ANN ARBOR, Mich. – There is one major problem with The Penny Seats current show, Sing Happy, A celebration of Kander and Ebb. By the end of the show, your face is likely to ache from smiling so much.

Producer Lauren London and Music Director R. Mackenzie Lewis assembled the show out of some of the most wonderful songs in the history of theater from this legendary songwriting team: “How Lucky Can You Get”; “Don’t Tell Mama”; “Dear One”; “Maybe This Time”; “Cabaret”; “New York New York.” They managed to get all the song rights by performing it in a wonderful space at Irish Pub Conor O’Neill’s in downtown Ann Arbor, which means the songs are covered by the pub’s ASCAP and BMI license.

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The show is directed by Thalia Schramm. And performing the songs are a cast of four familiar and first-class actresses we have seen shining in shows at The Encore Musical Theatre, The Dio Dinner & Entertainment, Wild Swan, and The Penny Seats – Sarah Briggs, Elizabeth Jaffe, Lindsay Frischmuth and Kristin McSweeney.

Schramm has an awful lot of talent to work with, and the songs are not merely sung, they are truly performed and delivered. The whole show –90 minutes without intermission that flew by – takes the songs and allows them to seamlessly flow one into the other with duets, foursomes and solos. And these are actresses, so while tottering around on spike heels on an elevated platform about two feet above the floor, they use their acting chops to contextualize the songs and play off one another. And they have a great time doing it. It’s cabaret, but better.

“Liz” Jaffe has established herself as one of the leading comedic singer/actresses around, and her “Arthur in the Afternoon” solo, and duet of “The Apple Doesn’t Fall Very Far From The Tree” with Frischmuth are delicious. And then she smokes “Maybe This Time,” a reprise from her Sally Bowles in Cabaret earlier this season at The Dio.

Brigg’s “Don’t Tell Mama,” and her “I Don’t Remember You” are penetrating, and her range and capacity to belt often anchors the quartet numbers together. Lindsay Frischmuth displays a worldly depth in her “Marry Me” “Dear One,” and “And The World Goes Round.” Kristin McSweeney, a recent graduate of Eastern Michigan University’s theatre program, lights up the stage with her friendly, approachable, sunny delivery of songs like “Sorry I Asked,” and “A Quiet Thing,” and she more than holds her own in her duets and quartet pieces with these other actresses with lots more shows under their belts.

Music director Lewis created lovely arrangements for this collection of songs, matching up some songs to be sung one into the other, or as mixed duets: Love and Love Alone/Sorry I Asked; I Don’t Remember You/Sometimes A Day Goes By.” His direction is clever and logical as he deftly leads a four-piece band on keyboard, along with upright bass, drums and saxophone.

The Penny Seats has brought that meeting/performance space to life at O’Neill’s, a space this reviewer has visited for their other shows (like last season’s Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living In Paris from The Penny Seats) for Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce meetings. Believe me, these ladies are a much better show, and their performance is exactly as the title suggests. They are singing happy and their capacity to induce smiles is infectious.

Click here for show days, times and details.