By Marilyn Lester***Is there such a thing as a perfect perfect storm? The answer is moot since Broadway, film and TV star Carole Demas created one at 54 Below. Her show, Firefly, was 
sheer perfection in performance and in the art of cabaret, and by the time the final note was sung, a prolonged standing ovation delivered by a wildly applauding audience certified that magic on steroids had happened.
Demas opened with “Love/The More I See You” (Harvey Schmidt, Tom Jones; Harry Warren, Mack Gordon) and “Cockeyed Optimist” (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II), sung with her usual flair. But it was the narrative that accompanied “When I’m 85,” a riff on the Beatle’s tune, in which the magic wand began to energetically wave. Looking and sounding far younger than those years, Demas proudly owns them and her 64 years of professional life. What’s more, it’s her charm and winning personality that are the cherries on the sundae. Demas is an artist of true authenticity, an absolute WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), and a splendid one at that.
In her relative youth, with her bestie, Paula Janis, Demas created the “Magic Garden,” a live-action children’s program that aired Mondays through Thursdays from 1972 to 1984. The show became a favorite of millions of children, whose devotion grew into the proverbial cult following. Demas and Janis continued to perform (and still do) in special concerts and at special events. Joined onstage by guitarist-vocalist Janis, with best-friend chemistry displayed galore, the two performed their own “Hello Song” from the show as well as several other numbers, including Meredith Wilson’s “I See the Moon.” More magic from the well-named show.
Very often the tag line that accompanies Demas is “The original Sandy in Grease,” and indeed she was. Grease was a big deal for Demas and a big deal on Broadway wh
en it premiered in January 1972 (written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey). A fun segment of Firefly had cast members from back-in-the-day recreate that magic. Appearing were Ilene Kristen, Ryan Williams, Ray De Mattis, Joy Rinaldi and Paula Janis stepping in. What else could ensue but a high-energy,swingin’ production number of “Summer Nights” that was sheer joy.
Notably, Demas originated another major role, the title character in Stephen Schwartz’ The Bakers Wife. She sang another of her signature songs, written for her by Schwartz: “Meadowlark.” And here, as we closed in on the end of a remarkable show, was revealed the key to Demas’ extraordinary talent. She will take a melodic and beautiful story-ballad and become one with it. The resultant interpretation will induce gasps and c
hest-clutchings of delight, lumps in throats and tears in eyes with her other-wordly artistry. This wonderment was repeated in Schmidt-Jones’ “Try to Remember” (Demas was a Luisa in The Fantasticks) and in what has become her true signature song—a remarkable, unpublished tune by Sam Carner and Derrick Gregor she discovered—”Advice to a Young Firefly.”
You can know how special an act is by watching the musicians, and this was a group off A-listers. It was joy to see the magic wash over Demas’ very longtime uber-talented music director-arranger-pianist (40 years worth!) Ian Herman, plus bassist Tom Hubbard and drummer David Silliman. Their synergy and the superb playing it produced upped the magic quotient. All players were clearly in the zone with Demas.
In and of itself, Firefly was extraordinary. But given the turmoil and existential pall we’ve been dealing with currently in a world in crisis, a show like Firefly not only underscores the absolute need for the arts in human existence but demonstrates the healing power inherent in them. Carole Demas’ Firefly deserves both a tremendous “brava!” and a heartfelt “thank you!”
Catch this show! Firefly reprises at 54 Below on Saturday, September 6 at 7 PM.
Photos by Conor Weiss
