Day turns into night in “Who Cares?,” a blithe Gershwin suite that closed Wednesday’s program of the New York City Ballet. The Broadway show tunes put a refreshing after-dinner drink in your hand at the end of two more soulful works on the bill, “Chichester Psalms” and “Barber Violin Concerto.” A last-minute substitution also put “Tarantella” on the program.

In Jo Mielziner’s backdrop of a topsyturvy skyline, the office windows become stars in an evening sky. A corps of 10 dancers in blue bounce to “Sweet and Low Down,” and five demi-soloists in red strut insouciantly to “Somebody Loves Me.” But this night it was the men who swaggered, wearing glove tight platinum suits. They toured in the air one after the other in “Bidin’ My Time.”

Once night falls, the orchestral strings softly lilt under the baton of Maurice Kaplow. Intimately, Amanda Edge and Darius Crenshaw hold out their arms, walking towards each other in jittery anticipation. Once together, their euphoria places them at the top of the world, dancing to the tune “‘S Wonderful.” For one number, “Do Do Do,” leaves appear on the backdrop. In Mark Staley’s lighting, the couple looks as if they have stolen away under a park lamppost.

The same principals repeated all three major female roles in “Who Cares?” as last year. Miranda Weese footed it in jazzy combinations to “Fascinatin’ Rhythm”; Ashley Bouder leaping about as the girl in a decorative rose tutu in “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise”; and the majestic Sofiane Sylve, with her ice-blue fouettes, in “My One and Only.” Philip Neal replaced Nilas Martins as the lead who dances with all three of them. It might seem that they partner him, however. Ms. Sylve prances in circles around him, sympathetically framing his head with her arms. Ms. Bouder energetically capers on either side of him, hopping back and forth before they graciously meet.

“Who Cares?” is not rhetorical in name only, but also in substance. The choreography has a jukebox of its own show stopping classical moves: rocketing leaps, brisk entrechats, and plenty of turns. Besides the recognizable melodies, not much is happening: This is pure dance, intentionally academic. And perhaps for this reason, no matter how energetic the dancers, the dancing itself will seem reticent. Instead of singing, their bodies hum along to the tempo, capturing the humor and mood of the original, but forgetting the words.

On the piano, Nancy McDill skillfully brought to life Hershy Kay’s arrangement.

The evening began with Peter Martins’s “Chichester Psalms,” which premiered last year.

Leonard Berstein’s score requires a full choir and boy soloist. The scale of the production alone commands awe. Guest conductor Judith Clurman directed the the Juilliard Choral Union, which occupied the top three rows of risers that enclosed the stage. A corps of 38 dancers sits beneath them. Men and women alike wear robes that resemble the choristers. The corps dominates the choreography, stirring in ritual harmony with an emphasis on shared humanity. At the center are Carla Korbes and Amar Ramasar, but even they remain mutely a part of the whole. Abundant symmetry abounds: between the black robes of the men and the white robes of the women, the baritone and soprano sections, the excited and somber tempos.

The movements tend to be bold, simple, and iconic. The corps moves in unison, shifting architectures, kneeling and standing, bowing forward and back. When James Danner begins his clarion solo to the accompaniment of the harp, the corps listens motionlessly.

At the urgent sound of drums, we see flashes of light. The men confront each other in aggressive warrior poses, lifting each other up and kicking their legs. Finally, each pair is reconciled by a female.

I have always loved this music: annunciatory, rhythmically complex, interspersed with lush melodies and forceful, almost chant-like passages for the choir. An informal survey of those who have only heard it in this piece have been mostly unimpressed. But this is not necessarily a critique of the dance. The dance in “Chichester Psalms” is magnificent in its restraint.

“Tarantella” provided an interlude of sorts, much more for a male dancer, here Joaquin de Luz, as he romps with Megan Fairchild in a highly modified version of the Sicilian folkdance. He brought a forcefulness to his leaps, magnified after “Chichester Psalms” by the bare stage. To the parlor music of Gottschalk, they skip, slap each other on the wrist, and eventually pick up a tambourine. Ms. Fairchild executed her series of fouettes while beating time, presumably stepping on grapes. In “Barber Violin Concerto,” repeated with a different cast, Wendy Whelan interpreted the trim elegant ballerina with a sensitivity that for her is customary; Ask la Cour partnered her with nobility and poise. As a foursome with the modern dance couple, Elizabeth Walker and Albert Evans, they each shared a different, but complementary language.

“Chichester Psalms” will be performed again April 29 & 30 and May 1 & May 7;

“Sonatas and Interludes” will be performed again April 29 and May 3; “Who Cares?” will be performed again May 1, 3 & 6. (Lincoln Center, 212-870-5570).