There are several things about Lorna Luft’s current cabaret that bring to mind her mother Frances Gumm (better known as Judy Garland). First of all, she’s just written a book about her experience of her mother’s version of A Star is Born, and sings one of Judy’s songs from the 1954 movie, so that’s the most overt thing. Also she’s got that Gumm family voice – her sister Liza Minnelli has it too – warbling when it’s quiet, soaring when it’s loud. Her voice is in some ways softer than Judy’s or Liza’s, but identifiably that kind of voice.

This show though, is in surprising ways like her mother’s early 1960s TV show: packed with guests who are in large part her talented friends. Many of them met in the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls. And they all belt the hell out of their guest numbers: Ernie Sabella and his brother David in “Hakuna Matata,” Ruth Williamson and Lorna dueting in Irving Berlin’s “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy,” Haley Swindal in Berlin’s “Let Yourself Go.” At the end of the ensemble section of the the evening, things take a more somber turn as Luft and Swindal duet in composer Larry Grossman’s compelling “The Other Woman,” Haley singing the part of the mistress, Lorna the wife.

The show marks Luft’s triumphant return to performing after having a brain tumor removed earlier this year, and the support and warmth in the room were palpable. She concludes the evening giving back that love in a rousing rendition of Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher.” Recommended.

For tickets, click here.

To learn about Jonathan Warman’s directing work, see jonathanwarman.com.