Tom Wopat may be best known for his role as Luke Duke in the 1980s hit TV show “Dukes of Hazzard,” but it turns out his “good ol’ boy” charm is even more memorable as Will Rogers in The Barn Theatre’s production of “The Will Rogers Follies.” And his trick-roping is at least as impressive as his hood sliding, to boot.

Tom Wopat and Charlie King

The six-time Tony Award winning musical tells the life story in a Ziegfeld Follies-style revue of the famous early 20th century American cowboy rope-trick artist turned political satirist, philosopher, writer, movie star, humanitarian, champion of underdogs and friend of kings and presidents. It is a glittery, light-hearted hodgepodge, a spectacle trimmed with fringe. It is, at turns, bawdy and sentimental, though it openly makes fun of itself, which makes it all the more likeable. “In a Ziegfeld show anyone with clothes on can sing,” Rogers says.

Indeed, there’s some pretty extraordinary singing, dancing from tap to ballet en pointe to high kicks, more scantily clad showgirls than you could lasso with a rope (some of them wielding bullwhips themselves) and cheerful, occasionally shirtless, cowboys changing costumes so many times it’ll make you sweat. This very well may be the hardest working ensemble in show business.

Julie Grisham positively sparkles as Ziegfeld’s Favorite. Her interludes throughout the night practically steal the show. Brooke Evans’ extraordinary mezzo-soprano adds much needed depth and soulfulness and rounds out an otherwise flat character in Rogers’ wife, Betty Blake. Eric Parker offers an appropriately God-like voice piped in from off stage as Florenz Ziegfeld, the omnipotent presence. AJ Silver, dressed in black leather chaps and a matching vest with fringe, puts on such an astounding show within a show with ropes and whips that it alone is worth the cost of admission.

And then there’s Wopat, who first appeared on The Barn stage in 1976 and is clearly at home there now. It’s a role he’s reprising and it fits him like a glove. He’s sincere, charming, rolls with the punches and has a true spirit of generosity and playfulness that shines through in his character and in his performance. He’s got the chops with a lasso, and is not too shabby on guitar. But most importantly, he expresses genuine emotion, particularly in “Look Around,” an ecological love song (“The thing about land is they just aren’t making any more of it.”) and in a speech at the request of President Hoover about people’s suffering during The Great Depression. You like this guy, and you believe he’s never met a man he didn’t like.

This is Director and Choreographer Ann Cooley’s debut at The Barn, and her history putting on this show all over the country—and as a former Rockette—show. The choreography is percussive and athletic, if not acrobatic. Highlights include the “Powder-Puff Ballet” complete with a high-kick-line finale and “Favorite Son,” a stars-and-stripes seated patty-cake line-up made more delightful by Wopat’s missteps as well as costumes that include silver-starred nipples and tambourines in glittery skimmer hats.

What’s not to love, really?

Ok, so there’s not much to it as a narrative, though the smatterings of Will Rogers’ wisdom scattered throughout give a tender humanitarian sense of the guy such as “A man makes a living by what he gets. A man makes a life by what he gives.” By the end, when Wopat breaks the fourth wall and speaks to the audience, we agree that “he told us the truth and made us laugh at it.” And who couldn’t do with more of that?

Performance days, times and ticket prices.