What is a woman?

And how do you capture her in song?

That may be a task of Sisyphean proportions, but Hope Summer Repertory Theater undertook it with such enthusiasm and passion as to inspire anyone trying to answer those questions.

“I Am Woman” is their musical revue of the summer season, a revue in which five women tackle music from every decade from the 1930s forward. It opened, of course, with the Helen Reddy power ballad of the same title, that was combined in a medley with “A Natural Woman” and “I’m a Woman.”

The five women of the ensemble, Katie Drinkard, Alyssa, Magarian, Olivia Puckett, Grace Stockdale and Sierra White, showed that women can be strong, sexy, silly, vulnerable, fun and entertaining, sometimes at the same time.

The 30 songs, directed and chosen by director Fred Tessler and co-creator Brad Landers, covered not just a scope of nine decades, but a range of genres from blues and torch songs to comedic ditties and power rock ballads. Each of them showcased the skill of the female performer, giving them opportunity to strut in a combination of solos, duets and ensemble pieces.

And while the Park Theatre stage is a small one, made even more intimate by placing the four-piece orchestra on the back of the stage, the performers still managed to fully choreograph each of their numbers, making the stage glitter with powerfully emotional presentations.

The Park Theatre is a new performance space for Hope Summer Rep, and they take advantage of the venue by setting up a mix of tables and chair rows. They also sell a combination of soda, wine and beer as part of their concessions before and after the show and during intermission. It turns the evening into a cabaret performance where the audience easily interacts emotionally with the performers. The singers also made full use of a thrust that was surrounded by tables and let them come out into the audience.

Following the opening ensemble number, Magarian sang a beautiful ballad from 1983, “I Sure Like the Boys,” a moving piece that set the pace for the first act. She was also a strong presence in each ensemble number, particularly “Fire” and “I Love the Night Life.” Her comedic side came out with Drinkard in “Can that Boy Foxtrot!”

White sang what is perhaps the raunchiest number in the evening (with “Pretty Young Men” near the end capturing a close second) with the 1935 song “If I Can’t Sell It, I’ll Keep Sittin’ On It,” a song supposedly about a chair for sale at a second-hand shop. White was brilliant in her comedic timing in that song and such numbers as “Change” and “Buttered Popcorn.”

Stockdale showed the same powerful versatility in “I am Woman” that she displayed last week in “All Shook Up,” performing a torch song such as “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” the upbeat complaint of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” the peppiness of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and the soulful presentation of “Anytime.”

Puckett often seemed overwhelmed by her stronger compatriots, especially in the numbers that required pouring on sex appeal, but she was heartbreakingly good in “Your Daddy’s Son” from “Ragtime” and performed a beautiful ballet during “The Portrait” as Drinkard sang. She also excelled at the cute numbers such as “Lollipop” and “Up the Ladder to the Roof.”

Drinkard, in addition to the high-energy comedic “Foxtrot” number with Magarian and the solo with Puckett, provided excellent ensemble support. She also exhibited excellent acting skills, telling stories with each of her songs and ensemble pieces.

When the women first took the stage, they were donned in the classic “little black dress,” each one its own cut and design to best show off the individual shapes of each actress. Through the evening’s numerous costume changes, costumer Michelle Bombe made each of the women look her best at all times, whether in a swim suit, an evening gown or a suit.

Stephen Sakowski’s lighting was often on the dark side, but appropriate for a night-club cabaret style performance. There were times when the orchestra, particularly the percussion started to overwhelm the singers, but for the most part their powerful voices and Jeffrey Levin’s sound design was able to overcome that.

Charisma oozed off all of the women, who reveled in all dimensions of their femininity. They made love to the audience while demonstrating with their voices that they were powerful and strong, women the audience was privileged to experience. “I Am Woman” is an unadulterated celebration of women’s lives and passions.