By Marilyn Lester***Check a thesaurus for the synonyms of “dynamic.” There at least 20 strong matches—and Santino Fontana embodies all of them. In a recent run at 54 Below entitled By Request, the actor-singer presented something new for the club: a different set list for each night of his appearance, culled from the requests of his fans—no easy job to sort through a couple of hundred. But by experience and innate smarts, the curated songs not only fit him 
to the proverbial “t” but reflected shows he’s been in. On Broadway alone, there’s Tootsie, Hello, Dolly!, Sunday in the Park with George, Cinderella, Billy Elliot, and more. He thusly aced “It Only Takes a Moment” (Jerry Herman, Hello, Dolly!) and “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful?” (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Cinderella).
Fontana was not only completely, relaxed and confident, but took on board 100% the descriptive of 54 Below as “Broadway’s Living Room.” His audience engagement was a master class in relating and bonding. Add to that his ability to ad lib with wit and humor. A fair amount of that skill went into a hilarious recounting of his turn as the voice of the villainous Prince Hans in the Disney film Frozen. In a duet with special guest Erika Henningsen, the pair sang from the soundtrack a robust “Love Is an Open Door” (Robert Lopez, Kristen Anderson Lopez). More hilarity ensued with a role flip in “I Feel Pretty” (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim) with special lyrics, an assessment of the soap opera nature of Les Miserables and an impression of Mandy Patinkin singing “Corner of the Sky” (Stephen Schwartz).
There’s no question that Fontana has bucket-loads of charm to spare, and a 
mastery of the interpretation of all manner of popular songs. His bari-tenor vocal tone and range are totally in his control; his voice is naturally powerful and much to his credit is that Fontana knows how to modulate it. In an era in which unbridled belting is prized, this asset leads to another glorious skill—an ability to tell the story. Fontana has big-time acting chops (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Fosse/Verdon,” “Royal Pains,” “Nurse Jackie” and more.). So, he doesn’t just sing a tune, he performs it. “She Loves Me” (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick), “Who Can I Turn To?” (Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley) and “Ease” (Will Reynolds, Eric Price), with Henningsen, were cases in point.
Fontana’s opener was “I’ve Got Your Number” (Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh). In that spirit it was a revelation when Fontana’s long-time music director, Dan Lipton suddenly left the piano and the singer took his place. Come to find out that Fontana is a jazzer (from an early age), winning a place at 18 as a performer in the 
renowned Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. He delivered a bluesy version of “You’re Gonna Hear From Me” (Andre Previn, Dory Previn) and an even bluesier “Angel Eyes” (Matt Dennis, Earl K. Brent). Viva le jazz! We’d love to hear more of it from the singer. As for Lipton, he made for a perfect collaborator, supporting the singer while demonstrating his own talent. This was the kind of show in which more than the two on the stage would have been an intrusion.
And just to show that even the most difficult songs to sing are child’s play for him, Fontana closed with the fast-paced tongue-twister from Stephen Sondheim’s Anyone Can Whistle, “Everybody Says Don’t.” Paraphrasing the lyric, we say do. Do come back soon with more of the many gifts that make Santino Fontana a complete showman.
Photos by Michael Allan Galvez
