It may be a little hard to explain what’s going on in “Gigi” to the kids in the audience. Disney “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens is very perky, and the whole enterprise could be a Princess story except for one little detail. Right up to the end, Gigi is being negotiated for by rich, young Gaston to be his mistress, not his wife. In the new version that opened on Broadway last night, they try to make light of that. But there’s no mention of a wedding or an engagement for over two hours. It’s all about how much Gigi will get from Gaston to sleep with him.

Maybe that’s why “Gigi” in this version doesn’t quite work or make sense. The sludgy direction tries to play up the Disney aspects with great costumes and sets that could be used, more effectively, for a production of “Hello, Dolly!” It’s the most inoffensive show of the season, all meringue and no mystery. Even the fact that Mamita, Gigi’s grandmother, is a former courtesan is sort of swept aside. She’s just had a lot of past romances. And a lot of good hats.

The real meaning of the new “Gigi” will probably go right over the heads of the little girls in the audience. After all, at the eleventh– really 11:30– hour, Gaston proposes to Gigi, so all that wrangling about his getting her a big apartment and supplying maids and chauffeurs in exchange for sex no longer matters. He’s going to put a ring on it once the curtain is down. (It would more interesting to see the next act.)

Vanessa Hudgens, who used to be part of a tabloid act with Zac Efron, is the linchpin here. She’s a plucky ingenue even though she’s on the small side. Her voice seems like it almost works until it doesn’t. She goes into songs with a lot of energy but has trouble landing them. She seems like she could be a sexy concubine until she doesn’t. I had no idea why Gaston was so interested in her except that she was approximately his height. But this is a fantasy for 13 year old girls.

The outstanding players here are the ‘elders’– Victoria Clark as Gigi’s Mamita, Howard McGillin, looking a little mummified, as the local dandy, and Dee Hoty as Gigi’s haughty aunt. When they’re on stage the show’s pulse picks up. But it’s never racing, trust me. The best number is “I Remember it Well” between Clark and McGillin, done sort of as a lost number from “Follies.” Otherwise, this Lerner & Loewe concoction is memorable mostly for “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” which in this version has been drained of its lechery.

For opening night, Mary Louise Parker brought her adorable daughter, Ana Gasteyer was in the audience and so was Andrew Rannells, and there were plenty of lovely people in the Neil Simon Theater like the amazing Kristine Nielsen from “Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike.” But I did feel sort of sad because “Gigi” succeeded the much better “Last Ship,” Sting’s musical, which was full of passion of fight and meant something important.

The path to the Tony Award season took a curve last night as Richard Askins’ original play, “Hand to God,” was such a hit that it took everyone by surprise. Most surprised, I think, was playwright Askins, who jumped on stage during the standing ovation at the end of opening and made a very off the cuff, not usually seen speech to the audience.

The gist of it was “I am an American playwright,” and “this is an American play.” At a time when British imports like Peter Morgan’s “The Audience” and Simon Stephens’  “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night” are the hits of the pre-Tony season, Askins– from Texas– is an anomaly. Raised in a Christian family, and more recently a bartender in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Askins is a live wire who realizes he’s written a bit of genius. “Hand to God” is totally original, funny and angry and sad, and sure to leave a mark not only this spring but for some time to come.

To say no one really knew what was coming– can be underscored by the fact that few celebs showed up in the rain for opening night. I saw Andrew Rannells, and Jennifer Westfeldt, Daphne Rubin Vega and producer Jean Doumanian. Let me put it this way: Shubert head Bob Wankel and Nederlander chief James Nederlander Jr. had a lot of time to chat with each other.

But this morning, just wait while publicist Rick Miramontez is fielding calls from famous people who “must” see this show. Steven Boyer, the nominal star, is a very likely Tony nominee. He is just stunning as Jason, the put upon teen son of Margery (also stunning Broadway debut from Geneva Carr) who teaches puppetry at the local church. In her puppet class are Timothy (Michael Oberholtzer) and Jessica  (Sarah Stiles), respectively a sullen good looking kid and a sullen, introverted girl. The church is run by Pastor Greg (the always good Marc Kudisch) who has a thing for Margery.

There is one more character: Tyrone, a blue grey sock puppet worn by Jason. Tyrone is inanimate but he takes on a life of his own. Think Mel Gibson in “The Beaver” if that movie had been any good. At one point Tyrone, operated by Jason, and a female puppet created by Jessica, have quite graphic full on, soup to nuts sex on stage while their humans have a completely separate conversation. The play deserves awards just for this scene. I doubt it can be shown on TV. But it’s a show stopper.

“Hand to God” is hilarious, so don’t think otherwise. But it’s also a full three act (well, two acts) play, with fully realized ideas about religion and mortality, Big Ideas and small ones that are philosophical and mordant. It’s not a glib play, though. Director Moritz von Stuelpnagel very adroitly steers away from clownishness or scenery chewing. He’s got this extraordinary ensemble on a tight leash and never lets up.

The Tony season really gets more clarified now as all these actors, the play, and the director will be a big part of the mix. Boyer is going to be up against Alex Sharp, Bradley Cooper, Nathan Lane and Bill Nighy for Best Actor in a Play at the very least.  And we haven’t even seen “Wolf Hall” yet.