By Bart Greenberg***Singing duo Seth Sikes and Nicolas King have energy. They also have charm, humor and excellent voices–and did we mention energy? The pair brought these assets in all their g
lory to 54 Below for their newest show, The New Belters Sing MGM, with music director-vocalist Billy Stritch.
It takes a great deal to sustain a show almost entirely made up of well-known material introduced by legendary performers, and this dynamic team definitely did it with great humor and great smarts. Sikes and King at times brought to mind Martin and Lewis, Kelly and Sinatra, and yes, Judy and Mickey, all of whom performed with an air of being completely in charge; and of course this dynamic brought to mind the musical films they were celebrating. More than likely, their audiences knew e
very number had been seriously rehearsed but wanted to believe in magical spontaneity.
Using “That’s Entertainment” (Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz) as a recurring theme— with revised and appropriate lyrics —helped tie the show together. New words were also applied to songs such as“Strike Up the Band” (George and Ira Gershwin) and “Shaking the Blues Away” (Irving Berlin). These new and creative lyrics were site-specific, making the numbers seem fresh and surprising. The two also had great fun running through such gems as “I Wish I Was in Love Again” (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) and “When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam’” (Irving Berlin), complete with choreography that made use of the entire compact stage.
Each of the singers also had alone time to present solos. Sikes blasted through “Get Happy” (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler) with so much enthusiasm that the audience wouldn’t dare to be sad. He then took the mood down with a poignant “I Fall in Love Too Easily” (Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn), while perching on a stool for the only time during the evening. King got his quiet moment with the haunting “Too Late Now” (Alan Jay Lerner ,Burton Lane), digging deeply into the lyrics to create one of the emotional highlights of the show; the arrangement also featured a fine piano interlude by Stritch, who also set the place on fire with “Love” (Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane) aswell as a jazzy rendition of “A Shine on Your Shoes” (Schwartz, Dietz).
From opening note, Stritch’s involvem
ent in the show grew greater as the evening progressed. He joined in with Sikes and King on a hilarious “Triplets” (Schwartz, Dietz) as well as taking part in the lengthy and witty “Hit Song Medley” that ranged from “For Me and My Gal” (George W. Meyer, Edgar Leslie, E. Ray Goetz) to “Aba Dabba Honeymoon” (Arthur Fields, Walter Donovan).
Given that another running theme of the show was Sikes’ obsession with the classic film, Singin’ in the Rain, it was only natural that a climatic second medley was devoted to the songs from that film, complete with some umbrella choreography. It was the perfect way to end this joyous evening.
Also adding much to the joy throughout the evening were talented bassist Steve Doyle and drummer Josh Roberts.
