A crowd of theater lovers packed the 1,700-seat Majestic Theater yesterday to celebrate the life of Cy Coleman, the composer who wrote the music for the shows “Barnum,” “Sweet Charity,” and “Little Me,” as well as some of the most memorable songs of recent decades, such as “Witchcraft” and “The Best is Yet to Come.”

Coleman died November 19 after suffering a sudden illness. He was 75.

Some of the musical stage’s top talents gathered yesterday to perform Coleman originals. Chita Rivera and Ann Reinking led a group version of “Big Spender,” from “Sweet Charity.” Performed along with the original 1966 Bob Fosse choreography, it was deliciously down and dirty. Ms. Reinking appeared in the revival of “Sweet Charity,” in 1986, but it was Ms. Rivera, dressed in outrageous orange lame, who stole the number. “Sweet Charity” is set to be revived again this spring.

Lillias White brought down the house with a rendition of “The Oldest Profession,” her show-stopping number from the 1997 show “The Life.” Ms. White was glamorous and superannuated, high-energy and despondent, all at the same time.

“His work is still reaching us, still touching us,” the master of ceremonies, James Naughton, said. “He would make a song feel as if it had been written just for you.”

Mr. Naughton and Gregg Edelman, the stars of “City of Angels,” Coleman’s 1989 hit musical, sang “You’re Nothing Without Me” from the show.

“He was the most confident person I ever met,” David Zippel, who collaborated with Coleman on “City of Angels,” said. “He was the best and he knew it.”

“He was really the George Gershwin of his time,” said A.E. Hotchner, a longtime show-business friend who worked with Coleman on a rare flop, “Welcome to the Club” (1989).

“As a girl growing up in Brooklyn, I would listen to his music endlessly. I liked him for collaborating with women,” playwright Wendy Wasserstein, who later befriended Coleman and worked with him on the children’s musical “Pamela’s First Musical,” said.

Another highlight of the afternoon was a sprightly duet by Lucie Arnaz and her daughter, Katharine Luckinbill, singing “Hey, Look Me Over.” Lucille Ball, Ms. Arnaz’s mother, premiered the song in Coleman’s “Wildcat” in 1960. It was Coleman’s first full-fledged musical and Ball’s only Broadway-starring turn.

Coleman was a consummate pianist and singer in his own right and often performed with his Cy Coleman trio. The surviving two members, Gary Haas and Buddy Williams, were on stage at the Majestic to provide drums and bass backup to Coleman’s frequently jazz-inflected tunes. In a fitting finale, the spotlight focused on the empty piano bench while a recently made recording of Coleman singing a new song, “A Little Trav’lin’ Music, Please,” was played. Over a gently undulating melody came Coleman’s gentle voice, singing lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman: “You love and you learn, there are no guarantees, a little trav’lin’ music, please.”