If Debbie Gravitte were the only reason to see Cole Porter's Red, Hot and Blue at the Paper Mill Playhouse, she would be reason enough. This singing actress is a joy to watch as she puts her own mark on a role created by Ethel Merman in 1936.

But Gravitte is not the only reason to see this reworked production of the Cole Porter musical. She is joined by a strong cast featuring two of the best comic actors - Jim Walton and Bruce Adler - in a program well designed to help the audience temporarily trade the troubles and tensions of the present for the fantasy and frivolity of the past.

Porter's songs -- including several added from other shows -- the silly albeit reworked book, cartoonish sets by Kenneth Foy, a dizzying array of costumes by Ann Hould-Ward and choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler combine to evoke an era that had plenty of troubles but that we like to think was carefree in comparison to our own.

Gravitte's part in the screwball plot is "Nails" Duquesne, a former manicurist who married and was widowed by a wealthy older man. She's in love with lawyer Bob Hale (Walton), who is bent on keeping a promise to his late father to marry a childhood friend. "Nails" puts her feelings aside and organizes a contest designed to find the long-lost sweetheart, enlisting parolee Policy Pinkle (Adler) to help. The show is full of broad humor, sassy jokes and the class of puns known as groaners. "If you weren't so upright," goes one of the lines, "you could be grand." Groan.

Gravitte is a stitch in this story as the earthy and lovable "Nails." She has a flair for the comic lines and business, she's a facile dancer, and her singing is a treat. It is no sacrilege to say that while Merman no doubt soared in this role, Gravitte brings to its songs subtlety and richness that are all her own. Her reputation as an outstanding stage singer is intact after this performance.

As the object of her affection, Bob Hale, Walton gives one of his trademark smooth performances. His knack for physical humor gets a workout in this story, but so does his unusual ability to maintain a certain elegance even when he's a partner in bedlam. Walton's tenor voice is especially suited to crooning "You Do Something to Me" and "Just One of Those Things."

And Adler unloads an arsenal of grimaces and double-takes to make Policy Pinkle the funniest figure in a funny show. This character was created by Jimmy Durante, but Adler has a way of making any character look as though it were written for him. There is a scene in Red, Hot and Blue in which Adler is both the interrogator and the witness in fast-paced testimony before a Congressional committee. It is a kind of comedy one sees too rarely these days, and not every actor could make it work.

In a large and talented cast, Felicia Finley and Michael Gruber stand out as a debutante named Grace and an ex-con named Fingers. These two, who are linked in the plot, have two of the show's outstanding production numbers, including a stunning song-and-dance performance of "I've Got You Under My Skin."

This production originated at Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut. When the management at Paper Mill booked it for Millburn, they did not anticipate the mournful and anxious atmosphere in which it would appear. As it turned out, the time is right for escapism, and escapism doesn't get much better than this.