By Marilyn Lester***Individually they’ve each been singing in public since childhood. Nicolas King started as a professional actor at age 4. Seth Sikes was singing in church at age 6. Each is a powerhouse vocalist in his own right. Together they are “The New Belters,” a powerhouse duo on steroids. They’ve been touring their show for a while now, but in this iteration at 54 Below, if there’d been a roof it would have been blown off.
Both have long loved the American Songbook, with King favoring jazz stylings and Sikes pop/Broadway delivery. Yet, their styles meshed and complemented each other in this showstopping show. Belt is kind of a misnomer for these two though. While Sikes has a big voice in the mode of a male Ethel Merman, they both know how to use their vocal skills, with moderated dynamics and storytelling foremost. In the act there’s chemistry, harmony, humor and a smartly-crafted naturalistic patter that goes along with high energy, perfect pacing and well thought out movement in a choreography of sorts. From their openers, “Gotta Have Me Go With You” (Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin) and “Two of a Kind” (Andrew Lippa), all arrows pointed to a swell time ahead.
Each had solos, and with Sikes first, there came a hilarious take on “Waiting for the Robert E. Lee” (Lewis Muir, L. Wolfe Gilbert), tune about a so-named paddle-wheeler. In the setup, since Robert E. Lee, the Civil War general for the South is no longer PC, Sike imagines a gay cruise in which the assembled is “Waiting for the Patti LuPone.” The special lyrics brought the house down. Sikes also sang a delicate “He Touched Me” (Milton Schafer, Ira Levin), citing his preference for singing songs typically delivered by women without changing gender pronouns. King’s jazz chops were on full display in his “Chicago “That Toddlin’ Town)” (Fred Fisher) and “If You Can Sing It (You’ll Have to Swing It (Mr. Paganini) (Sam Coslow), with spectacular scat to add to the swing.
Music director-pianist Billy Stritch also contributed to the vocals. His solo, one of his 
staples, the jazz standard “No Moon at All” (David Mann, Redd Evans) was delivered in a particularly inspired version. He was also on fire with a rousing “I Happen to Like New York” (Cole Porter). The evening contained many references to icons and stars and the connections the performers had to them. Such was the case with the encore, and an exuberant tribute to Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland in “Get Happy/Happy Days are Here Again” (Milton Ager, Jack Yellen/Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler). It was a given that a very excited audience left with an abundance of happiness.
In addition to Stritch on piano, the crew from Birdland’s Cast Party completed the trio in Steve Doyle on bass and Daniel Glass on drums. Both rhythmn men are sophisticated players who add immeasurably to any combo they’re in and to any tune they’re lending their talents to.
Photos courtesy of Todd Forman
