There aren’t many artists in American music history more influential than George and Ira Gershwin.

The sons of Russian immigrants, they wrote a substantial portion of the tunes that make up the soundtrack of the middle part of the 20th century.

And their music lives on.

Evidence of that can be heard at the Freeport Factory Stage for the next couple of weeks: The intimate venue’s inaugural production is a spirited revue called “Gershwin Girls!” 

Conceived, written and directed by Jon Wojciechowski Jr., the show features brief narrative segments focusing on the life of composer George Gershwin and his collaborations with lyricist brother Ira. 

But the soul of the production, as reviewed on Friday night, is rooted in the performances by five female singers backed by a trio of piano, bass and drums.

Dressed in long colorful gowns at first, later all in black, each vocal performer injected both theatrical stylings and a bit of her own personality into her numbers.

Solo, duo and ensemble arrangements made for a varied program that moved along nicely with nary a hitch.

Some of the best moments came in duets between Caitlin Kelty Huber and Devin Dukes. Both young musical theater veterans gave feeling to a nifty combination of “Boy Wanted” and “Soon,” and brought it all together for an all-out take of “The Man I Love.”

Dukes also shared the rewards of her extensive musical training with first-rate renditions of “Summertime” and “Someone to Watch Over Me” while Kelty Huber charmed on “Embraceable You” and “But Not for Me,” the latter delivered while sitting atop the piano manned by musical director Charles Grindle.

Local theater veteran Koko Keller added bluesy feeling to “How Long Has This Been Going On” and easily traversed the twists and turns of “They All Laughed.”

Sarah E. Holt handled most of the vampy assignments, convincing the close-up crowd of her sincerity on both “I’ve Got a Crush on You” and “Treat Me Rough.”

She also duetted to good effect with Elisabeth Hardcastle on the up-tempo combo of “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” and “I’ve Got Rhythm” while Hardcastle employed her theatrical knowhow on “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”

“Our Love Is Here to Stay” was a nice ensemble finale to an evening full of great tunes.

Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.