Review: Melissa Errico dazzles in BROADWAY BABY - FROM MANHASSET TO MANHATTAN & BEYOND at 54 Below

As soon as Melissa Errico entered Broadway’s supper club, 54 Below, with her megawatt smile, dressed head to toe in sequins and a giant bow, this reviewer knew it was going to be a great night! Always dazzling, always entertaining, Errico immediately connected with the audience with her opening suite, "Watch What Happens” by Michel Legrand, followed by a slow groove rendition of “Come Rain or Come Shine” by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, into a jazz-infused pairing of “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” (Lerner & Loewe) /”My Favorite Things” (Rodgers & Hammerstein). The wonderful Tedd Firth, as Musical Director, shone with some absolutely luscious piano solos, accompanied by the great David Finck on bass and Mark McLean on drums.

Errico’s effervescent personality sparkled through her equally effervescent patter! She prefaced the show by saying she “doesn’t know what the ‘Beyond’ means yet” but reminded the audience that Manhasset is Exit 36 (on the I-495), which elicited bellows of laughter from the crowd (and the Manhattan in the title is, of course, a reference to her career as a Broadway ingenue). She also mentioned one of her daughters expressing disdain for her material, quoting her as saying, “You'll never be popular, because you don’t sing Taylor Swift.” Errico’s glorious response to that? A song by the GOAT, Sondheim, of course! Her rendition of “Can That Boy Foxtrot” from Follies was simply divine, and, no doubt, garnered Errico more fans from the room, some of whom were first-time 54 Below audience members.

Next up, Errico read from a clipping of a 1927 New York Times article about her Aunt Rose, who happened to be a Ziegfeld girl! Show business obviously runs in the family, and Errico proved that point by donning a fabulous feather boa (on loan from none other than Randy Roberts) and delivering an exquisite rendition of Gershwin’s “The Man I Love”. 

This was followed by Sondheim’s “What More Do I Need?” which admittedly had this reviewer feeling a little disappointed by seeing such a seasoned pro as Errico looking down at what appeared to be lyrics on a music stand. However, moments later, that disappointment dissipated when Errico DELIVERED with an absolutely stunning rendition of Michel Legrand’s “The Windmills of Your Mind.” Audible “wows” from the audience matched this reviewer’s sentiments exactly!

Other highlights included a guest artist for the evening, guitarist JC Maillard. Together, they performed a sublime treatment of Joni Mitchell’s “Night Ride Home” which was a track on Errico’s debut album “Blue Like That,” followed by a sultry Flamenco solo (Errico recently started taking Flamenco dance lessons). This seamlessly glided into another “wow” inducing performance of Sondheim’s “Take Me to The World.”

There are so many more highlights, but you shall have to go see for yourself! If this review hasn’t enticed you already, Errico has a guest joining her each night of her performances – Stephen Schwartz 11/2; Marilyn Maye 11/3; Charles Busch 11/4.

And dare we mention, Errico does indeed sing Taylor Swift – with panache!

All photos by Conor Weiss.

Book for Errico’s following performances HERE

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