"Paint Your Wagon" is a fresh new musical that has a warm and clever book, a tuneful and varied score, excellent choreography, and a fine cast. That's about all anyone can say for it, and it's quite enough.

Written by Alan Jay Lerner, "Paint Your Wagon" is the story of post-Gold Rush California, of the ever-hopeful men that wandered the hills in search of one good strike. It is the story of an old speculator, Ben Rumson, and his daughter, and a mining camp of 400 men.

If the play must be compared to something, "Oklahoma" is somewhat of a parallel. In his book, Mr. Lerner has captured much of the earthiness that made the Lynn Riggs play such a great Broadway success.

The music by Frederick Lowe is good, very good, and Lerner's lyrics are also fine, although not so clever as those of Hammerstein. The songs, for the most part, are in the hearty, rough color of their setting, and an excellent male chorus sings them with appropriate gusto.

But the play has its tender moments too, and the voice of the romantic lead, Tony Bavaar, is certain to be one of the outstanding features of the new Broadway season.

James Barton, remembered by many audiences for his 2,000 performances as Jeeter Lester in "Tobacco Road," is cast as the aging speculator. Although he had some trouble with his throat on opening night, he carried off his part well, singing ballads in the manner of the late Walter Huston and also coming through with an amusing buck and wing.

His daughter, Jennifer, is played by Olga San Juan, and we must look to director Daniel Mann for the main flaw in her portrayal. Mann seems fascinated by the tableau as a dramatic device, and he frequently places Miss San Juan and other members of the cast in ridiculous positions for extended periods. She is noticeably uncertain about what to do with herself while on stage, and one constantly has the feeling that she is ill at ease. Miss San Juan's voice is not a powerful one, but she has thoroughly absorbed her role and performs creditably.

Perhaps the single outstanding scene in the entire production is the one which opens the second act, a series of dances staged by Agnes de Mille. Performed by James Mitchell, Gemze de Lappe, Mary Burr and James Tarbutton, these routines are executed with finesse and exhuberance. Mitchell particularly excels, moving about with great spirit and grace.

It would be easy to go on discussing the fine points in this fetching musical. Robert Penn, a stirring balladeer, was well received by the audience as were many other individual members of the cast, too many to single out.

Let it suffice to say that the play is very good.