A little show called My Fair Lady provides ample demonstration that the works of George Bernard Shaw are certainly ripe for musical treatment. But the latest attempt, A Minister’s Wife, illustrates the pitfalls as well. This chamber musical adaptation of his 1898 play Candida ironically only serves to detract from the music of his language.

Austin Pendleton has hewed quite faithfully to the original with this condensed adaptation, although he has taken such liberties as removing the character of Candida’s lowbrow father. 

But something has definitely been lost in translation. This version lacks the rich humor of Shaw’s play about a minister’s wife (Kate Fry) forced to choose between the affections of the Reverend James Morell (Marc Kudisch), her loving but endlessly distracted husband, and Eugene Marchbanks (Bobby Steggert), the impulsive young poet who has fallen desperately in love with her.

Would that the show sounded as lovely as it looks on Allen Moyer’s gorgeous, beautifully detailed set. But the score, written by Joshua Schmidt (music) and Jan Levy Tranen (lyrics) and performed by a four-piece ensemble, is one of those wan, minimalist affairs that barely makes an impression. It consists less of musical numbers than endlessly talky recitatives that, combined with the soft lighting, ultimately have the effect of lulling the audience into a gentle repose.

Still, the wit and intellectual vigor of Shaw’s play inevitably comes through, and the evening is not without its minor pleasures. They stem mainly from the performances: Fry is both charming and formidable as the sensible Candida who nonetheless finds herself attracted to her inappropriate young suitor; Kudisch movingly conveys both Morell’s moral strength and emotional vulnerability; and Steggert, who sings beautifully here, well captures the delicate balance between Marchbank’s brashness and sensitivity.

The lack of specificity in the title is indicative of the wishy-washy nature of this unnecessary adaptation. A Minister’s Wife may technically qualify as a musical, but it doesn’t exactly sing.

Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, 150 W. 65th St. 212-239-6200. www.lct.org.