Review by Ron Fassler . . .
It’s that time of year and Broadway stalwart Norm Lewis is back giving a week’s worth of concerts at 54 Below with “Christmas Lives Here.” Charming, self-deprecating, and blessed with a voice from the Gods themselves, it’s always a pleasure to see him onstage, whatever the venue. Being a habituate, it’s difficult for me to come up with new things to say about this show that I haven’t already been stated, especially when year after year he personalizes such standards as “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” music by Edward Pola, lyrics by George Wyle) and “Silent Night” (music by Franz Xaver Gruber, lyrics by Joseph Mohr). That said, when it’s the very personal rendition of “Silent Night” that Lewis does to close out the evening, it’s worth hearing again.
Backed by his constant companion, musical director Joseph Joubert, along with drummer Perry Cavari (drums) and year Marco Paniccia (bass), Lewis has established a strong connection to his musicians. There’s real heat coming off the small 54 Below stage even if it’s the dead of winter, testimony to the passion and drive that makes every one of these outings so special. Dressed to the nines (as always), it is in this guise as a cabaret performer where we get the true essence of the Lewis style, not only vocally, but in his guileless onstage persona. A New York theatre fixture since 1993, when he made his Broadway debut as part of the ensemble in The Who’s Tommy, Lewis has gone on to appear in twelve plays and musicals (including his 2012 Tony nominated turn as Porgy opposite Audra McDonald’s Bess), in addition to numerous television and film roles.
Director Richard Jay-Alexander is back to direct, happily meeting the challenge of finding new and different ways to make the case that Norm Lewis is built for the cabaret medium. Lewis’s rapport with the audience is singularly inventive and casual and he knows how to read a room masterfully, delighting in beckoning audience members out of their seats and to the stage. He did this opening night as a surprise to two of his friends, Tommy DiDario and Gio Benitez, a married couple, to whom he crooned Jerry Herman’s “Song of the Sand,” from La Cage Aux Folles. Though he also sang it at last year’s holiday show, this time round he brought the pure joy of having played the role of Georges, one half of the musical’s central couple, at the fabled Muni in St. Louis this past summer. A different special guest is also included every night of this week-long run, and first-nighters were serenaded by a duet with James Monroe Iglehart, the Tony Award-winning star of Aladdin. Not just any duet, but one built for two women, the conjoined twins Daisy and Violet, the stars of Side Show, which was Lewis’s first time crating a major role in a Broadway musical, that of playing the supporting role of Jake. After leaving for a change of costume, the stage was set for Iglehart to sing a Christmas song, which he did superbly by singing “The Christmas Song” (music and lyrics by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé).
It may not be a holiday song, but the night wouldn’t be complete without a little “Music of the Night,” which Lewis sings late into the evening. I was fortunate enough to see him play the Phantom when he made history as the first Black actor to play the role on Broadway in 2014. It’s astonishing that he can sing it so well after 11 years, the same length of time he’s been blessing the theatre district with this wonderful show at 54 Below. There’s still time to catch him tonight (Christmas Eve), but If the timing isn’t right, you can hear him sing many of these songs on various CD’s produced over the years. And for anyone still last-minute shopping, they make great stocking stuffers.
And, of course, there’s always next year. Norm Lewis will be back at 54 Below, predictably in his usual good cheer, for a week’s engagement in 2026.
Norm Lewis “Christmas Lives Here” is at 54 Below 254 W 54th Street, NYC. For further information, please visit www.54Below.com.
Photos by Stephen Sorokoff.
