11:00…at 7:00
An Exhausting Schlog of Broadway’s Best
11:00 O’Clock Numbers
Chelsea Table & Stage, NYC, April 24, 2026
Reviewed by Jacqueline Parker

I just love surprises, don’t you? At a certain point in life, however, surprises are no longer welcome, since they tend to be unpleasant ones. However, what a delight awaited me at Chelsea Table & Stage this Friday evening. Intrigued by the show’s title, I approached it with minimal expectations but was thoroughly won over by this group of nearly two dozen young performers accompanied by a sassy band. In talking with the director/producer Michael Kozloski afterwards, I learned that these were professionals who came together for the fun of it just to—in true Mickey-and-Judy fashion—put on a show.
My immediate response to this cornucopia of talent was to thank the gods for supplying so many extraordinary singers/actors to populate the next few decades of Broadway shows. In addition to being greatly talented, they were all interesting to see and were outfitted beautifully. Looking like the reincarnation of a young Natasha Richardson, Renee McFillin performed the title song from Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret. While the song is quite familiar, she made it her own as she skillfully drifted from naive innocence to tear-provoking rage.

In “What You Own” (Anthony Rapp/Adam Pascal) Jacob Schmidek (reminiscent of Ben Jones) and Aaron J. Dix displayed an intensity beyond their years Another look-alike, Avery Carlson, not only seemed to be a young Laura Benanti but delivered “The Life I Never Led” (Katie Rowley Jones) with a maturity she was much too young to have. Another song familiar to many is Sondheim’s “The Ladies Who Lunch.” Elaine Stritch, who introduced this song in Company, certainly left her indelible stamp on it, as did a few others. Kate Glaser succeeded in leaving her own mark with her sassy interpretation. The trio of Amia Korman, Isabel Hartzell, and Cassie Vitale harmonized so beautifully and reverently on “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II) that it was like being in a church, finally paying attention to an oft-heard hymn that suddenly took on a new dimension.
The miracle here is that no one’s presentation was oversold. My only reservation is that a few times the lyrics became clouded by the urge to sing loudly. The words contain a message—let e audience know it.
In addition to those already mentioned, do take note of the rest of this cast: Angel Segala, Reba Hartman, Alyssa Armstrong, Koko Waller, Sarah Joy Kane, Alicia Bartasik, Truman Griffin, Bryanna Cuthill, Markia Nicole Smith, Joe Marx, Sarah Giulianti, Emma Gervase, Jalen X. Ford, Elena Camp, and James Maloney. Everyone sparkled and shined; they were a joy to behold and a much-welcomed surprise to begin a weekend.

