Cabaret doesn’t have to be narcissistic hopefuls bellowing Andrew Lloyd Webber or smarmy archivists exhuming unpublished Cole Porter tunes. Singer Mary Cleere Haran and pianist-singer-arranger Richard Rodney Bennett prove that cabaret, at its best, can be a musically and emotionally enthralling art form. An elegant, articulate performer, Haran blends thoughtful, supple-voiced interpretations of vintage popular songs with witty, informative commentary about the writers and eras that produced them. Bennett, a celebrated composer of classical pieces and film scores (Murder on the Orient Express, Enchanted April) devises fresh, inventive piano settings for Haran’s carefully chosen programs and occasionally joins her in smooth vocal duets. This week, following critically acclaimed engagements in New York, they bring their George Gershwin centenary celebration, “The Memory of All That,” to the Barns of Wolf Trap. Their repertoire combines familiar Gershwin classics—”The Man I Love,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “‘S Wonderful”—with lesser-known compositions including “Nashville Nightingale,” “I’d Rather Charleston,” and “Sweet and Lowdown.” Following the performance, the artists will be available to sign pre-release copies of their upcoming Managra Music CD. At 8 p.m., Friday, March 26, at the Barns of Wolf Trap, 1624 Trap Road, Vienna. $20. (703) 938-2404. (Joel E. Siegel)