Ari Axelrod
A Place for Us: A Celebration of Jewish Broadway
54 Below, NYC, January 18, 2025
Reviewed by Jacqueline Parker

What better way to begin a new year than with hope and love, which is just what Ari Axelrod delivered—and much, much more. He spoke briefly about creating an experience for the audience, and that’s exactly what he did. It was part lesson, part biography, along with a heavy dose of gorgeous singing and a dash of humor, Axelrod led us into his world of music, family, and self discovery. It became a place one would want to visit again and again. With a gentle tutorial air, he guided the audience through some of the history of the men who gave us and the world, the great gift of the American musical. He also explained why most of these songwriters were Jewish. One of the reasons was that they were natural storytellers, a trait that Axelrod demonstrated throughout with his unique talent. He added with a grin that “they read the same story every year” to prove his point.
He began the show, a celebration of the release of his CD of the same name, most appropriately with a song from Jerry Bock’s and Sheldon Harnick’s Fiddler on the Roof, perhaps the granddaddy of great Jewish musicals. It was his rousing rendition of “Miracle of Miracles” that set an optimistic tone. Early in his career Axelrod starred in the York Theatre’s production of Milk and Honey (score by Jerry Herman), and he delivered the title number with gusto and flair. An added thrill to this was hearing a recording of a message Herman had left for Axelrod that wished him well with that performance. He paid homage to Cole Porter with an explanation of why many of his songs were influenced by his Jewish compatriots, namely Richard Rodgers and Irving Berlin. Rodgers—and his far-reaching influence on American music—was beautifully expressed in “Some Enchanted Evening” for which Oscar Hammerstein II provided the lyrics. Axelrod’s phrasing on this song was nothing short of revelatory. Ten years later, daughter Mary Rodgers presented Once Upon a Mattress, and Axelrod gave us a taste of the hit from that show “Shy” (lyrics by Marshall Barer). Fast forward 40 years, and we were introduced to the next generation of Rodgers genius, Mary’s son Adam Guettel. His Myths and Hymns made its first appearance in 1998, and Axelrod delivered the haunting Migratory V, leaving no doubt as to the budding talent behind it.
No show of this nature would be complete without Irving Berlin, and Axelrod chose to represent him with “God Bless America,” which became a prayer as he encouraged us to sing along. Perhaps the most moving part of the evening was the projection of the long white table used for the White Dinner Party, an event held each year in New York City where guest arrive at a secret location. The camera went past the many empty white seats as he sang “Bring Him Home” (from Les Misérables, music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Alain Boublil), and one wondered whether this was an error. Then the camera turned and on its return journey to reveal pictures of the Israeli hostages on each seat. He lightened the mood a bit when he took charge of a conga drum and accompanied himself on “Cool” from Leonard Bernstein’s and Stephen Sondheim’s score for West Side Story. The haunting “Somewhere” from the same show became even more so in Axelrod’s performance.
There was a curious contradictory quality about this performer. He delivers emotion without getting emotional himself, and he infused his work with a strength that was powerful but not threatening. Throughout the evening one sensed that he was giving the audience a lesson beyond what had been already stated, and this piqued interest even more. The thoughtfulness and careful and intelligent curation of this show were outstanding. Rarely can one say of a performance that every gesture and note were true and honest, but this performance, infused with love and sincerity, was. At the end I was reminded of the old commercial “You don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy Levy’s Rye Bread.” Well, one didn’t have to be Jewish to appreciate and adore this show.