Celia Cruz was such an enthralling and beloved musical icon that it was natural to want to know more about her. But her very private life, whose great drama was being separated from Cuba, made her an elusive figure. What we got from Celia was music and energy.

That made the prospect of a show about her life an exciting one. Don't, however, look for illumination from Celia: The Life & Music of Celia Cruz, the musically exuberant but dramatically shallow off-Broadway show at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts through July 6.

Musically, Celia swings. Anissa Gathers, who replaced the better known Xiomara Laugart as the singing Cruz, is a terrific natural talent and uncanny double of the star. Backed by a fine, tight seven-piece musical ensemble led by Isidro Infante, the voluptuous Gathers not only looks like Cruz but sounds like her, with a rich, gutsy voice that does full justice to Cruz favorites like Bemba Colorá, Quimbara, and La Negra Tiene Tumbao. Gathers may not have the same explosive power -- who does? -- but she does a terrific job channeling Cruz, with her mannerisms and an uninhibited oomph and joyfulness that recall Cruz's own. (Costume designer Haydee Morales lovingly and lavishly recreates Cruz's extravagant outfits).

Dramatically, Celia isn't nearly as fulfilling. The musical sequences are interspersed with scenes narrated by Modesto Lacén, as Cruz's longtime husband Pedro Knight, telling the story of their life to his nurse, adeptly played by Pedro Capó. Selenis Leyva plays Cruz in the story scenes: winning a cake at a radio contest; meeting Knight while singing with the Sonora Matancera in Cuba; traveling to Mexico and unplanned exile; performing with the Fania All-Stars, etc.

Performances alternate between English and Spanish dialogue (the songs are all in Spanish). On Wednesday night, the Spanish was more easily expressive. Thursday night's English dialogue didn't always have the same slangy personality. The mostly older audience on Wednesday was far colder than Thursday's cheering, enthusiastic crowd.

But the music couldn't make up for the flatness of the story. Writers Carmen Rivera and Candido Tirado haven't come up with any compelling emotional substance to make up for the lack of conflict in Cruz's life. Maybe they didn't want to risk tarnishing such a beloved icon. This is a picture-postcard version of Cruz's life, filled with comic one-liners. Even the political moments, as when Cruz rejects Fidel Castro's song request during a last concert in Cuba, are constructed for easy applause.

The short scenes just brush the surface before rushing back to the easy thrill of Gathers singing another hit. When Lacén explains that not being able to have a baby ''was one of the most difficult moments of our life,'' a sighing Leyva is quickly cheered by an invitation to join the Fania All-Stars.

The lead actors are fine, as is a vibrant backing ensemble of actors/singers/dancers, but they don't have much to work with. Maria Torres' direction can be laughably cliché. Syrupy music accompanies serious moments. When Lacén ascends to heaven to join Leyva, the white-clad couple walk into a white light.

Thankfully, a more fulfilling vision of Cruz's afterlife follows, as Gathers leads the cast in an exuberant rendition of La Vida es un Carnaval. That vital sense of life and music united was the best that Cruz -- and Celia -- have to offer.

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