"Smokey Joe’s Cafe: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller" at Manoa Valley Theatre re-creates the uniquely American nightclub scene during the rise of crossover genres: gospel, country, blues, jazz, big band and the emerging rock ‘n’ roll, rockabilly, rhythm-and-blues and pop.

Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller’s names might not be familiar to all, but their music was powerful, weaving the many genres into a new sound that launched the 1960s.

The set by M.J. Matsushita transforms the theater into a basement club on the hoppin’ side of town. The exterior (neon sign and clotheslines, apartments, bricks and balconies) merges with interior (stairs descending to a stage and band, and small cafe tables served by staff in aprons and bow ties), and the audience plays both itself in the here-and-now and the cafe patrons of there-and-then, drinking and clapping along.

The revue delivers 37 numbers, including megahits such as "Hound Dog," "Love Potion No. 9," "Kansas City" and "Spanish Harlem," as well as a few little-remembered songs such as "Neighborhood" and "Shoppin’ for Clothes." The songs are linked not by story or chronology, but by more subtle means: mood, tempo, style and even by contrast. In other words: Don’t search for connections, just enjoy the flow.

The production, engagingly directed and choreographed by Brad Powell, features an excellent five-piece band, nine talented singers, and dancer Pam Sandridge, who appears just once for a cameo performance in "I’m a Woman" from 1962, a song neatly balanced between the misogyny of the 1950s and the emerging feminism of the 1960s.

In the course of the evening, the singers play multiple roles, combining and recombining as soloists and backups, couples, boy and girl bands, and ensembles.

Perhaps because male vocal styles have changed less over the ages, the five males — Derrick Brown, Jonathan Causey, Sheldon Gomabon, Ethan Okura and Miguel K. Pa’ekukui — provide the most cohesive sound, matching and blending smoothly. Their rendition of "Keep on Rollin’," a four-part, close-harmony number (lacking only Gomabon), is terrific.

The four females present a more individualized group: Alison Aldcroft’s jazz approach, Katja Berthold’s contemporary Broadway technique, Lelea’e "Buffy" Wong’s Broadway belt style, and Alison Maldonado’s gospel/blues/R&B style, which best suits the ’50s/’60s sound.

Nostalgic revues such as this one present an inherent challenge: too accurate and they come across as corny, reminding everyone why the style fell from popularity; too updated and they don’t evoke that pleasurable yearning for what’s past. Powell strikes an appealing balance, offering fresh impressions while preserving the feel and charm of the old.

Assigning Elvis Presley’s signature "Hound Dog" to a female (Maldonado), for example, neatly sidesteps the inevitable comparison while highlighting its blues genealogy. Powell also choreographs new interpretations, turning "Dance With Me" (ensemble) into a comedy and "You’re the Boss" (Maldonado and Brown) into a delightful scene.

Each performer reveals a different aspect of Leiber and Stoller. Only the pretty and talented Berthold seems miscast, too young and with too contemporary a voice for these songs. Her almost virginal delivery of "Trouble" comes across as satire. Only when Maldonado growls, "I’m evil, so don’t you mess around with me," does the song’s true nature emerge. What is clear is that Berthold has a bright future on stage.

MVT’s production lacks the perfection of harmonies and precision in backup singers’ choreography that were so essential to the era’s aesthetics, but the performers’ talent, energy and enthusiasm are infectious.