Recasting a show is tricky: The newcomer(s) can drag down a preexisting vision and suffer from the comparison with their prececessors — which, after all, were the first choices, right? But the revival of “A Little Night Music” on Broadway emerges triumphant from its first recast. You can compare today’s re-review with the one of the original cast, back in December.

In short: Bernadette Peters now provides the emotional center the show so sorely lacked when Catherine Zeta-Jones handled the part. I can’t say I had a strong opinion about Peters either way before (I know, I know — she’s just not one of my divas) but she blew me away last week. Not only is her performance infinitely more nuanced than CZJ’s, but she made me rethink Trevor Nunn’s entire production.

Add Elaine Stritch as Angela Lansbury’s replacement, and you’ve got one heck of a volatile combo. There’s musical-theater magic happening at the Walter Kerr.