This Christmas cabaret is one of the more conventional ones I’ve seen this year – and that’s entirely a good thing. In the spirit of his own favorite singer, Johnny Mathis, Norm Lewis’s show leans into holiday fun and warmth. It’s not an entirely shallow show – there are dark shadows here and there, especially Dionne Warwick’s socially-conscious “Be Aware” – but Lewis lays emphasis on Christmas’s pleasures and joys.

And it’s not strictly a Christmas show, even though this silly soul made his entrance wearing a red and green tutu, greeting the audience while the band played the tune of Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.” The set includes a frisky “Waiting for Life,” from Once on This Island, a show which Lewis has done more than once. Lewis also bravely assays “People” – yes that one, the Barbra Streisand one – to which he gives even more drama, if that’s possible.

Lewis favors the audience with powerful belting several times throughout the evening in showcases like “Home” from The Wiz and “Ave Maria / Oh Holy Night” both of which are available on his new Christmas CD The Norm Lewis Christmas Album (available for sale in the lobby, as he will happily remind you). He closes with the groovy “Why Couldn’t It Be Christmas Every Day” which Mariah Carey was offered but didn’t record. Recommended.

For tickets, click here.

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