Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . .

It was a pleasure on Saturday evening to catch the final performance of Joaquina Kalukango’s four-night engagement at 54 Below. It was her birthday, which added to the festivities, and seeing this Julliard-trained actress sing her heart out was a joy. Tony-nominated as Best Actress in a Play for Slave Play in 2020, Kalukango went on to win the award as Best Actress in a Musical two years later for the short-lived Paradise Square. Her stunning rendition of the 11:00 number, “Let It Burn,” readily available on YouTube, leaves little doubt that hers is a talent to contend with. And two weeks ago, the Lifetime network premiered I Will Survive, in which she stars as Gloria Gaynor, the singer once dubbed America’s “Queen of Disco.” In her cabaret show, Kalukango’s prideful authority lent a connectivity to the songs she chose to sing, a daughter of African immigrants from Angola.

Having seen Kalukango in both her major Broadway appearances, relaxing in the presence of her real self at 54 Below’s intimate setting was a charmfest. Her winning ways and casual approach to cabaret performing is warming. Modestly talking about her journey of success from her beginnings growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, she doesn’t indulge in a great deal of stage patter, but still manages to get her points across with minimum effort. Structurally, the evening built properly (“Let It Burn” being the natural final song prior to her encore) and the mix of song styles offered a good deal of variety. Opening with the Charlie Daniels country-western hit, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” she segued into the Corinne Bailey Rae tune, “Put Your Records On.” Next, she entertained with “Sodade,” a composition sung entirely in Portuguese. In cleanup position at number four was “Purlie,” the Gary Geld/Peter Udell title song of that wonderful Broadway musical, first introduced by Melba Moore. Kalukango mentioned that as a fifteen-year-old she lost the part of Lutiebelle in a school production of Purlie and, was instead cast as Missy, described in the stage directions as ‘not Lutiebelle.’ So, you get the idea: her choices made for a diverse, personal and altogether delightful set list.

After singing Stephen Sondheim’s “Last Midnight” from Into the Woods, I have written in my notes “CAST HER NOW!” After her rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” I wrote down “Highlight.” That’s the way it went all night. She was accompanied with infinite sensitivity by musical director and pianist Michael Orland, with bassist Aaron Romano and Jakubu Griffin on drums each having their moments to shine. For the opening and closing songs, Kalukango was joined by violinist Liz Mandic-Nowac, who created a rambunctious  and specialized sound. 

Offering Gloria Gaynor’s anthem “I Will Survive” late in the show provided its own magic. As Kalukango said, “I recommend playing this song on repeat all year long.” And as an encore, Bob Dylan’s “To Make You Feel My Love” was also of the moment, and not just because of the Timothée Chalamet bio pic currently in theatres. As the song goes:

“The storms are raging on the rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain’t seen nothing like me yet.”

If that doesn’t describe Joaquina Kalukango, I don’t know what does.

Joaquina Kalukango was at 54 Below, 254 W. 54th Street, NYC from February 12-15. For information on future programming, please visit: www.54Below.org.

Photos by Ron Fassler.