Review: Cassi Mikat Announces Herself With SING LOUD! at 54 Below

The audience began to cheer before the lights were even finished dimming.  The applause began before there was even the customary artist introduction over the god mic.  The people were ready, for the people had been waiting.  It was time for Cassi Mikat to make her solo show debut on the New York City cabaret stage, in one of the most patiently anticipated shows in recent memory.  Debut shows come along every season, and frequently the artist at the center mic is a person known to the people in the seats out front; in the case of Cassi Mikat, the people know.  Cassi has been greeting patrons of 54 Below from the concierge desk for a number of years.  She has appeared in several iterations of 54 DOES 54 - THE 54 BELOW STAFF SHOW.  And Cassi has developed a name for herself as a musical theater actress and a teacher of voice.  The people know Cassi.  So when the announcement came that SING LOUD! would put Ms. Mikat at the center mic, Google calendars around the city were blocked off for the November 3rd event, and, on November 3rd, at the appointed time of 9:30, the practically packed cabaret room began to buzz with electricity until the buzz became a roar, and until, finally, Cassi Mikat walked into the room with no introduction, standing on the landing near the bar, basking in the audible excitement of the moment before her first notes as a New York City cabaret performer.

For SING LOUD! Cassi took advice from her father and, indeed, did sing loud for seventy minutes (a right proper length for a cabaret concert).  She also sang everything.  Correction: she sang EVAH REE THING.  It seems there are those who can sing loud while singing Broadway, while singing rock and roll, while singing comedy, while singing opera, and while singing Brandi Carlile, who everyone knows employs many musical styles.  I certainly can’t do it, and chances are a lot of other people can’t do it, but Cassi can, and what Cassi can, Cassi will… and she did, the result being that she blew the roof off of the basement.  She blew the roof off of the basement so hard that one might imagine that Oedipus would have to find a new home before its Broadway opening.  And each and every time that Cassi Mikat blew the roof off the basement, each and every time she sang loud, she had her audience in the palm of her hand.  This debut was worth the wait.

For her debut show, Cassi Mikat leaned into that which she knows:  her life, her loves, her loved ones, and her loudness.  The stories around which she wrapped her setlist were personal ones, designed to introduce her to her audience - and even though it was a given that the patrons knew Cassi, the big question was where did each of them know her from?   You could tell, based on reactions around the room… acting colleagues, voice students, college mates, even family members responded with applause, cheers, and knowing laughter when a story being told related to them and their Mikat history.  These stories and, indeed, interactions opened up the room and the people to all the aspects, all the facets, of Cassi, teaching us all things like… Cassi Mikat comes from a musical family (hence the performance of “Climb Every Mountain,” a song she and her mother have both sung professionally), Cassi Mikat is an expert in screaming while singing (which gave rise to some kickass Janis Joplin AND some killer ACDC), and Cassi Mikat is VERY interested in playing the titular role in Disney’s Beauty and The Beast, a declaration which led to an evening highlight (and the first mid-show standing ovation), the Beast’s powerful “If I Can’t Love Her.”   It turns out Cassi is right:  it is time for The Beast to be played by a woman. 

It is a pleasure to listen to Mikat sing, whatever the genre, whatever the vibe, and it isn’t just because she can sing these different genres and create these different vibes, but because she can use all of the aspects of her craft to dutifully deliver her storytelling.  Mikat is fearless in her quest to create and to connect, both to the material and the audience.  Cheeky smiles abound, winks and side eyes bounce back and forth, dialogue is spoken directly to audience members, notes are trilled and screamed, and Cassi stands defiantly center stage, aware she has produced an electrifying effect, while modestly allowing the applause to wash over her.  Mere moments later, though, she is announcing, “I’m going to be vulnerable for a second, is that ok?” before tearing up while discussing her late mentor, who once directed her (regarding other members of a show’s ensemble) to, “Let them sing loud enough to meet you.”  This was a personal show, filled with the songs and the stories that Mikat holds dear, and it showed in the depth of her investment in the musical performances, and the level of comfort present during her monologues.  As a newcomer to the solo show format, Mikat has room to grow, mostly in the show format itself, not in the singing.  There is a certain degree of pressure that comes with being the headliner in the center spot, and it’s easy to get lost in your monology, to ramble a little, and to lean into superfluous space-filling words like the oh-so-dangerous “Um…”  With a few more shows under her belt and a little more practical experience, this aspect of cabaret and concert will be as easy on Mikat as the musical portion of the evening.

But the musical chapters in Sing Loud! were top shelf.  There are no notes.  Particular standouts were the Urinetown showstopper “It’s a Privilege to Pee,”one of the showstoppers from SIX, “Heart of Stone,” the aria “Willow Song” (a genuine surprise of shock), and, naturally enough, the Janis Joplin hit “Me and Bobby McGee,” which seemed a natural choice for Mikat to add to her setlist.  Another highlight was the chance to see Cassi and her 54 Below colleague Mark Beyer in action.  The news has gotten out that Mikat and Beyer have formed a band, and, having our appetites whet during the staff shows, we have all been wondering what the duo is like as a band, and they acquitted themselves very nicely with a little Oasis, by way of a “Don’t Look Back in Anger” that put Beyer and his guitar at the front of the stage.  What a treat.  The rest of the night, Beyer offered Cassi splendid support, only from the back wall, where bassist Gene Taylor, drummer Nathan Repasz, and Musical Director/pianist Evan Rees made Mikat a true rocker chic in a cabaret room, ready to roll with anything, be it Kelly Clarkson’s “Miss Independent," Jonathan Reid Gealt’s “Quiet” or Marion the Librarian’s “My White Knight.”  The music they made for Cassi was exquisite, and with their exquisite music and her miracle vocals, this dream team made Sing Loud! a show worth seeing and remembering.  It won’t need to be remembered, though - with a debut and a response like this, an encore should, most definitely, be in the works.  

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

Cassi Mikat has a website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher