54 Sings Broadway’s Greatest Hits

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54 Sings Broadway’s Greatest Hits

Feinstein’s/54 Below, NYC, August 11, 2017

Reviewed by Joel Benjamin for Cabaret Scenes

Kevin Spirtas

Scott Siegel once again took his avid fans at Feinstein’s/54 Below for another stroll down memory lane, aka Broadway. The 18th edition of 54 Sings Broadway’s Greatest Hits went from The Boys from Syracuse to The Roar of the Greasepaint – the Smell of the Crowd to Dear Evan Hansen and everything in between

With the extraordinarily stylish Tedd Firth on the piano, the show, emceed by Siegel in his usual casual, witty manner, went smoothly from Philippa Lynas’ anthemic “Tomorrow” (Charles Strouse/Martin Charnin) to the finale, “Once Before I Go” (Peter Allen/Dean Pitchford, used in The Boy from Oz) sung with scorching honesty by Kevin Spirtas (pictured).

In between, Siegel stalwart Brian Charles Rooney filled the room with a lovely “Somewhere” (Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story), “I Am What I Am” (Jerry Herman; La Cage aux Folles) and, with a brilliantly over-the-top Lynas on “The Song That Goes Like This,” the satirical pastiche from Spamalot (John Du Prez/Eric Idle).

Michael McCorry Rose let his strong tenor loose on My Fair Lady‘s “On the Street Where You Live” (Lerner & Loewe) and Chess‘ “Where I Want to Be” (Benny Andersson/Björn Ulvaeus/Tim Rice). Also from Chess was the emotionally draining “Pity the Child,” sung by the big-voiced Jeremy Kushnier.

Kacie Sheik was dreamy, yet amusing, in “New York State of Mind” (Billy Joel) and heartbreaking in “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from Jesus Christ Superstar (Rice/Andrew Lloyd Webber).

Jillian Louis offered a playful “Sing for Your Supper” (also from The Boys from Syracuse) while Katelyn Malloy was sad, yet somehow upbeat, in “She Used to Be Mine” from Waitress (Sara Bareilles). Malloy joined Pedro Coppeti in the mother/son duet from Dear Evan Hansen (Benj Pasek/Justin Paul), which was quietly moving.  Coppeti also showed off his big voice in “Stars” from Les Misérables (Claude-Michel Schönberg/Alain Boubil/Herbert Kretzmer).

Completing the song list was “Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)?” performed by Jillian Louis, who smoothly wrung all the emotions from the lyrics.

Joel Benjamin

A native New Yorker, Joel was always fascinated by musical theater. Luckily, he was able to be a part of seven Broadway musicals before the age of 14, quitting to pursue a pre-med degree, which led no where except back to performing in the guise of directing a touring ballet troupe. Always interested in writing, he wrote a short play in high school that was actually performed, leading to a hiatus of nearly 40 years before he returned to writing as a reviewer. Writing for Cabaret Scenes has kept him in touch with world filled with brilliance.