Sun. Aug. 5

How potent cheap music is! The line comes from Noel Coward, but Coward's music was not cheap. Whimsical, punny, enamored of dropping the names of every city in the world.  But not cheap. Frankly, Coward covered just about every emotion we humans have - the joy and pain of love, certainly among them. The A.R.T. is giving Boston a nice summer treat with "A Marvelous Party!: The Noel Coward Celebration," which is up at the Zero Arrow Theatre (renamed Club Zero, 'cause there are tables and a bar) Tuesdays-Sundays through August 4.  Remo Airaldi, Thomas Derrah, Will LeBow and Karen MacDonald are the actors who take us through song, skit and monologue, revealing Coward's cheerful, tart take on issues large and small. "Why Do the Wrong People Travel?" is as pertinent now as in 1961. "I Went to a Marvelous Party," sung by all the cast members from various viewpoints, has a wonderful time equating joy with another's, shall we say, public excesses. "London Pride" evokes Coward's hometown during the blitz. There's also his take on visiting a hospital full of wounded soldiers. He admires their pluck, their resilience, their stoicism in the face of great pain and wonders what a visit from "a successful playwright" could possibly bring them. Director Scott Edmiston follows that with "There Are Bad Times Around the Corner," with an Americanized version of this dour premonition. "Let's Fall in Love" is giddy and gleeful, of course, with Hillary and Bill Clinton added to the roll call of all those who do it - as are the family Bush. It's just ... they do it to us, sing all the actors, a bit angrily. As is typical with the A.R.T. players, there are A-level performances all around, each embodying different sides of Coward's persona. There's an almost tearfully sad song where the singer eschews any attempt to find love because when it comes to memories "the bitterness of the last goodbye is the one that wins." There's a sad farewell to Coward, too, and as they've brought him to life so well, you really miss him. Damn, he was a clever bastard. Tickets: $45-$25. It shuts down this weekend. with Sunday shows at 2 and 8 p.m. It's cabaret seating, tables and a bar.

0 Arrow St., Cambridge, 6176-547-8300 www.amrep.org