‘Scaling Everest’ Has Limited Range

“Scaling Everest: The Songs of John Everest” is like a blooming rose. Or a glowing star. No, wait, it’s really like a first kiss.

Ah, such are the dogeared similes of Everest, whose not-so-recognizable trunk songs fill this perky cabaret revue at Cinegrill in Hollywood. And who, you may well ask, is Everest? Well, according to the charmingly self-deprecating title song and subsequent patter, he’s a Burbank lawyer and part-time “unsung composer . . . trying to score.”

In pursuit of that goal, Everest climbs songwriting peaks that are positively, um, Appalachian. He’s very prolific; there are 26 tunes here. And he’s minimized listener stress by making many of them sound alike, rhyme by well-worn rhyme. Notwithstanding some cute comic novelties (“Sperm Bank Polka”), these are mostly greeting-card sentiments set to indifferent music: “You’re Every Woman to Me,” “You’re Every Lover to Me” and “A You for Every Me.”

As directed by Wayne Moore, the four singers--Mark Barrett, Barbara Keegan, Jeffrey Rockwell and Alli Spotts--are so zippy and fun, they’re like (insert your favorite cliche here).

* “Scaling Everest: The Songs of John Everest,” Cinegrill, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Mondays, 8 p.m. Ends July 29. (213) 466-7000. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.