BWW Reviews: Feisty Tovah Feldshuh Determines that 'Aging is Optional' at 54 Below

"So I get this call from Barry Weissler . . . come down and do Pippen for us on Broadway. Come down to the theater and play on the trapeze . . . There was no mat, no net, no insurance . . . " The relish in Tovah Feldshuh's voice is palpable. A challenge, yes! At 60-something-years-old, one can accurately describe the performer as what plucky is when it grows up.

Feldshuh's mother Lily died at 103 having lived, one gathers, like the character her daughter played in Pippin: "Oh, it's time to start livin'/Time to take a little from this world we're given/Time to take time, cause spring will turn to fall/In just no time at all . . ." Later in her 54 Below show Aging Is Optional (which Feldshuh presents again tonight at 7 pm), we all sing the chorus, though no one with more gusto than the artist who delivers its lyric like a battle cry. Here, she tells an audience member to sit up straight.

It would serve the show if both Lily and her mother had less stage time. Though rasping, Yiddish-accented imitation is affectionate and interpretation of Carole King's "Beautiful" as a pep talk is fresh, a cliché-ridden monologue representing her Bubbe Ada (grandmother) is overlong, the two women sound alike, and content is redundant. A second non-familial monologue offers nothing but grit teeth and a punch line.

The third monologue, WYOY: Sylvia Chronic (by Larry Amoros), however, is simply wonderful. "Good morning, and welcome to Kaddish and Kawfie, also known as Mourning in the Morning." (The program's call-in number is 666-SUFFER.) Feldshuh is as hysterically deadpan as an urban Eyore (The consistently depressed donkey from Winnie the Pooh.) Timing is impeccable. Writing is grand.

Comic chops are again utilized with the very funny "Mon Amour" (Ray Jessel): "Barcarolle, Charles dce Gaulle, restaurant, Yves Montand, mon Amour!/C'est si bon, Picasso, Ah, mais non, Jacques Cousteau, soupe de jour!" Feldshuh wears a beret and lips a dangling cigarette. (There are minor costume changes throughout.) The number arrives almost monotone with Hollywood French accent nailing a theatrical, takes-himself-so-seriously attitude with which we're all familiar.

Feldshuh is personable and warm. It's a testament to her sincerity and finely honed characterization that we overlook warmth in what emerges as a raw singing voice (neither out of tune nor technically inadequate, just raw.) Patter about her children (for whom she took a sabbatical from show business), is followed by a tender rendition of "New Words" (Maury Yeston). The song overflows with unconditional love. One can practically see the kids.

After one of the most romantic proposal stories you may ever hear, a version of Ewan MacColl's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (to her husband) finds couples all over the room taking one another's hands or encircling a loved one's back. The performer's surprise, gratitude, and happiness blanket us.

Acting ability and empathy come together for "Joe" (from Working), a song about managing to stay alert and interested after retirement. Feldshuh eases into a chair evidencing a slight tremor; her hands curl, she hunches forward: there's Joe. Every line of lyric necessitates a breath embodying both resolution and history.

The performer closes with a hope against hope, anthem-like "On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)" and a rather humble "You Make Me Feel So Young" with an apt insertion from Bob Dylan "May you build a ladder to the stars/And climb on every rung/May you stay forever young."

Though it might be edited, the theatrical Aging is Optional makes the most of Tovah Feldshuh's mercurial talent and ability to communicate. Only one song, a completely obscure "When I Was a Boy" feels off mood. The piece is otherwise engaging and optimistic.

Jeff Harnar's direction is specific to the artist who internalizes and embraces when respectively fitting. Each number has its own persuasively conjured atmosphere. An unexpected moment atop a table is infectiously exuberant.

Photos by Stephen Sorokoff

James Bassi-Musical Direction/Piano
Monologues By: Rick Mitz, Larry Amoros, Tovah Feldshuh
54 Below 254 West 54th St. http://54below.com/
One more performance: 2/21/15 at 7 pm

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