Without the ingenuity of 1950s song-writing partners Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, American rock ‘n’ roll wouldn’t be the same.

Gone would be timeless toe-tappers such as “Stand by Me,” “Yakety Yak,” “There Goes My Baby,” “On Broadway” and “Jailhouse Rock.” Gone would be many of the tunes behind Elvis, The Coasters, The Drifters and Peggy Lee.

In the history of their 40-year career, Lieber and Stoller managed to carve a name for themselves in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. However, it wasn’t until recently that the famous duo became acknowledged in another arena.

“Lieber and Stoller are two gentlemen who have written lots of classical rock ‘n’ roll tunes,” Paul Ferrone, director of performing arts programming at Stephens Auditorium, said. “[‘Smokey Joe’s Cafe’] is a tribute to some of the greatest hits they’ve had.”

Branded a “musical revue,” vs. a “musical theater production,” “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” is a musical without a plot or storyline. The entire production is a song-after-song presentation of classic hit after classic hit.

But despite the fact that there aren’t any characters to develop, there is still a little acting involved.

“[The singers] don’t just sing the songs — they actually act them out,” Ferrone said.

Ferrone, who saw the show performed on Broadway a couple of years ago, said the only thing that ties the musical together is the fact that the songs were written by the same team.

“It doesn’t have a plot in the same way that ‘West Side Story’ has a plot,” Ferrone said. “The plot is really how they tie the songs together.”

Another peculiar part of the performance is that the band sits up on the stage with the rest of the performers, instead of in the pit, like the band in another newer phenomenon, “Rent.”

“Lots of musicals are doing that these days,” Ferrone noticed. “You may hear the band but not necessarily see them, based on lighting and scene design.”

Such a set-up makes the show appear more entertainment-driven, giving it less of a traditional musical aura.

Ferrone said because the musical is packaged differently than regular Broadway shows, it tends to attract a few extra audience members.

“Our audiences don’t necessarily always cross over from one show to the next,” Ferrone said. “People who like musicals will come, and based on our ticket sales there’s a lot of those people out there.”

Though the show seems to defy everything traditional about a musical, it has managed to win a Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Musical, seven Tony Award nominations in 1995 and the affections of music lovers everywhere.

“It’s the kind of thing you want to hear over and over again,” Ferrone said.