Already tired from a long week of not-fun, non-writing work and ceaseless bad economic news, I headed to St. Paul Friday night to take in the latest piece from the up-and-coming Blue Umbrella Productions. Toss in that there was a Wild game that evening -- forcing me to actually pay for parking in St. Paul -- and it wasn’t a surprise that I was a bit grumpy by the time I finally got to the Lowry Lab Theater.

“Dreamboys,” however, quickly melted my mood. Starting with the rather beguiling concept of having men sing Broadway tunes written for women, “Dreamboys” built on that with a quintet of talented singers who easily glided from tune to tune through the sharp 90-minute program.

It’s fairly rare to find Broadway tunes where men sing of their love to other men, so an entire evening of it (albeit with songs not originally intended in that direction) provided some real thrills. The compilation -- solidly directed by Suzanna Winter -- also dug deep into the songbook, pulling out songs that were familiar (pieces from “South Pacific” and “Company”) to downright obscure (the jolly “Mr. Hop-a-long Heartbreak” from “Urban Cowboy.” I didn’t realize anyone actually saw “Urban Cowboy.”).

The five performers blended well in their group numbers and all had moments to really strut their vocal stuff in solo numbers. The highlight came with Tim Keuhl, who not only belted out the above “Urban Cowboy” number, but also a gorgeous ballad, “Lying There.” While not perfect -- there were a few flubbed lyrics and sound cues, along with sequences that dragged -- “Dreamboys” provided what my soul needed Friday night.

That the Wild game got out at the same time as the show? Oh well.

“Dreamboys” runs through Feb. 22 at the Lowry Lab Theater, 360 St. Peter St., St. Paul. Tickets are $15. For information, call 651-646-2943 or online.