Review: THE WICKED STAGE Offers Anecdotes and Star Power at 54 Below

On October 8th, Christine Pedi told the audience at THE WICKED STAGE: SONGS ABOUT SHOW BUSINESS that this was her fourth outing with the 54 Below series, and I was surprised… and a little bit cross.  Why hadn’t I heard about this fun theme show?  And what had I missed at the first three versions?  Doggone it if my consternation didn’t grow throughout the evening, because what I and the rest of the crowd got to see on Wednesday night turned out to be a really fun, very entertaining night of cabaret.  I made sure to go home after, and look up the next installment of the show and put it on my calendar (it’s February 25th).  The Wicked Stage, it turns out, is a nifty addition to the cabaret season.  Now, let’s be honest about it - there are a lot of series shows out there, some of them with new episodes every month, some that even have multiple showings a month; so you have to really know what’s out there, what you’re looking at, what you’re looking for, and what you want to spend your money (and, perhaps more importantly, your time) on.   At first blush, one might look at the event page on the 54 Below website and say, “Oh, that looks like it could be kind of cute,” and then just pass it by, indifferently, but one would be wrong to do that.   The artwork for the series uses a sepia-toned image of a vintage showgirl and a lot of different fonts in different colors.  There is no bold image, no distinctive typeface, and there’s a title that’s a mouthful - it’s a lot of work on the eyes and the mind.  But look beyond the confusing artwork to the important factors:  Christine Pedi is the host of the show, Michael Lavine is the musical director, and the guest artists are performers of note from the stages of Broadway and cabaret.  That’s a one-two-three punch of goodness, and the winners are the people in the seats out front.

First things first - Christine Pedi is a fine show host.  She has wit, and it’s a natural wit, not just a comic saying funny things from her script.  There were opportunities this week to see the Pedi mind working in real time, and Miss Pedi is, clearly, one of those people who doesn’t just say funny things, she says things funny.  She’s got some stories to tell, she’s got praise and admiration for her guests, and she’s got the talent to perform the musical numbers that fall to her, and in these cabaret-absorbed eyes, that makes her a right proper host.  Of course, the lady has hosting experience, thanks to her work on SiriusXM, but there is benefit in seeing her live, onstage.  On Wednesday, the actress soon to be seen as Lady Bracknell even gushed a little over special guest, recent Tony Award nominee Jasmine Amy Rogers, and this writer who is, himself, starstruck by Broadway’s Betty Boop, found validation and humanity in Miss Pedi’s blithering over the newest diva to be welcomed to The Great White Way.  It was charming.

In the second place, Miss Pedi has the great good fortune to have beside her, at the piano, the remarkable Michael Lavine.  Mr. Lavine is a Musical Director of note, a musical theater savant with a memory like Audrey Two’s trap, and a delightful performer in his own right.  Any person standing at a microphone or emceeing a cabaret or concert would be blessed to have him sharing the stage with them.  He watches Christine and all her guests like a hawk, providing all with excellent musical accompaniment and protecting them from whatever onstage surprise might happen along during the live performance.  He is a boon to the room.

And, finally, Christine and Michael have the connections to fill their shows with guests who are special, unique, and wildly entertaining.   Research has shown that the earlier three iterations of THE WICKED STAGE have featured the likes of Faith Prince, Jak Malone, and Karen Akers, but for this week’s production, the talented thespians joining in on the festivities were (in order of appearance) Stephanie D’Abruzzo, Mark Nadler, Javier Muñoz, and the previously mentioned Jasmine Amy Rogers.  Stephanie, Mark, and Javier each got two numbers, while Jasmine Amy did a number and an interview, with Christine performing twice, and Michael doing a medley of Broadway-themed songs so overwhelming that it could have counted as two numbers.  It was a generous offering of musical theater storytelling, with everyone rising to the occasion.  In true theatrical tradition, Pedi and Lavine orchestrated the evening so that the first half was light, amusing, jaunty, with the second half bringing in the gravitas, and it was, all of it, executed with precision and power.  The first half saw Ms. D’Abruzzo opening the show with a kind of kids medley made up of the theme songs to Warner Brothers Cartoons and The Muppet Show, Mr. Nadler performing Danny Kaye’s famous “The Ugly Duckling” number, and Mr. Muñoz singing “Cheering For Me Now,” which was written for New York, New York by John Kander and a man that Muñoz knows, slightly, last name of Miranda.  All of this was fun and bright, festive and light (including Lavine’s Broadway medley and Pedi’s “Johnny One Note”), but when the show hit the halfway mark and Jasmine Amy Rogers hit the stage, things turned a corner.  

For the second half of their show business music show, the fine folks of The Wicked Stage went big.  Ms. Rogers landed “Diva’s Lament” like the diva that she is - after all, Rogers got one of the best eleven o’clock numbers in recent memory with BOOP!, so there is evidence that she can sing anything.  The theory was tested with the Lady of the Lake’s number from Spamalot, to the audience’s boisterous reaction, and once Rogers had left the stage, the rest of the cast was set up for their own moments of majesty.  Ms. D’Abruzzo found hers with a stunningly arranged “Fame” (yes, that “Fame”) that was dark and dramatic, making this writer hungry for more of this aesthetic, fingers crossed for more of Stephanie in the clubs, in the theaters, and wherever we can get her.  Next up was Javier’s personal story about In The Heights, Hamilton, and his close personal friendship and collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda, which segued to an electrifying performance of “My Shot,” prompting an instantaneous standing ovation from the audience.  Mark Nadler, next up on the stage, cried out to Muñoz, “THAT WAS F**KING AMAZING!” before remarking on the task of having to “follow that” but there was no question of Mark Nadler being able to follow that because his combining of the songs “New Music” and “Ragtime” into one led to the second standing ovation of the evening, also instantaneous.  It was one of the most thrilling things this writer has ever seen in a cabaret room. 

But then it was Christine Pedi’s turn.

For her finale, for her show’s finale, Christine Pedi spoke about her upcoming gig as Lady Bracknell (at the Westport Country Playhouse) and her recent explorations into classical theater.  This comedic monologue led into a spectacular version of The Music Man’s “Trouble” re-written by Joe Keenan to apply to the poor actors going broke just to do Shakespeare, Peer Gynt, and other such works in regional theaters where buses and trucks tour.  It was a side-splitting, hi-ho-larious number perfectly suited to Christine Pedi’s particular talents, and a fitting way to end a fine night of cabaret theater, so fine a night that this guy will not miss the next one.  Neither should you.  I’ll see you there.

The Wicked Stage returns February 25th - tickets accessible HERE.

The 54 Below main page is HERE.

Christine Pedi has a website HERE.

Christine Pedi is about to open in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST at the Westport Country Playhouse.  Tickets can be accessed HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher