A friend noted to me before we entered the Guthrie Theater’s Proscenium house for “The Legend of Georgia McBride” that there are three basic stories: man vs. man, man vs. nature, and Elvis impersonators who become drag queens.

OK, the latter may not be true, but a key character’s transformation is the linchpin of most stories, and Matthew Lopez’s warm-as-a-summer-night comedy is all about that. Not only the transformation of men into women characters, but prisoners of the expectations of others liberating themselves joyfully. The Guthrie’s production is kitschy, campy and delightful, with dashes of drama and insight. And maybe what this conflicted nation needs right now is a celebration of diversity you can dance to.

It helps that our story is built around the journey of a hopeless optimist. His name is Casey and his lone source of income is drawn from dressing up as Elvis Presley and lip-syncing in a beach-side bar on the Florida Panhandle. This proves not enough to pay the rent and, when his wife becomes pregnant, joy and fear do battle for dominance in the home they may soon lose.

But that’s when Tracy shows up. Desperate to draw a crowd, bar owner Eddie has invited his cousin to help boost attendance with a drag show. While his plan originally involved letting Casey go, circumstances conspire to throw the unprepared Casey onto the stage in prosthetics, dress, wig and high heels, imitating 20th-century French chanteuse Edith Piaf. The show becomes a hit, the money starts pouring in, and the Guthrie audience plays the role of the crowd at Cleo’s as one outrageously costumed song-and-dance number after another prances across the stage.

The suspension of disbelief will come in handy for audience members, who will quite likely find themselves charmed by this exuberantly energetic show. On opening night, laughter cascaded down the theater’s alpine slope during the songs — a St. Patrick’s Day number brought tears to my eyes, and not because this Celt pined for the auld sod — with bursts coming each time Tracy unleashed her biting wit, a century’s worth of pop culture references and camp iconography flowing forth in fleet fashion.

The lone barrier to this being an unqualified success story is that Casey chooses to lie about the source of his newfound financial success to wife Jo, thus creating a kind of sitcom conflict in a story that has richer veins to mine … such as a straight man’s enlightenment about how his view of the gender binary has kept him bound.

Five actors bring this story to life, with Cameron Folmar acting as catty catalyst in the role of Tracy. From the moment his thigh-high hot pink boots stride through the stage door, Folmar is a magnet for the audience’s attention, and the scenes in which he mentors Casey are both comic and touching, the rewards of teaching on full display. And Jayson Speters’ Casey proves an engaging everyman on this odyssey into a wonderland of silliness and self-discovery.

Speaking of that, Jim Lichtscheidl is a hoot as bar owner Eddie, who claims to pursue this change in entertainment offerings for financial reasons but also finds a freedom he hadn’t imagined. And Arturo Soria is quite impressive in the toughest dual role of all, not only portraying the anger-fueled drag queen Rexy — who offers Casey a sharp lecture on gay history and drag’s place in it — but also Casey’s good ol’ boy of a neighbor. While playwright Lopez handicaps Chaz Hodges in making Jo the least interesting of the characters, she also undergoes a transformation, and I came away wishing that Hodges’ unadventurous portrayal had more varied dynamics.

In addition to the brisk, bright direction of Jeffrey Meanza and the kitschy choreography of Matthew Steffens, kudos are due costume designer Patrick Holt. A drag queen himself, Holt has his finger firmly on the pulse of the conventions and comic possibilities of the form, his creations often upstaging everything else.

For playwright Lopez, “Georgia McBride” is a valentine to the drag queens who helped mentor him through his own coming out as gay while growing up in Florida. That unflagging affection comes through in a comedy as sweet as it is hilarious.

IF YOU GO

What: “The Legend of Georgia McBride”

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 1 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 7 p.m. Sunday, through Aug. 26

Where: Guthrie Theater, 818 Second St. S., Mpls.

Tickets: $77-$14.50, available at 612-377-2224 or guthrietheater.org

Capsule: An uproarious and empowering comedy about casting off convention.