Julia Murney in First You Dream.

There’s not a lot of extra stuff binding together the songs that make up First You Dream, Signature Theatre’s extensive tribute to the music of Broadway greats Kander & Ebb. There’s no thin plot driving the piece along; no real theme beyond the composers tying the songs together. Turns out, it’s not really necessary. With the help of six stellar performers (and a spectacular orchestra), these songs stand on their own.

It’s not surprising this world premiere would find its home at Signature, which devoted an entire festival last year to showcasing the duo’s work, including an unforgettable production of the lesser-known Chita Rivera vehicle The Visit (a show which gets a brief but appreciated tribute here). Signature’s previous festival showcased not only the crowd-pleasing, razzle-dazzle aspects of Kander & Ebb’s catalog (these are, after all, the “New York, New York” guys), but their darker, more sophisticated forays as well. This time around, it’s nearly halfway into the second act of First You Dream before things venture into melancholy territory, but with so many showstoppers along the way, it’s hard to notice.

And those showstoppers include “Sara Lee” (made famous from an earlier Kander & Ebb revue, And The World Goes Round), the silky-sounding Norm Lewis’ passionate tribute to the instant dessert mix; Ring Them Bells, Heidi Blickenstaff’s vivacious, Liza Minelli-reminiscent anthem to finding her match; and Matthew Scott’s prancing Kiss of the Spider Woman medley.