By Andrew Poretz . . .

Australian dancer, author, host and actress Kym Johnson, of Dancing With the Stars (“DWTS”) television fame, made her cabaret debut at 54 Below on October 9 and 10. Theater Pizzazz attended the second night. Musical director and pianist Billy Stritch, bassist Michael O’Brien, and drummer Rob Garcia accompanied Johnson.

Although this was Johnson’s debut cabaret engagement, she already had one performance under her belt. Despite some lingering trepidation, she had clearly gained confidence by the second night, adding a bit of cabaret “sea legs” to her already impressive dancer’s legs.

The show followed a traditional cabaret format, with Johnson relating many stories of her life growing up in Australia and her career. Though her life seems charmed now – in 2016 she married Robert Herjavec, her fabulously wealthy and handsome DWTS partner from the 20th season, with whom she now has eight-year-old twin boys – she was not shy about the personal and professional challenges she has encountered. The beautiful star is entertaining and quite fit, though she admitted after a strenuous dance routine, “I don’t know why I did that. I still think I’m 20.” Still, Johnson has the fabulous dancer’s legs of a Cyd Charisse or Betty Grable, the latter’s famously insured by Lloyd’s of London.

The room was filled with longtime fans of Johnson and of DWTS, as well as notables from the show. Singer, actor, dancer and TV host Joey Fatone, a previous partner of Johnson’s on DWTS but more famous from his days with the boy band *NSYNC, was present for part of the evening before leaving for his own engagement, and happily took photos with fans before the show. Marilyn Maye, still performing and seemingly showing up everywhere at New York shows, was also in the house.

The star opened the show with “Get Happy” (Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler). She made a comical attempt at an American accent to introduce “Dance: Ten; Looks: Three” from A Chorus Line (Marvin Hamlisch/Edward Kleban), a fun number. After insisting she would not dance, she broke into “I Won’t Dance” (Jerome Kern/Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh) and, mid-song, she – quelle surprise – showed off some of her dance moves.

Sitting by the piano, Johnson was effective on the ballad “What I Did for Love,” also from A Chorus Line. Later, in a similar setup, she was equally effective and quite appealing on “Somewhere That’s Green” (Alan Menken/Howard Ashman), from Little Shop of Horrors.

Johnson put on a frilly top and grabbed a tambourine to evoke Nancy Sinatra frug moves on “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” (Lee Hazelwood), another treat.

After one of several costume changes, Johnson emerged in a red gown for “Sway,” dancing with Trent Whiddon, her partner from the Australian version of DWTS. It was one of the evening’s highlights, with impressive moves considering the limited space available onstage. Whiddon even lifted Johnson over his head!

Later, in their performance of “Whatever Lola Wants” (Richard Adler/Jerry Ross, from Damn Yankees), Billy Stritch took over the vocals while the pair did a sexy dance routine.

Special guest Carson Kressley, her longtime best friend whom she met while competing on DWTS, came up to perform “Pour Me a Man” (Fred Barton), a fabulously campy and risqué number straight out of the Sidney Myer playbook. Kressley is also quite funny and has excellent timing. If he’s not currently performing cabaret, he should be. This segment gave Johnson an opportunity for another costume change.

Kressley also joined Johnson for a song and dance number, “Nowadays” (John Kander/Fred Ebb, from Chicago), with some special comedic lyrics, like “I could have married Carson, but Robert made me a very happy wife.”

During an especially fun finale, Johnson brought up her mum, Barbara Johnson, visiting from Australia, during “Everything Old Is New Again” (Peter Allen/Carole Bayer Sager). Johnson had help from the audience, who finally found the purpose for the colorful maracas mysteriously left on every table.

This was an excellent cabaret debut for Kym Johnson. Her greatest strength as a performer is, of course, her dancing. She is a decent singer with a nice vocal tone and has a good grasp of the material. Director Todd Schroeder did an outstanding job of incorporating her dancing skills into several songs, both alone and with partners. She is also immensely charming, funny, occasionally self-deprecating, and quite approachable, with good comic timing where needed. This writer would wager that Johnson has a future on the cabaret stage, if she wants one.

For more great shows at 54 Below, visit https://54below.org.