Sophisticated Ladies is one of those rare musical revues that didn’t leave me longing for more information about its honoree, the great Duke Ellington. With its Cotton Club atmosphere, full raft of well-known tunes, and stylish dancing and costumes reminiscent of the Ellington era from the 1920s on, you get all you really need to know about the composer in Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s season-opening production.

WBTT produced this musical (originally conceived by Donald McKayle with musical direction by Duke’s son, Mercer, for Broadway back in 1981) some 20 years ago, and while I’m sure I saw it then, the memories have faded. I still feel confident, though, that the cast and production values of today’s show have made leaps and bounds since the company’s earlier days.

And the lure of Ellington’s music is clear from the first overture notes, led by enthusiastic and entertaining music director Carl Haan and his larger than usual orchestra. The impact is heightened by the placement of the musicians right in the center of the stage, surrounded by a raised platform and steps leading down to the main level, with the show’s talented singers and dancers making full use of every inch of Harlan Penn’s set design.

As I said, there’s no fumbling about with introductions to Ellington’s life or background here. We just launch directly into a dance number (“I Got to Be a Rug Cutter”) performed by four guys in white tails with an elan that cues us to what we’re in for the rest of the evening. There are duets both touching and amusing, solos both torchy and tantalizing, but what you’ll probably remember most from the evening is when all or most of the ensemble is onstage tapping and otherwise dancing their hearts out.

Of course there are Ellington must-hears: “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” “Take the A Train,” “Caravan,” “Satin Doll,” and the song the show’s title derives from. There are also some tunes you may not know quite so well: the comic “Bli-Blip,” “I’m Checking Out Goom’bye,” “Cotton Tail.” They’re all delivered by strong singers who capture the often elegant Ellington tone. Some are familiar—Jazzmin Carson as The Chanteuse, Leon Pitts II as The Hipster; some are newer to WBTT, as with Dawn Derow as The Soubrette, Jeff Gallup as The Danseur and Marcel Joshua as The Jazzbo. Each has more than one shining moment to display their multiple talents.

Especially welcome is the appearance onstage of the show’s director, Jim Weaver, who has performed at other theaters around town, including Florida Studio Theatre, in the past, but at WBTT has worked backstage, as assistant artistic director and education director. It’s good to see him as The Raconteur, balancing out some of the younger actors with the seasoning just right for “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” and “Something to Live For.”

Also welcome, first-time WBTT choreographer Monessa Salley, whose imagination stretches far beyond the artful tapping that mostly dominates here. And Suwatana “Pla” Rockland’s costumes, whether glamorous or more outré, both flatter the cast and place the audience in the period, especially when backed by Michelle Harvey’s projection designs, which take us from a jungle scene to a Harlem streetscape to a map highlighting Africa as dancers dressed as aviators step to the exotic “Caravan.”

All in all, Sophisticated Ladies is quite the aural and visual feast. It continues at WBTT through Nov. 22; for tickets, call (941) 366-1505 or visit westcoastblacktheatre.org.