I'm fairly hooked on Something Rotten. It's a great big, goofy musical comedy and the cast is golden. So when I heard the cast would be coming to 54 Below, I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone: See them sing and finally see a show at 54 Below. Lucky for me, it was fate that there was only one ticket left that I managed to snatch up.
This particular show would mark a few firsts for me. Like I said, it was my very first show at 54 Below and I now know it won't be my last. And it would be the first show/concert that I'd be attending solely by myself. I wouldn't normally advocate going to shows on your own mostly because it's much more fun to share the experience with friends and family. However, in this case I didn't have much choice. And I have to say, it was so much better than I could have imagined.
When I bought the tickets, I knew I'd be in one of the 5 banquettes that's combined seating. Basically 4 people that may or may not know each other sit for the show and dinner together. This made me a little nervous. I was worried I'd be sitting with some couples who didn't need a 5th wheel or with people that just wanted to chat, which as we've all learned, I'm not so good with. But it couldn't have worked out any more smoothly. Three women from New Jersey who were in the city for the evening were my seat mates. As luck would have it, one was a teacher as well so we chatted about that and musical theatre. What could be any better?
After the seating arrangement was worked out, I was ready to order dinner. Even though the Iced Tea was atrocious, the Espresso rubbed Hanger Steak I ordered was to die for! So delicious! It didn't help me falling asleep a few hours later but at the time, I completely enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the dessert menu was slightly lacking, so I chose to save my room for the rest of my chocolate cookie from Levain back in my hotel.
Then it was on to the main event. I knew that 54 Below was a small speak easy like room with a tiny stage and a large piano. However, it somehow looked even smaller in person, which made the whole experience even more exciting. Also, it didn't hurt that the "talent" was just wandering around and mingling with the ordinary folk - so much so that when Christian Borle was as the bar drinking, I thought to myself "that guy looks like Christian Borle." Then I had to remind myself that it was indeed Christian Borle that was standing about 20 feet away from me enjoying his scotch. Awesome and slightly intimidating...
The entire cast - minus Brian d'Arcy James (who I was really looking forward to seeing - boo!) - was there to sing the songs that were cut from the musical. The writers of the show were there to narrate and intro the songs we were hearing, and were hilarious. You could definitely tell how they wrote such an awesome show - their sense of humor and fun was evident in everything they did. And the cast! Like I said, every single member of the cast is SUPER talented. They were equal parts hilarious and amazing, and mastered every song they sang.
This one was my favorite even though there were maybe 4 others that were tied for that distinction. So funny! Warning: This is a total ear worm - it will be stuck in your head for days!
The writers started the evening off mentioning that they wrote a total of 54 songs for the show, which were pared down to 18 in the final cut. I only wish we could have heard every one of the 36 songs that were cut because the 10 or so we did hear are still stuck in my head and made me laugh harder than I have in a long time. It was, by far, the perfect way to spend an evening. I can't say enough about just how much I enjoyed myself and I can't wait to return and catch another show - or 10...
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