Review: 54 DOES 54 Packs 54 Below With Cheering Crowd

Last night the extremely popular 54 DOES 54 (THE 54 BELOW STAFF SHOW) played one of their raucous, hilarious, and oh-so-satisfying performances.  This phenomenon has been packing the basement for a few years now, as the members of the 54 Below family land center stage where the likes of Linda Eder, Norm Lewis, and (the sort of official) 54B matriarch Marilyn Maye can usually be found.  In this regular outing, producers/emcees Macon Prickett and Alex Martins build a program around service staff, administration team, front of house personnel, and kitchen craftspeople.  Over the years there has been some dancing, some storytelling, even some stand-up comedy, but most of the time these acts are musical ones, some being performed by singers trained for the stage, some being displayed by shower singers, and all of them entertaining and from the heart… also from the imagination (I’m looking at you, Luis Palomino).  This writer has become a big fan of the staff shows but the biggest fan of 54 Does 54 is club regular Gail Gordon, who was showered with love during last night’s production, whether being interviewed by Master of Ceremonies Prickett, or hugged by general manager Mandisa Boxill, as she fought her way to the stage.  But Gail was not the only person giving the love back to the nightclub’s version of Mickey and Judy - the entire theater was screaming, throwing hands in the air, and applauding the actors and storytellers.  It was a sight to behold, and a joyful one, at that.

During opening monologues, Martins and Prickett asked how many people were at their first 54 Below Staff Show and the numbers were actually pretty significant, so the lore about the event would appear to still be circulating among the public.  These newcomers got their eyes opened for them, but the regulars knew what was in store, and that’s what they got.   Whether it was Mark Beyer and the band rocking the house down with Coldplay’s “Yellow”or Rae Ann Cabralis going full-diva with her performance of “Your Eyes,” the performances were authentic to what we’ve all witnessed in the past, especially when it came to wild cards Luis Palomino and GG, who brought all the madcap, with Luis serving up a Britney Spears mashup of “Toxic” and “Ooops!  I Did It Again” and GG tearing up the joint with some (Broadway) Sister Act and “Take Me To Heaven.”   GG and Luis’s fellow member on the zany train, Gretchen Schneider, was out of town, much to the dismay of the audience, but she sent a video from home in West Virginia that had a heck of a punchline, when Macon called out, “And that’s all the time we have!” just as the virtual Schneider was about to sing “I Miss the Mountains.”  Hilarious!  Naturally, there was plenty of musical theater on hand, with Prickett and Martins playing some Death Becomes Her, Shayna Rives presenting some 35mm: A Musical Exhibition, and Isa Harris bringing the Legally Blonde, but Elizabeth Precious went to the movies with “Miss Celie’s Blues” from the film version of The Color Purple.  For the devotees of radio hits, Adelina Correa sang out withYo Gotti’s “Act Right,” while James Klapak did the Michael Bublé hit “Everything,” and Grace Flavien performed “If I Had You” by Adam Lambert.  Every one of the acts came up to the stage prepared (not a lyric sheet in sight) and performing at the top of their personal game, so respect for the craft and the audience was definitely in the house.  For this writer the standouts for the evening were lush-voiced Katie O’Donnell performing a gorgeous “Jackie and Wilson,” Sarah Goodman acing a flawless “What About Today,” and Cassi Mikat bringing down the house with rock classic “Piece of My Heart.”  These three artists did not come to play around - the came to slay a round. 

The winner and still champion of the 54 Below show, and family, was Mandisa Boxill, the general manager, who underwent an impressive feat of physical strength this last year when she went into the gym, went into bodybuilding, and went to some competitions, coming home with a few prizes.  Her finale, dressed as Rockette Balboa and displaying her medals, was a celebration of her achievements, cheered on by a nightclub filled with people, from colleagues to patrons, cheering for her successes both past and future.  It was a fitting end to a fabulous family play, and another notch in the 54 Below staff show belt.   One suspects audience members were certain to mark their calendars for the next one… except it hasn’t been announced yet.  But once it is, it’s a sure sell out - count on it.

Special mention must be made of Musical Director Ben Covello and his band, who really stepped up to the plate on this one.  Swing and a hit, band members.  Bravo.    The names of the band are:  Max Caine on Guitar, Gene Taylor on Bass, Ben Golder-Novick on Reeds and Nathan Repasz on Drums.  Leave us not forget Amanda Raymond and Sarah Goodman working their lighting and sound design magic from the booth.  Well, done, techs!

Find great shows to see on the 54 Below website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher