Shenandoah, the story of a Virginia patriarch who tries to keep his family out of the War Between the States, began as a movie and was reincarnated as a musical in the ’70s. It has robust, toe-tapping music and exuberant, athletic choreography. It is hard to imagine a better fit for historic Ford’s Theatre.

Scott Bakula is a surprise—who knew the squared-jawed TV hunk could sing? He plays the stubborn, soulful Charlie Anderson with considerable grace. There are lots of terrific voices on stage with Bakula. Geoff Packard’s beautiful solo in the second act, “The Only Home I Know,” had the jaded Washington audience close to tears.

Some of the lyrics sound impossibly naïve—particularly the duet sung by the farmer’s youngest son and his best friend, the slave next door—but Shenandoah’s heart is in the right place.

If only an editor had taken a sharp pencil to the first act. Or if director Jeff Calhoun had axed some of the over-elaborate scenery. There are so many scene changes that actors spend as much time moving props as they do moving the plot along.

In contrast, the second act is taut and affecting.

Shenandoah isn’t perfect, but it does Ford’s Theatre proud.