Sayles failed to cohere.

The show consists of tightly strung-together songs that are supposed to have a story, but it's not easy to construct much of a through line here. Jeffrey Nickelson plays a bartender on Michael R. Duran's '50s diner set, serving and watching as the rest of the company flirts, couples and then reorganizes.

Linda Morken has designed flattering clothes for both men and women in a mix of contemporary and period styles. Duran's brightly colored set has a beautiful cartoon streetscape behind it, although the two don't quite go together.

Choreographer Janice Guy-Sayles is working with a cast of markedly different proficiencies. There are smooth movers like Seth Michael and a showstopping solo by Joey Santos on Kansas City, but the choral numbers often have the appearance of a group counting the steps in their heads.

Michael is unquestionably a standout. He has a smile to rival Taye Diggs' and a voice just as bright. He's positively charming on D.W. Washburn. Ciarra Teasley also makes her mark with a sweetly modulated but powerful voice and personality. Ashlie Harris has fine comic flourishes and sings well.

Frequently, though, it was impossible to tell how well someone was singing. The sound design raised the four-man band well above individual voices. Lyrics to some of the most familiar songs in half a century were indistinguishable at the back of the house; only on the choral parts did they come forward.

It's one thing to reach high with new or challenging work and proudly fail. But when you choose a show as familiar as Smokey Joe's Cafe, one that exists to be little more than a crowd-pleaser, you might as well do it to the hilt.

bornsteinl@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5101

Smokey Joe's Cafe

* Grade: B-

* When and where: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays, through March 14, Shadow Theatre Company, 1468 Dayton St.

* Cost: $15 to $26

* Information: 720-857-8000