Linda Eder
Play It Forward
54 Below, NYC, February 1, 2026
Reviewed by Candace Leeds
Photo by Lori Zapata
Linda Eder returned to a loving audience at 54 Below and presented many of her standards. At 65 years old, her voice is intact and shows great vocal dexterity, range, and quality. While her voice can dazzle, she has much more impact with songs that she fully inhabits and on which she projects her personal and emotional depth. When she does express her innermost feelings, as in “The Man I Love” (George and Ira Gershwin) and “What Kind of Fool Am I?” (Anthony Newley/Leslie Bricusse), her fans go wild.
She presented three songs from her starring role in the 1997 Broadway show, Jekyll & Hyde, which won her the Theater World Award and Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations. The first song from that show, the duet “In His Eyes” (Frank Wildhorn/Leslie Bricusse & Steve Cuden), was a stand-out. To join her on stage, she brought up from the audience a young, very talented student, Gianna Grosso, whom she had mentored at The Performing Arts School at Bergen PAC. The mentorship led Eder to invite Grosso to join her to sing duets at several of her concerts, including at the Bergen Performing Art Center in Englewood, New Jersey. Eder’s signature song from the show, “Someone Like You,” was delivered with power and emotion, and it clearly moved the audience.
Eder’s partner and frequent collaborator/music director/pianist Billy Stritch added to the fun, when he joined her in singing “Steppin’ Out with My Baby” (Irving Berlin), which included great, bouncy harmonies. A lively Judy Garland Medley, which she often includes in her shows, was also a hit, particularly with “The Trolley Song” (Hugh Martin/Ralph Blane), which became a spirited sing-along with the audience. Also enthusiastically received was “Son of a Preacher Man” (John Hurley/Ronnie Wilkins), which was rewarded with whoops and cheers.
She closed the show with one of her traditional grand-finale songs, “Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)” (Mitch Leigh/Joe Darion), which brought out her verve and power and brought the audience to its feet.
