Review: Chris Dwan Channels His Inner Child in WASTE OF SPACE at Feinstein's/54 Below

At one point during WASTE OF SPACE, his New York City solo concert debut at Feinstein's/54 Below on September 6, Chris Dwan began singing the lyric "We're connected in our own sort of universe" again and again. That line came from an original track, "All I Know," co-written with Ross Baum. Dwan did create his own sort of the universe, but the connections remained a bit unclear.

Dwan (most recently in Finding Neverland) kicked things off with the rapid-fire staccato opening of Jason Mraz's PG-13 track, "Dynamo of Volition." It was a bold choice that didn't instantly pay off, until the song built to a swell, putting the true power of his voice on display.

Hannah Corneau (EVITA) and Angela Travino (FROM HERE TO ETERNITY) were clearly enjoying themselves on backup vocals, including a fun bit of call and response with Dwan ("Can I get a witness?"/"Can he get a witness?"). Still, the song might have played better had it been shuffled into the middle, once audience members knew they were in good hands.

"I've seen some really, really great hangovers here," Dwan joked of the venue, introducing the show and setting up a celebratory round of whiskey shots with his parents. He would later make good on that order before revving back up for the encore. Though the moment was intended more for their benefit than for the rest of the crowd's, it was thematically fitting. Because in a show about boyhood, what better way to prove you're not a little kid anymore than by raising a glass with your folks?

To that point, despite billing the show as "a cerebral exploration of self-discovery and the power of the imagination through the eyes of a boy on a journey beyond the cosmos," Dwan wasn't afraid to go broad. He garnered laughs by strapping a mini-bicycle prop to his chest, complete with helmet and hand pedals, as the boy in his story left home to experience the outside world and beyond. Dwan would later trade his "bike" for a canoe paddle for his crowd-pleasing cover of "Just Around the Riverbend" (Alan Menken) from Disney's POCAHONTAS.

He showed off his impressive yodeling chops with an ambitious riff on Mary Schneider's medley of The William Tell Overture (Gioachino Rossini), the CARMEN Overture (Georges Bizet) and the ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD Overture (Jacques Offenbach), better known as "the can-can."

It was clear that Dwan excels at contorting his voice in a myriad of ways, surely a talent he honed in his a cappella group, RANGE, and vocally, his timing couldn't have been better.

But as Dwan brought in an array of props---juggling, knitting and playing the accordion in rapid succession---you could feel him getting ahead of himself, anticipating the next gag instead of focusing on the one at hand.

"I'll Lie to You" (Matte O'Brien, Matt Vinson) was perhaps the best display of his range, but it was The Rescues' "Break Me Out" that seemed to resonate most with the crowd. Sung primarily in harmony with Corneau and Travino, the audience roared when Dwan hit one of the highest notes of the evening. Corneau and Travino's contributions to WASTE OF SPACE cannot be understated, and based on their remarkable performances, it'd be interesting to see what each could do with a solo show of their own.

The show's director, Will Blum (SCHOOL OF ROCk), also joined him on stage with Tony Yazbeck (FINDING NEVERLAND), Will Taylor (BENT) and Max Chernin (BRIGHT STAR). Despite having an additional member to the typical definition, the group gave off strong barbershop quartet vibes with a goosebumps-inducing take on Muse's "Starlight."

Dwan brought his collaborators from RANGE onstage, including Corneau and Travino, to close out the night with an a cappella rendition of Justin Bieber, MØ and Ed SHeeran's joint hit, "Cold Water." His vocals were exceptional throughout, but the arrangement was one more addition to a show that was already, at this point, bogged down. Cabaret obviously lends itself to a wide variety of genres, often within the same show, but the storytelling element at work here requires a bit more tonal cohesion than WASTE OF SPACE delivered.

Dwan's rendition of John Mayer's "3x5," during which he hugged an empty photo album while a friend dropped printed photos on the stage, was a perfect illustration of both his prowess as a performer and the overall murkiness of the concept.

Aside from introducing his band---musical director Will Van Dyke on piano, Nate Brown on both the electric and acoustic guitars, Steve Gilewski on electric bass, Spencer Cohen on drums, and Allison Seidner on cello---and placing his whiskey order, Dwan rarely had time to take a breath between songs. While there's something to be said for letting the music do the talking, the show would have benefited from more of him. In fact, one of brightest spots of the evening came when he was excitedly sharing the story of his not-so-subtle attempt to play hooky from NEVERLAND, in order to sing a medley of Kelly Clarkson hits with RANGE at the pop star's concert.

Still, there's a great deal to love here. Dwan is an undeniable talent, and with a little more focus and a bit of fine-tuning to the concept, like his protagonist in WASTE OF SPACE, he could blast off into the stratosphere.