Melodie Wolford
Waiting in the Wings
54 Below, NYC, November 9, 2026
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
By her own calculation, the charming Melodie Wolford has understudied 24 actresses, ranging from Rebecca Luker to Chita Rivera. She has great stories about many of them that she happily shared in her show Waiting in the Wings at 54 Below. In fact, it was hard to say which was more beguiling, her theatrical tales or her confident rendering of such classics as an enchanting medley of “I Wish You a Waltz” (Billy Goldenberg/Alan & Marilyn Bergman), “Do I Hear a Waltz?” (Richard Rodgers/Stephen Sondheim), and “Dancing” (Jerry Herman). Given that she was also a dancer as well as a singer, such material was totally appropriate and illustrative of her career.
All the music in the show was arranged by Alden Terry, who also doubled on bass and cello. The other two on-stage musicians were pianist Stephen Purdy and drummer Adam Wolfe, and they definitely added to the evening. But it was the beautiful voice and ebullient personality of Wolford that remained center stage under the almost invisible but capable directorial hand of Richard Sabellico. A tale of saving a slightly bewildered Tammy Grimes in a theater-in-the-round production of 42nd Street naturally led into a lovely rendition of “The Lullaby of Broadway” (Harry Warren/Al Dubin). A tale of her first encounter with KT Sullivan (who more recently encouraged her to create this show) as she stood by in a production of Cole Porter’s You Never Know naturally led to a selection from the score, “I’m Back in Circulation,” which had some distinctly Sullivan-inspired humor.
She also traced her personal life via musical moments. Meeting her husband on a tour of La Cage aux Folles was celebrated with a tender “Song of the Sand” (Jerry Herman), and her pregnancy was acknowledged with a moving mix of “Something Has Happened” (Harvey Schmidt/Tom Jones) and “It Only Takes a Moment” (Herman). By the way, her son, Alexander Craven, provided his mom with her on-target opening number “Always the Standby, Never the Star” and the special lyrics for her encore, “A Lot of Livin’ to Do” (Charles Strouse/Lee Adams).
Throughout the show, Wolford was beautifully dressed by David Josef in two different outfits. Her only misstep during the show was her repeated mentions of a party after the performance that only some of the audience were invited to; she offered to tell a spicier tale there. This made those who were not invited feel like outsiders, almost like understudies to those attending. She did enchant us with her heartfelt rendition of “Smile” (Charlie Chaplin/John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons) and her theatrical stories.
