Having just turned age 85, it’s safe to say Tony Bennett has been a cool singer for a very long time. His success over the years comes from the fact that he has been able to simultaneously convey through his work both a relaxed sophistication and an uncommon depth of musical understanding. It’s one of the great pleasures of our time to hear him sing.

The Arundel Barn Playhouse has opened an arresting revue full of the songs Bennett has made famous (and which made him famous). Three male singers offer versions of these tunes and add a few anecdotes about the song’s origins as well as snippets of the singer’s biography.

“I Left My Heart” is really less about Tony Bennett, though, than it is about the great songs that found their way into his repertoire. As performed on Friday night, the 2005 show by David Grapes and Todd Olson succeeds on the basis of how much the singers are able to credibly take on the fine material they are handed. It can be said they do a pretty good job.

Directed by Edward Reichert and backed by a four-piece onstage jazz band, Christopher Nolan, Robert Rice and Joey Valliere sing and dance with skill and a sustained spirit that ultimately make for an enjoyable evening at the theater.

Appearing first in tuxedoes, later in suits, the trio formed effective three-way harmonies on such tunes as “Embraceable You,” and engaged in some nifty tap dancing to go along with “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”

Each enlisted a female partner from the crowd for, respectively, “I Got Rhythm” (Valliere), “Night and Day” (Rice) and “That Old Black Magic” (Nolan). The ladies played along gamely, and the whole segment, though a bit corny, added some welcome laughs.

The second act offered the cast a chance to further present their diverse talents as first Rice and then Valliere took over musical director Nicholas Maughan’s piano for a tune. Later, Valliere also played a bit of trumpet.

Then came a trip to the musical summit with takes of such hits as “The Good Life” leading to “Rags To Riches” before “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” and “Make Someone Happy” closed the proceedings.

It appeared that quite a few someones in the audience were made happy by this tuneful little show.

Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.