All things Sinatra. That’s the core idea now at  Weathervane Playhouse, a Knight Arts grantee, with its holiday musical, “Christmas My Way: A Sinatra Holiday Bash.”

Nice thing about the theater, it’s small enough to eavesdrop on audience members during intermission and when leaving the theater to get some idea of what they, the audience (rather than the reviewer), thought of the show they just saw. During opening weekend, one person said (to nods of approval), “it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.” And indeed it was, especially if you are into Frank Sinatra songs.

David Grapes and Todd Olson’s “Christmas My Way” brought together about 30 songs from the Sinatra songbook, many of them related to the holidays. More than that, however, it let the audience in on many tidbits about Old Blue Eyes, even though one audience member said that she’d hoped for more information about him, like some of his dealings with the famous Rat Pack group of actors and celebrities.

The tidbits were there. Who knew Sinatra’s birthday was December 12, leading into the season? Or that he’d recorded 31 Christmas and seasonal albums? Or, and this was a surprise, that he actually co-wrote a Christmas tune, “Mistletoe and Holly” with Don Stanford and Henry Sanicola? As the cast told it, the composers drank a lot of liquor getting that tune together. The song fittingly was the first sung by the two men and two women who comprised the cast.

L-R: Kim Thomas, Daniel Colaner, Chanda Porter, Jay Sigler in “Christmas My Way.” Photo courtesy of Weathervane Playhouse

Another audience member made a critical comment about the cast. Two of them (Daniel Colaner and Kim Thomas), she said, were better (than Chanda Porter and Jay Sigler). Maybe she was talking about pure singing. Sinatra, if nothing else, was the superb master of style, of successfully interpreting the lyrics of even the blandest or silliest of songs. Colaner is a highly trained operatic tenor; his background showed in some of the bigger Sinatra numbers, like “That’s Life” and “My Way,” where he let loose and took the stage. Kim Thomas has a quite lovely alto range voice, and tunneled into the strong mood in songs like “The Man That Got Away.”

Sigler had some intonation problems in some of the tougher songs, while Porter seemed self-assured and comfortable in her middle voice range. But if stage presence were the calling card, Porter and Sigler more than held their own. These two bantered easily with each other and, as part of what little plot there is, with the audience as well. They seemed incredibly comfortable with the song-and-dance format.

Also, truth be told, that’s a lot of songs and a lot of words, and a lot of music genres going on for the cast to deal with, to include a version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” with the lyrics printed on large triangular boxes that look like the candy Toblerone. That bit really worked, and looked like semi-chaotic fun for the cast.

John Catlos’ costumes – tuxedos and gowns in Act II – gave a kind of glamour to the setting. When the two women appeared after the intermission in their gowns, there were audible murmurs of approval from audience members. Alan Scott Ferrall’s set was perfect for this show – a combined piano and bar (ah, think Sinatra the crooner and his love of liquor) and a backdrop edged with snowflakes and martini glasses. Oh yes, and bottles of liquor galore. These things spoke to the dialogue that reflected on Sinatra’s reputation (which also came up in the naughty jokes that the singer was famous for).

“Christmas My Way: A Sinatra Holiday Bash” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. on Saturday, and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday (with a 10 a.m. performance on Wednesday, December 18) through December 21 at Weathervane Playhouse, 1301 Weathervane Lane, Akron; 330o-836-2626; www.weathervaneplayhouse.com. Tickets are $25.