By Melissa Griegel
Photos by Melissa Griegel Photography
An evening spent listening to the velvety voice of Paulo Szot, looking debonair in a black tuxedo, is an enchanting one. Paulo Szot, made his Broadway debut at Emile De Becque in the 2008 revival of South Pacific , earning him a Tony Award® for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Other notable Broadway performances include Billy Flynn in Chicago, Lance in & Juliet and Hades in Hadestown. He returned to 54 Below on March 6th, 2025 with a show the following night, March 7th. There are two more chances to see his magnificent cabaret: March 9th and April 5th, both at 7 pm.
Szot waltzed into the 54 Below dining room, dancing his way from the bar to the stage with “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love” by Cole Porter. The Brazilian operatic baritone is so charismatic that the combination of his warmth, looks, voice, stories, charm, and a packed set-list, all combined for a delightful evening that garnered several standing ovations. With selections from Chicago, South Pacific, Hadestown, Les Misérables, & Juliet, Jekyll & Hyde, and Man of La Mancha, it seemed that every time he launched into a new song there were delighted gasps from the audience.
You can hear the true power of his vocal chops in songs like “Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)”, “This is The Moment”, and “The Impossible Dream”, and his Latin charm with “Besame Mucho” and “Manhã de Carnaval”. His most recent role on Broadway was at Hades in Hadestown. His run only finished a few days prior to the start of his 54 Below shows. Morgan Dudley, who played Euridyce with him, joined him on stage for the March 6th show for “Hey Little Songbird” and Allison Russell, who was his Persephone, was his special guest on March 7th for “How Long”.
Morgan Dudley
Paulo talked about growing up in Brazil with the dream of becoming a soccer star. He said, “The coach told my mom, ‘Paulo loves soccer, but soccer does not love Paulo’. So my mom, concerned about me, signed me up for all of these instruments in our little arts school in our little town—piano, violin, everything that was possible. And I hated it because I really wanted to play ball. After a few weeks, I realized that I loved music and, most importantly, music loved me back.” Kudos to his mom, because music is truly his calling.
Many of his selections were from roles he has played in theaters around the world. One song, Javert’s swan song “Stars” from Les Misérables, is from a role he has yet to take on. It was so strong and beautiful, I now want to see him as Javert. Paulo walked off the stage after singing “This Nearly Was Mine” to a rousing round of applause. He then surprised and delighted the standing crowd by coming back to finish off the evening with “Some Enchanted Evening”.
Szot was accompanied by a full stage of musicians from the famed American Pops Orchestra. conducted by maestro Luke Frazier. The cast of musicians included Dilyana Tsevov, Ina Paris, and Laura Sacks on violin, Maria Jeffers on cello, Robert Morris on guitar, Greg Watkins on bass, and Steven Picataggio on drums.
