When you consider what goes into conceiving and producing a brand-new musical, you have to be impressed that Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s artistic team—and its board and supporters—come together to put forth the effort and the hard work, as they did with Ruby last season and are now doing to close this season, with the show Syncopated Avenue.

Created and adapted by WBTT artistic director Nate Jacobs (in collaboration with Michael Jacobs and music arranger/orchestrator Louis Danowsky), Syncopated Avenue may be less ambitious than Ruby, which told a complicated true-life story in its songs and book. But it’s still quite an undertaking, bringing to the WBTT stage for the first time a cast of actors auditioned in New York City and hired largely because of their skills at tap dancing—the production’s focus.

The book of Syncopated Avenue centers mostly on three people: Duke (James T. Lane), the longtime owner of a dance studio who's facing the end of an era due to gentrification; his granddaughter, Felicity (Kaylee Olsen), who’s loyal to Duke but has dreams of her own; and the newcomer Percy (Lamont Brown, who is also choreographer for the show), who Duke hires to help present the studio’s 25^th anniversary show.

But it may be the ensemble—a talented, hard-working, and well-blended mix—who steal the show here, with some nicely executed tap numbers set to Nate Jacobs’ original music. (There are also a few tunes here by the likes of Duke Ellington, Richard Rodgers, and the Gershwins.) Whether dressed casually for rehearsal mode or all decked out to the nines in costumes by Christopher Vergara, the dancers pay a fitting tribute to the ghosts of dancers past, from Gregory Hines to Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and more.

That said, the stage presence and acting chops of the leads here also deserve praise. Lane is obviously a pro with lots of experience, bringing nuance to Duke; Olsen feels like a star in the making on numbers designed to showcase her, like “Brown Eyes” and “Hard to Do”; and Brown leaves his mark all over the place, not only onstage but off, where he created the show’s often thrilling moves.

Those are all on the show’s upside. On the downside: The story often feels thin and can even be confusing, with characters such as Nicholas (CK Edwards), who’s there mostly to encourage Duke, and Mayor Gray (Stanley Martin), who seems there to trouble him, not really developed. At times, motivations and actions are forced, not springing up naturally, because we don’t really have a strong back story to fill in the gaps. That’s a problem perhaps the show’s creators can work on if future productions take off elsewhere (or here again, at some point).

Along with the kudos to Brown for his choreography, music arranger Danowsky, music supervisor Nehemiah Luckett, music director Dan Sander-Wells and associate music director Brooke Sanders (backed by several other musicians) contribute mightily to making the show sing. At its best, Syncopated Avenue rouses; its characters just need more dimension.

Syncopated Avenue continues through May 25 at WBTT; for tickets, call (941) 366-1505 or go to westcoastblacktheatre.org.