Norm Lewis
Christmas Lives Here
54 Below, NYC, December 19, 2025
Reviewed by Jacqueline Parker
Photo courtesy of 54 Below
It was brisk in 54 Below Friday night, so much so that I considered unchecking my coat. However, the room heated up the minute Norm Lewis made his entrance, bedecked in navy blue with sequins on his jacket and a sassy fedora on his head to complete the fetching ensemble. Whether it was just the excitement of his presence, the warm way he greeted friends in the audience as he made his way to the stage, or simply the friction of all those hands vigorously applauding I’ll never know. But I do know the room heated up FAST!
Lewis has a natural charm and warmth that pervaded the evening and, as he said, made the occasion more a party than a show. He seemed to play with the songs, as he did in his opening number, “Everything’s Coming Up Christmas,” a parody of “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” the Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim number from Gypsy. A most unlikely holiday song followed, “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’” (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II); he delivered it with sincere emotion and needed little encouragement as the audience happily joined in and sang along.
The touching Jerry Herman ballad “Song on the Sand,” soon followed, but before he began Lewis brought a couple to the stage who have been together for more than a half-century, bought them a drink, and dedicated the moment to them. Another surprise came when Lewis called Broadway photographer par excellence Stephen Sorokoff to the piano. He accompanied himself in a strikingly arranged version of Cole Porter’s “All of You.”
An effective juxtaposition of songs followed. Lewis rendered “Where Is Love?” (Lionel Bart) with childlike curiosity and followed by a most seductive version of “The Music of the Night” (Andrew Lloyd Webber/Charles Hart & Richard Stilgoe). This version, like his interpretation of “Silent Night” (Franz Xaver Gruber/Joseph Mohr), was sung more slowly than usual. It sometimes sounded like a whisper and almost forced the audience to ponder the lyric and consider the message it contained.
This act touched all the bases necessary for a successful and rewarding night of superlative cabaret, as was shown by the rapturous applause that followed every number. Richard Jay-Alexander directed this show, and music director Joseph Joubert was on piano along with Perry Cavari on drums and Marco Panascia on bass. The show lived up to its title; several audience members received gifts and/or drinks, and there was even an auction! How ironic that it was an evening that was chilly when it began turned out to be the hottest and, in another sense, the coolest act in town!
