Lively tribute showcases masters of confidence, ambivalence

Whether you know every song John Kander and Fred Ebb ever wrote or are just a fan of “Chicago” and “Cabaret,” you won’t be disappointed with “First You Dream,” Signature Theatre’s tribute to the prolific Broadway songwriting team.

“First You Dream” touches on everything from their original partnership to their last Broadway show. Two things gradually become apparent. First, what master craftsmen Kander and Ebb were: Nowhere is there a predictable rhyme or hackneyed lyric. Second, what a wide range of emotions they captured — nostalgia, loss, self-assurance, longing, ambivalence, desire — and what an astonishingly nuanced place they found the world to be.

Director Eric Schaeffer has cleverly arranged the songs to highlight that variety, using six talented actors in various combinations to emphasize the dramatic core of Kander’s and Ebb’s collaboration.

Some of the most memorable songs are the most tentative and philosophical. In “Seeing Things,” two superb singers — Eleasha Gamble and Norm Lewis — are lovers who know that their romance is doomed: She sees truth and he sees illusion. In two solos that intertwine to become a duet, the excellent Julia Murney sings a cynical “The Money Tree” and Heidi Blickenstaff delivers a knockout rendition of “Maybe This Time.” Matthew Scott is sensational singing “Cabaret” and “I Miss the Music.” James Clow is particularly effective in “Blue Crystal.”

There are also delightfully silly songs, from the hymn to “Sara Lee” (handled masterfully by Lewis), to a sendup of all things martial, “Military Man” (Lewis, Clow and Scott).

Schaeffer’s set is a visual reminder of the music’s importance: Nineteen musicians sit on risers behind the stage. William David Brohn’s new orchestrations and David Loud’s musical supervision are innovative and refreshing.

When the show starts, a blown-up photo of Kander and Ebb is shown on a large screen above the stage. Fred Ebb’s gentle voice discusses the many ways in which he was different from John Kander. That’s hard to believe based on this show, where the music, lyrics, rhymes and rhythms mesh so effortlessly.