Western New York's premier producers of musicals canned or cult, off- or way-off-Broadway hits or originals that seemingly stream from an endless supply of same, Randy Kramer's MusicalFare is back with the area's first performances of "I Left My Heart: A Salute to Tony Bennett," co-authored by two of the company's favorite show suppliers, David Grapes and Todd Olson.

Grapes had a several-season tenure with Artpark some years back, developing several tributes and salutes to musical composers and icons. With partner Olson, Grapes wrote "My Way," a paean to Frank Sinatra that MusicalFare later had so much success with that it went on national tour. Another show highlighted Christmas tunes by Old Blue Eyes. Their "Moon River" lauded Johnny Mercer.

Grapes and Olson are getting adept at this sort of thing. And "I Left My Heart" is indeed very good, following the singers-songs-story formula well. The singers - Norm Sham, John Fredo, Jeff Coyle - are grand; the American Songbook is on parade; and the rags-to-riches story of Tony Bennett, celebrating six decades as the consummate lounge crooner, is an interesting tale, with Bennett nearly beatified at play's end.

Tony Bennett, nee Anthony Benedetto, was born in 1926 in Queens, into a family that loved music, including an uncle who had a vaudeville act. A music student and artist, Bennett helped support his family until military service interrupted that in 1944.

Postwar and singing in clubs under the name Joe Bari, Bennett was discovered by Pearl Bailey and Bob Hope. The name change preceded a Columbia Records contract with Mitch Miller and a 1951 chart hit, "Because of You." More than a half century later - with some lame years in between - the man is still going strong a few weeks short of 80.

"I Left My Heart" sings the songs that Tony Bennett has made his own - "The Best Is Yet to Come," "Shadow of Your Smile," "Fly Me to the Moon," "I Wanna Be Around," "The Good Life," and more than 30 others - all by America's greatest tunesmiths and even a modern-day classic, Bill Evans' "You Must Believe in Spring." Creators Grapes and Olson know that songs like these are rarely written now; man, are they ever good to hear.

Singers Sham, Fredo and Coyle are not Bennett imitators; this would never work. The three tenors take turns doing Bennett's music - "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," of course, is the show's signature tune - and also trade bits of Tony's life.

Well, we may not have met him, but "I Left My heart" gets us close.