By Marilyn Lester***Who says the age of the true showman is over? Like that ages old saw, “jazz is dead,” which has never actually been true, showmen will always be gracing stages. Happily, young Mason Prickett is one of a new 
generation of performers carrying on the tradition. The exuberant Prickett spieled, quipped and sang his way across the 54 Below stage and back again, working the room in the very best possible way. From his opener, a high-spirited “Let’s Hear It for Me” (John Kander, Fred Ebb) to encore—a Prickett philosophy of life—”Make Someone Happy” (Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Green), Prickett hit his marks from A to Z, creating a show full of joy and delight.
Macon Prickett in MACON: His Own Way! happened to be the singer’s cabaret solo debut. He also brought to life the club’s tag line, “Broadway’s living room.” The cozy, familial atmosphere he created was especially actuated when he brought to the stage a surprise guest (and it was a surprise!), his twin brother, guitarist Mason. Their duet of “Rhinestone Cowboy” (Larry Weiss) was a sweet and delightful homage to roots, and to family members, many if whom were in the audience. 
Those roots grew in the soil of Prickettville (yes, indeed), designated “a populated place” located in Calhoun County, Alabama. And like many a farm boy from the country who dreamed of the Big City, Prickett kept his eye on the prize, now living his dream; “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy” (Irving Berlin) paired with “Let Me Entertain You” (Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim) said it all.
Many know Prickett from his “day job,” a factotem at 54 Below, using his other skills in marketing, communications and managing—not to mention observing. What better place to be than in a perpetual master class. With arrangements by music director Canaan Harris, Pricket delivered a “54 Below Diva Medley” of various tunes with a tip of the admirational hat to Patti LuPone, Kristen Chenowith, the Calloway sisters, Lorna Luft and more. It also happens that Prickett, inspired by his mother and grandmother, loves strong women. In his sturdy tenor, he anchored himself squarely in a balladic rendition from Kander and Ebbs’s Kiss of the Spider Woman, “She’s a Woman.”
Although Macon Prickett in MACON: His Own Way! may have been a solo cabaret debut, he’s been busy since relocating to NYC in 2017, honing his craft at other 
venues such as The Duplex, Don’t Tell Mama, Club Cumming and the late night karaoke at Baby Grand. He’s also an actor and AEA member. All of this dedication to craft was evident in a polished and keenly-crafted evening. He’s also paid attention to Lee Roy Reams (in the audience) who’s an expert when it comes to “I Am What I Am” (and its composer, Jerry Herman). No less an authority than Herman himself told Reams how the tune should be sung. And Prickett, in this penultimate number, did it Jerry and Lee Roy’s way as well as his way: not as a bellowing anthem, but as a story song with a rising arc to a self-confident conclusion.
Prickett’s way also included a fresh crop of talented musicians (to this reviewer); in addition to Harris, they were Ben Golder-Novick (reeds), Nathan Repasz (drums) and Wyeth Tvenge (bass).
