Being wives is the only bond the three women have. Their unseen husbands, old school chums, demand that they all get together for dinner once a month. When the boys retire to another room to boast about golf or hunting, not to mention tormenting the cat, the girls are thrown together in the kitchen, cleaning up, pretending to be pals.

The change is only semantic. Still one of upstate New York’s premier arts organizations, Glimmerglass of Cooperstown went from being the Glimmerglass Opera of past years to the Glimmerglass Festival of this summer. That means a stylish Broadway musical, produced with the highest standards, is now featured instead of just being included as an extra.

The  same, only different. Audiences love Agatha Christie mysteries for their branded reliability, the predictable unpredictability. We must start with an assortment of flawed characters, some of whom should be annoying, in a confined country setting.

Precision. Grace. Captivation. High gloss. Finesse. Let’s get to these words right away because we have to haul them out when Auburn’s Merry- Go-Round Playhouse hires director-choreographer Brett Smock to run a show. The Harry Warren-Al Dubin blockbuster 42nd Street is not just a musical that includes dance numbers.

Ah, good taste, what a dreadful thing!” said that old Spaniard Pablo Picasso. He added, “Good taste is the enemy of creativeness.” Taking that cue, the creativeness of sisters Carmela and Delphine Calamari suffers no enemies, and no restraints.

In the opening scene a hapless DHL delivery man, Terrence (Michael Dalto), has dragged an old friend, Josh (Michael Kaplan), on a snowy Christmas Eve to a shabby Super 8 motel to talk to a tall, incomprehensible, dark-haired woman (Charlotte Cohn). “What is this, a setup?” barks Josh, pounding Terrence’s head.

Now the action begins in what looks like a parochial school classroom. Nine pre-teen youngsters in tidy uniforms are listening politely to their lessons. In respect of child labor laws, Cortland Repertory rotates two casts, named Pyramid and Sphinx, in these roles.

The three Parisian men describe themselves often as “best friends” and have been getting together for 15 years for a boys’ night out. As recounted by Marc (Josh Mele) in an opening monologue, the evening’s light entertainment began slowly because Yvan (Bill Molesky) was late again.

The thing won eight Tony Awards out of 13 nominations and ran for more than 2,500 performances, more than six years, ending Jan. 4, 2009. Thus Auburn’s Merry- Go-Round Playhouse knew the first regional professional production of the Scott Wittman- Marc Shaiman musical Hairspray.