In one of the first performances at the new Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, located at the former home of the Arundel Barn Playhouse, Liz Callaway brought her very full, yet sensitive, singing voice, a charming stage manner and a first-rate accompanist for a transfixing evening of song.

The Chicago native’s 90-minute performance filled the refurbished 1887 post-and-beam structure with music from all phases of her award-winning stage, screen and cabaret career.

On and off-Broadway titles figured prominently in representing what Callaway said was her first love, the theater.

“Memory,” which she sang during her long run as Grizabella in “Cats,” was one of several show stoppers. At center stage, the slender 55-year-old built on the emotion within the lyrics to a stunning crescendo supported by the keyboard intensity of Alex Rybeck. In another highpoint, the hopeful tone of “Make Someone Happy” was combined with the celebration of “Something Wonderful” from “The King and I” in a tribute to her husband.

Callaway introduced “Meadowlark” from “The Baker’s Wife” as a song she used to perform in her early days as a singing waitress. She drew laughs in telling of her days as a stand-in for Barbara Streisand, before launching into a pitch-prefect take of the latter’s “People.”

The singer’s long association with the music of Stephen Sondheim was honored by versions of the witty and fast-pasted “What More Do I Need?” A comic take on “Another Hundred People” called “Another Hundred Lyrics” was a theater piece unto itself.

A Gershwin medley gave Rybeck a chance to dig deep into the classic “Rhythm” tunes. He lived up to his billing as an orchestra of one.

Callaway’s love for music of the 1960s was evident in spirited versions of “Downtown,” which included some audience participation from the half-house crowd. A plaintive “Leaving on a Jet Plane” soared while a mash-up of “Didn’t We” with “MacArthur Park” was only slightly outdone by a similar combining of “Singin’ in the Rain” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.”

The short-haired singer, in white top with black pants, recounted her work providing vocals for several animated features. Regarding “Anastasia,” she laughed as she remembered giving a Midwestern accent to the Russian title character.

A strong finish included Callaway’s star-turning “The Story Goes On” from the show “Baby.”

With a good sound system, effective stage lighting, a comfortable, lantern-lit ambience and, most important, performers of Callaway’s caliber, the Vinegar Hill Music Theatre appears to be on its way to becoming a major addition to the summer entertainment scene.

Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.