54 Sings Sara Bareilles
Feinstein’s/54 Below, NYC, April 25, 2018
Reviewed by Chris Struck for Cabaret Scenes
Sara B at 54B. Sounds as sweet and inviting as it turned out to be.
The producers of this show brought together an impeccable cast that performed hit after hit, anchored by all-star MC for the evening, Michael Ryan. His story of sheer awe when seeing the astonishing performance of a young, and at the time, upstart nobody, Sara Bareilles (pictured), at a music festival in Massachusetts colored an evening full of glitz and glam expected of a venue like 54 Below.
One of the best aspects of this show was the incredibly well-done mashups. For example, the combinations of “Let the Rain” with “Brave” (sung by Morgan Marcell) and “Bluebird” with “Blackbird” (sung by Sally Eidman and Alexis Field) created a new way to experience musical magic that often already touches deep within one’s heart. The simultaneous pulls of washing regret away and steeling oneself to face a new dawn gave this show an appreciable dimension of depth that explored new avenues of Bareilles’ music.
If not already convinced of her genius, I may have been won over. If already a fan, I had a chance to see excellent singers perform touching tributes.
Among the plethora of great vocalists who joined the evening, I was especially impressed by Deborah S. Craig, Jessie Hooker-Bailey, Tyler Hardwick, Jenna Ushkowitz, Kara Lindsay and, of course, Daniel Quadrino and Peter LaPrade. Both hit stellar notes with enough flair for the rest of the show to round out the evening. However, every song demanded a different stylistic interpretation and Craig’s heart-wrenching performance of “She Used to Be Mine” (Waitress) showcased incredible attention to detail. As she held her stomach, reached out to the air, and implored the audience, with the veins showing on her neck, we could feel the desire to reclaim youth anew. Hooker-Bailey followed this with similar grit and strong vocals in a beautiful “Hold My Heart.”
Comparatively, Hardwick’s sensuous and smooth style seduced with “Many the Miles.” The stark dynamic from dour to passionate, spurred even the man on the lights to throw them into the beat as the room glowed blue, green, and every color of the rainbow. Hardwick even had a pair of potent back-up singers in Maria Pedro and Ximone Rose.
The stalwart veteran of the musical world, Ushkowitz, brought the house back to orbit, taking a seat and easily entertaining with a wondrous “Gravity.” As Emily Chou’s sweet violin twisted through the still air, Ushkowitz’s graceful tone played the counterpart in tender harmony. I could listen to that opening, and the dreamy “Something keeps bringing me back to you,” again and probably enjoy it even more.
Lindsay followed a really strong “When He Sees Me” (Waitress) by Jennafer Newberry with another of the writer’s pop classics that just couldn’t be left out, “Manhattan.” Lindsay’s ability to be soft but loud, exemplified that same dreaminess quality of the music that Ushkowitz touched on.
Bareilles’ other popular love song about not writing a love song was taken on by an impassioned Barasch. If it hadn’t been for Quadrino taking the mic off the stand and putting his all into an “Uncharted,” I might have said that he had the better of the two performances.
And finally, the last members not mentioned so far, April Lavalle and Kaitlyn Davis, did a solid job singing together (and with a bit of choreography) in one of the mashups. “Love on the Rocks” plus “I Choose You” made for easily listening. LaPrade took the final song and the final mashup (“Chasing the Sun” and “Breathe Again”), bringing it home with a hair flip and a smirk, knowing that we had a good time.
I know what you’re thinking: One violin— was that the only instrument? Eric Sorrels had the pleasure of being pianist and MD for this cast of musical studs. Rachel Gawell was on cello and bass, with Dan Berkery on drums. It will be a pleasure to see what the masterminds of this salvo of fun cook up next.
