When was the last time you were able to attend a cabaret performance? With venues like Feinstein’s at Vitello’s, Catalina Jazz Club and others closed due to the pandemic, if you’re like me you’d love nothing more than to just sit back and listen to talented people sing. Feinstein’s/54 Below in New York is bringing the cabaret to us.
On their YouTube channel they will post new concerts throughout April and early May. These videos are of concerts held in the venue (which gets its name from being downstairs from the Studio 54 Theatre) over the past year or two.
Here’s the recently announced line-up (all start times are 6:30PM EDT) with my personal recommendations being noted with an asterisk.
*Melissa Errico – Funny, I’m a Woman with Children – April 1st
Errico is a Broadway veteran who appeared in a revival of My Fair Lady, High Society and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. In this show, which actually took place on an April Fool’s Day, finds Errico performing with just piano and guitar. It’s an acoustic concert that features songs by Stephen Sondheim, Lerner & Loewe, Joni Mitchell, Jerry Herman and Jason Robert Brown.
Nicole Henry – April 2nd – This will be a live show on 54 Below’s Facebook page
Henry is a Soul Train Award-winning vocalist and will give a live preview of her new show celebrating one of pop music’s biggest icons: I Wanna Dance with Somebody: The Music of Whitney Houston
*Bright Lights, Big City 20th Anniversary Concert – April 3rd
Jay McInerney’s 1984 novel was turned into a musical by Paul Scott Goodman and was first performed in 1999. Though not a big hit, it became a bit of a cult musical. This concert celebrates the show with a cast that includes Christy Altomare (Anastasia), Matt Doyle (the upcoming revival of Company), Annie Golden (Orange is the New Black), Taylor Iman Jones (Head Over Heels), Julia Murney (Wicked), Margo Seibert (Rocky) and more. The show was directed by Alex Tobey with music direction by Ben Caplan.
Brittain Ashford – April 4th
Ashford appeared in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 and this concert is from her solo debut in 2017. The show includes music she wrote mixed with some covers.
*Kyle Dean Massey – April 6th
Television fans know Massey from Nashville; Broadway lovers from Next to Normal, Wicked and Pippin. In this show Massey performs songs he heard fellow cast members sing, songs he sings in the shower and other favorites.
Bonnie Milligan and Natalie Walker – April 8th
Milligan (Head Over Heels) and Walker (Alice By Heart) offer an evening of music, mayhem and murder. Not sure what that means, but that’s the description.
*Liz Callaway – The Beat Goes On – April 10th
The title tells you everything you need to know: welcome to the ’60s. Callaway, who has appeared in Merrily We Roll Along, The Look of Love and Miss Saigon, sings pop tunes along with songs from stage and film.
Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods Reunion Concert – April 11th
The cast of the 2008 MTV show reunite for this concert.
*Charles Busch – Native New Yorker – April 13th
Busch, who is best known for his plays (Die Mommie Die, Psycho Beach Party) in which he performs in drag, also does cabaret shows. What makes this particular show unique is he performs the show out of drag. The material comes from the 1970s and includes music by Sondheim, Henry Mancini, Jim Croce and Rupert Holmes.
Lorna Luft – To “L” and Back – April 15th
Liza’s sister and Judy’s daughter performs a concert about “paying it forward and saying thank you.” I trust I don’t need to explain who Liza and Judy are.
*Tovah Feldshuh – Aging Is Optional – April 17th
I first became aware of Feldshuh in the 1978 miniseries Holocaust. Recently she’s become popular through appearances on The Walking Dead and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. But her heart has long been on the stage. This show will combine music and comedy to examine getting older.
*Ben Vereen – Steppin’ Out With Ben Vereen – April 18th
Last July I spoke with the Tony Award-winning star of Pippin about his career which includes Wicked, Chicago, Jesus Christ Superstar and many more shows. This show is as much about moving forward as it is looking back.
*Ann Hampton Callaway – The Linda Ronstadt Songbook – April 19th
Earlier sister Liz celebrated the 60s in her 54 Below show, now Ann Hampton Callaway celebrates one of the most beloved singers of the 70s, Linda Ronstadt. The perspective in this show is the many faces of love as expressed in the songs Ronstadt recorded. Billy Stritch plays piano and serves as her Music Director.
I Wish: The Roles That Could Have Been – April 22nd
Alexandra Silber (Master Class, Fiddler on the Roof) hosts and conceived this show which finds Broadway performers singing songs they’d probably never get cast to perform, but they are songs they love. Cast members from Anastasia, The Band’s Visit, Ain’t Too Proud, Head Over Heels and more appear.
54 Sings Legally Blonde – April 24th
18 performers gather to sing the songs from Legally Blonde: The Musical.
*Alice Ripley & Emily Skinner – Unattached – April 26th
If you know that Ripley and Skinner appeared as the conjoined twins in the musical Side Show, then you’ll understand the name of this show. Their show features songs from their Broadway careers and new material. These two women are amazing. This is a show that I highly recommend.
Christine Andreas – AND SO IT GOES…Life & Love, Lost & Found – April 29th
The two-time Tony Award nominee explores life in America today.
Joe Iconis & Lauren Marcus – Love Letter – May 1st
Iconis and Marcus are both writer-performers and they are also married. The “love letter” of the title is to another couple: Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. This show combines original songs with unique versions of Cash classics.
*54/54/54 – May 4th
What does this title mean? 54 songs are performed by 54 singers and each song can only run 54 seconds. The selections cover everything from musical theatre to pop to originals. This should be fun!
*54 Celebrates Mel Brooks – May 7th
Though this show doesn’t have 54 performers, it does bring together a large cast to celebrate the man who brought us The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles and many other classic films (and in a couple cases, Broadway shows.)
Performers include Veanne Cox (Caroline, Or Change), Richard Kind (The Producers), Lesli Margherita (Matilda), Brad Oscar (The Producers), Lee Roy Reams (42nd Street) and 20 more performers. Kind serves as host.
Photo of Feinstein’s/54 Below by Joseph Moran/Courtesy of Feinstein’s/54 Below