WAYNESVILLE —  Countering an implausible book that strains to link Neil Sedaka songs in Broadway-show fashion, the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre’s production of “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” still managed to muster enough enthusiasm and effort to overcome slow going in the early stretches to finish with a bang.

Indeed, the show ended with the riproaring “Love Will Keep Us Together,” triggering a standing ovation and cheering from an impressive turnout in the 255-seat James Auditorium on June 13. The finale was a 1975 chart-topper for The Captain & Tenille and won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

The top performances were rendered by Brad Mercier, playing the role of Gabe Green, a somewhat meek-but-talented singer-songwriter who was Sedaka-like in his eventual and inevitable rise to the top; and the gorgeous Clara Burris, who played Lois Warner, a Marilyn Monroe-style dumb blonde, with a good singing voice, coupled with superb acting and dancing skills.

As jukebox musicals go, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” which ended June 14, is yet another example of a poorly conceived story that was assembled to serve as a vehicle to deliver a number of popular tunes.

Set in a Catskills resort in 1960, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” focuses on what is billed as the “sweetly comic story of Lois and Marge, two friends from Brooklyn, in search of good times and romance over one wild Labor Day weekend.” The score showcases 19 Sedaka classics, including “Where the Boys Are,” “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen,” “Calendar Girl,” “Love Will Keep Us Together” and the chart-topping title song. (“Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” is also Sedaka’s signature song.)

The musical is full-length — roughly two one-hour segments, split by an intermission. The relatively forgettable first half included the introduction of the cartoonish characters and the anguish from a breakup with a boyfriend suffered by Lois’ best friend, Marge (played by Emily Warren).

Just a few serious efforts are made at singing Sedaka’s songs, namely the title and finale songs, along with “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen” and “Where the Boys Are.”

The Sedaka songs in the first half were such small footnotes in the plot that someone unfamiliar with what was supposed to be happening might not even catch that, ultimately, this was supposed to be a Sedaka song revue.

evil” and “Next Door to an Angel” and — possibly most egregious of all — the hauntingly beautiful “Solitare,” were sloughed off quickly in the show, with no serious effort to sing them. Instead, the always-strained comic possibilities took center stage and just a verse or two of the aforementioned songs and others were rendered —  and even then, not in a serious effort. Sedaka and his sparkling, timeless musical gems deserved so much better than being treated as fodder between weak jokes.

To the show’s credit, the memorable “Calendar Girl” was treated as a full-length (or nearly so) song-and-dance number, complete with a huge calendar behind the lead male singer, emblazoned with the year 1960, and “Laughter in the Rain” was one of the more memorable vocal performances of the night.

The action picked up after the intermission, as the plot turned to the preparations and a performance for a representative of television’s long-running “American Bandstand,” who would be in the audience at the Catskills resort where Elvis-like singer Del Delmonico (played by Dominic Aquilo) was performing. Lois and Marge were hired as backup singers in an effort to impress the “Bandstand” representative.

In a surprise twist, the mild-mannered but down-to-earth Gabe literally took the microphone away from the superficial and posturing Delmonico.

Also featured in the show are Esther Simowitz (played by Leslie Lang), owner of Esther’s Paradise resort; and her male friend Harvey Feldman (played by Kier Klepzig), who helps her manage the operation. Harvey often twirled his cigar and raised his eyebrows in a manner reminiscent of the great comedian Groucho Marx.

Providing solid accompaniment for the show was a four-piece band that included Kelli Mullinix, keyboards and vocals; Sarah Fowler, piano, flute and vocals; Dave Bruce, drums and vocals; and Sandy Boone, bass and vocals.

“Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” ended June 14, but it is followed by Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “A Grand Night for Singing,” playing through July 6, and “Hello, Dolly!” from July 11 through Aug. 3.